Tickets are still available for Flame Congress, but the sooner you book, the better your seats will be. Have a look at the website for ticket details.

I was in a meeting about Flame last week and I can't begin to tell you how exciting it all is. The line up, the music, the atmosphere, the stalls, the venue, the look and feel of it all... it really is going to be a once in a generation event.

In years to come, people will be talking about Flame over and over again. It's the largest event of its kind ever held in the UK and it's drawing in groups from schools, youth groups, parishes and diocees from all over the country. Make sure you don't miss out.

Book now!!

Following on from what we briefly touched on in the roundup earlier on, the Herald has some more comprehensive information on the cards which are going to be distributed to Catholics in England & Wales. You can read Madeleine Teahan's report here, and you can see what at least one side of the card will look like from the hotlinked image above. And, yes, the image is ever so slightly out of focus - it's not your eyes! The other side will apparently have a quote from Blessed John Henry Newman.

I think this is a great idea, and I think we need to start thinking about how we can use these in our work with young people. Here are some rough ideas:

• Why not devote a little bit of each of your next six sessions to discussing the six points on the card?
• Why not give the cards out to the youth group (if this works in your parish) as part of a liturgy or a wider reflection/ session on what it means to be a Catholic in the world?
• Why not suggest that young people use the cards as part of their prayers at the end of each day? They can think about the six areas and ask themselves if they have been able to do those things.
• Similarly, why not suggest that they use it to focus themselves at the start of the day? When they pray each morning they can take the card out and ask God for the strength to do the things it mentions.

[image hotlinked from the Catholic Herald]

A report from cniversity admission service UCAS says that university applications have fallen since the rise in fees. No kidding!

Another report, from the US this time, indicates that teen binge drinking could be strongly linked to lifelong brain damage.

As part of a new evangelisation strategy, the Church in England & Wales is apparently proposing that Catholics carry a card to communicate the fact that they are baptised Catholics. I guess that the nominal purpose of this is that a priest can be called in an emergency, but I'm sure it could serve as a great reminder of faith.

YouthWorker.com has a great piece on Worship that Teaches.

And Popple have some great pictures of a Youth Pope John Paul II. Or, Pope Saint John Paul the Great, as I call him. Not strictly youth ministry related, but we know what a great youth worker he was!

[image hotlinked from Flickr user NS Newsflash]

I love this picture, and I love the quote too. Bound to get a discussion going on a cold Wednesday. Or at least get you thinking...

[image hotlinked from YouthMin.org]

A few different movie reviews to chuck at you here from a few different sources.

CathNews.com has a review of J. Edgar, the bio-pic about the founding director of the FBI. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in what is apparently an excellent movie.

Also from CathNews is a review of a lesser-known movie called Young Adult starring Charlize Theron as a troubled author.

Finally, Scott at the Catholic Youth Ministry blog has an interesting piece about the Artist, a movie tipped to take a lot of Oscars a few weeks from now.

YouthLeadersAcademy has a review of a book called Postmodern Youth Ministry. It's a pretty old book now, but if it's still being talked about ten years after being published, then maybe that tells you something...? Anyway, here's the Amazon link, and here's a slice of the review...

So what did I think of the book? First of all, I think Tony Jones was really ahead of many of us in seeing what needed to change in youth ministry. His analysis of modern culture and youth ministry's response is something many youth leaders could benefit from. The concept of youth ministry as a mission was a fresh insight for me and one that's useful in thinking about the bigger picture of youth ministry. I also agree with his holistic approach and his focus on community and discipleship.

I don't agree with everything he suggested, for instance the importance of discipleship is clear to me, but his approach is a bit too focused on the teaching part. 'Just' teaching important Biblical words and doctrines and linking to our Christian heritage (for instance by reinstating important rituals) isn't enough to make disciples I think. Here's where community comes in and I felt that aspect was undervalued.

Go, read the rest...