VATICAN CITY, DEC. 19, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is inviting children to a missionary spirit, encouraging them to tell their friends that they have found a great Friend in Jesus.

This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received a delegation of children from Italian Catholic Action, with whom he exchanged Christmas greetings.

This call, the Pontiff explained, "has already been repeated often in your lives, and it is repeated again today. The first call was in the gift of life. Always be attentive to this great gift, appreciate it and be...

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VATICAN CITY - When young people recognize the dignity and beauty of every human life, including their own, and are supported in their natural desire to make the world a better place, they become agents of justice and peace in the world, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Peace and justice are built on "a profound respect for every human being and helping others to live a life consonant with this supreme dignity," the Pope said in his message for the World Day of Peace 2012.

The Catholic Church celebrates World Peace Day Jan. 1. The Pope's message for the occasion was released Dec. 16 at the Vatican and sent, through Vatican ambassadors, to the leaders of nations around the world.

He asked parents and teachers to be more attentive to the hopes and fears of young people today and to their search for true values, and he asked governments to put more resources into education and job creation.

And the Pope asked young people themselves to...

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Slant33.com has a great piece about how young youth workers can gain credibility in churches. Experts, including Lars Rood, chip in with their answers. Have a look.

I have known of more than a few projects where youth workers have had significant problems being accepted in parishes. This applies to volunteers and pros alike. Sometimes manifests itself as apathy and sometimes with obstacles actively being placed in a youth workers way.

In my experience, there will always be some people in parishes that just don't get youth ministry. Either they refuse to acknowledge the existence of young people or they think that youth ministry involves putting them through confirmation, giving them a list of Mass times and then whining when they don't turn up. Some people will just never get it, and the most we can hope of those people is that the parish priest doesn't allow them to be a pain. Usually, he will provide just such a shield.

But then, there are the other 80% of the parish. They are there to be convinced. I work on the principle that if you communicate well with people, be friendly and produce good youth ministry, then people will come around. Ultimately, if they see young people inspired by your work and involved in the life of the parish then they'll be receptive.

I think there's more to it than that though. A lot of the parish projects that fail, do so because there isn't strong line management of the youth worker. A strong line manager is needed because an inexperienced worker needs a shield between them and the rest of the parish community in some respects. Some parishioners will always think that once a youth worker is hired, he/ she will sort out every single problem and concern to do with anybody under 25. And singlehandedly too. The line manager needs to prioritise and allocate tasks and then keep the worker on track. He/ she also needs to take the demands of the parish and explain to them what the worker is doing with their 37 hours a week and why they can't possibly do any more at the present time.

There are other factors too... the worker needs to build up as many relationships with key parishioners too. It's also important that the parish knows what the youth group are doing. Isolated groups create suspicion.

All other thoughts welcome...

[image hotlinked from Flickr user Wootang01]

I've just been reading an interesting piece about youth ministry networks i.e. support groups and opportunities to get together. The article describes Three Ways They Suck, and Three Ways They're Awesome, noting that while whining, peddling and comparing can torpedo them, they can be a great place for encouragement, equipping and collaboration.

I've got a lot of experience of youth ministry networks: I've done the Chaplains' conferences, both locally and nationally and when I worked in youth centres I helped to set up the national Assistant Directors' group and was even lucky enough to run the youth centres conference (always an annual highlight) in 2007. Networking is definitely something I believe in, but it's also something that can quickly degenerate into something less than productive.

Personally, I think that conferences and meetings need to be resource-based. Spiritual input is great and all, but we can get it from other places. What we can't do in other places though, is talk about needs and ideas. I always feel a bit cheated if I don't go away from a Chaplains day, for instance, with a load of ideas I can use right away.

I also think it's nice to catch up with people, but we need to make sure that get-togethers don't just become a cliquey little group hug. We need to be welcoming to new people and also to stay focused on equipping our work.

Okay... I'll stop sharing my thoughts there, and solicit yours. What groups work for you? What don't? What do you want to take away with you from a networking meeting?

[image mine, youth centres conference 2007]

Josh from MoreThanDodgeball.com shares some thoughts and tips on how to write a good talk for young people...

Every youth worker is going to be a little different when it comes to preparing a talk - but hopefully this week we can challenge you to try some methods that really work for us as we do our best to teach God's Word each week in our youth ministry. So please know this certainly isn't THE way to write a talk, but it is one way. When I (Kurt) was in college my homiletics professor forced us to master the art of writing the classic three point sermon. He said that when we were through with the class we could write sermons however we wanted, but his job was to make sure we knew at least ONE way. The key isn't to do it our way, but to find a process that helps you best prepare to communicate God's Word to students.

Know where the lesson or series is heading

What are we trying to say in this lesson or series of lessons? Where are we trying to move students with this talk? Before you start driving, know which road you are traveling down.

Whiteboard everything you can capture in a brainstorm meeting.

Almost all of our talks begin on the whiteboard using lots and lots of collaboration. Students are there, volunteers are there. There is no such thing as a bad idea (although we've been doing this long enough to know that isn't entirely true). Take a picture to make sure it is captured and not accidentally erased by the church janitor before morning.

Pray over and crank out the 1st draft

What started on the whiteboard now makes it into a Word document and becomes digital. Points, passages and illustrations start to take shape. Maybe you'll write the talk out word for word, more of a speaking transcript like I (Josh) like to do. Maybe bullet points like I (Kurt) prefer. Just make sure you're making progress on the message God wants you to share with your students.

Another day, another draft

This collection of thoughts and ideas needs to be honed into a discernible message - so you refine it into the 2nd draft. This is really the beginning of the shaping process. Ideally you're fairly happy with the talk by this point - some weeks you'll be ahead of the game, other weeks you maybe won't have even started it yet. Either way, press on.

Stop, collaborate and listen

At this point, send your message out to a few close friends to review - don't create your messages in a vacuum. Let a few creative/discerning friends talk through it with you for clarity, perspective and editing.

Use the feedback and you're ready to go

Done. Deliver the talk and ask a few friends for specific feedback on the delivery and clarity of the message. Over time, you'll become great at both the preparation and delivery of messages in your youth ministry!

[image hotlinked from Flickr user justinplambert]

Today we have a guest post from the St. Francis Mission, which serves the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. They have a youth programme there in conjunction with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I have always really admired JVC, and they seem to be providing young adults with some amazing opportunities in this project. You can find out more by visiting their website, and they're also on Facebook too. Here's the guest post...

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Odd hours. New challenges. Roommates. No, I'm not still in school, but I am learning each and everyday. How can I not? I work in a foreign land right in the middle of the country where I've grown up. Each day is a new experience. Each day, my eyes open a little more. Each day, I realize more and more who I am.

I am a second year Jesuit Volunteer (JV). I work on the Rosebud Reservation in south-central South Dakota at the St. Francis Mission, a Jesuit Mission that was founded in the late 1880s. This is a place where...

Yes, a teacher in the US has been suspended for writing 'STUPID' in permanent marker on a student's forehead!

I just read this via the Youth Culture Report (that's where we've hotlinked this image from, but here's the full article) and couldn't quite believe it. 

It's easy to laugh at this - I mean at the situation, not the student - and it will probably be a story that's told with a smile in years to come, but actually, it's appalling. The teacher deserves everything that's coming to him. Not just because it's quite obviously something you're going to get into trouble for, and not just because it's assault, but for the simple reason that those of us who work with young people are in the business of building them up and affirming them. Not knocking them down. There are times when we have to tell them off, sanction them, or even send them packing, but we always do those things with charity; we always do them when every lesser option has been exhausted, and we always do them for the good of the young people themselves and their peers.

As an old boss of mine once said, if we don't basically like young people, we're in the wrong game.