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Youth Ministry
Newsletter
Dear Youth Ministers,
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Junior High Youth Day- Thank
You!!!
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On Saturday, Jan. 28, over 700 (yes 700!) 12 and
13 year old teens filled the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston for our
first Junior High Youth Day. Many thanks go out to all the volunteers who joined
us as well as all the parents, teachers, youth ministers and chaperones who
participated and helped us spread the "Joy of Christ" to our young people in the
diocese. Formal evaluations will soon go out to all group leaders who attended,
but please feel free to share your observations of the day with me at any time.
********************
High School Youth Day
********************
The Junior High Youth Day filled to
capacity almost a month prior to the day and unfortunately, many were turned
away. Please don't let that be YOU for Senior High Youth Day on April 29.
Promotional posters and registration forms were already distributed- let me know
if you have not received one! Please note that the cost will be fixed at $15 -
(no increase after April 1 as stated on the poster.)
If you do not have registration information,
the Web site is being updated and will shortly have links to the
registration cover sheet and consent form at
http://www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org/catholic_ed/religious_ed/youth/events.html . You may also call Mayra for information at
(718) 281-9586.
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Catechetical Retreat
********************
A day-long Lenten retreat for all catechists
(remember, Youth Ministers ARE catechists!) will be held on Saturday, March
11, 2006. Running from 9 a.m. until 3:15p.m. Our guest speaker will be Father
Bob Lauder. Please call Richard Pipchinski in the Office of Religious Education
for more information at (718) 281-9582.
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Catholic to the Core
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The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry has recently
unveiled the annual Youth Ministry Resource Manual, Catholic to the Core, that provides
catechetical sessions, prayer experiences, service activities,
and other tools to help young people learn about Catholic identity. This
learning culminates in the national celebration of World Youth Day on the 30
Sunday of Ordinary Time. The book features a special liturgical planning guide
for pastors, youth ministers, and liturgical ministers. The book can be ordered
here: http://www.nfcym.org/resources/ymrm/index.htm
or you may call the NFCYM to order the manual (202)636-3825.
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Call for Teen Writers
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Saint Mary's Press is developing a book for
young people ages 10-13 aimed at helping them with the transition from childhood
to adolescence. They areseeking submissions from ninth through
twelfth graders that offer encouragement, insight, and practical advice about
becoming a teenager. The general themeof the book is summed up in the phrase,
"What I wish I had known about becoming a teenager." They welcome a variety of
types of writing, including personal reflections, essays, stories, and prayers,
that address a wide range of topics, including relationships, school, faith
life, cultural issues, sexuality, family matters, work, money matters, using
technology, self-image, identity, and dealing with crises. Check out
http://www.smp.org/studentwriters.cfm for more information,including a list of questions to jump-start
ideas.
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Youth Trends &
Research
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The following info comes from the Center
for Parent & Youth Understanding (CPYU). You can sign up to receive this
free bimonthly e-mail newsletter by going to
www.cpyu.org
Body Image Survey - The February 2006 edition of
ElleGirl, pp. 78-83, features the results of a survey of 10,000+ respondents
about body image. Overall, 88% compare their bodies to other girls (66% to
models/celebrities); 77% have tried to lose weight; 55% feel pressure from the
media to diet; 69% wish they were thinner; 44% know someone with an eating
disorder.
Internet Time Gallup reports that 51% of Americans use the Internet daily (18% up to an
hour and 33% more than an hour) from a December 2005 survey of 1,013
adults.
This "Internet Slang" page from the
Wikipedia free online encyclopedia is an exhaustive and growing catalog of
keystroke saving "lingo" children and teens have developed and utilize. This is
a great site for parents who want to know how to monitor and decipher what kids
are talking about online. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang
Pop Culture quotes:
"Just weed. I started smoking a year ago on
a whim. I took a puff and it brought on an hour’s worth of this unbelievable
sensation. All my inhibitions and fears were gone, and I was able to really tune
into stuff. So every couple of weeks I’ll do that."
-
Limpbizkit frontman Fred Durst answering what a drug test would find, Blender,
Jan/Feb 2006, p. 116.
"I never wanted to write a song that would
offend anyone or encourage anyone to use drugs or harm themselves in any way. In
my mind, love and drugs are the same thing-we’re all numbing ourselves or
stimulating ourselves with intense relationships or TV or movies or music and we
use these like drugs."
- Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo,
Blender, Jan/Feb 2006, p. 42.
"Smokin’ kills and so do my lyrics."
- - Rapper Lady Sovereign, Spin, January 2006, p.
29.
"The mainstreaming of stripper culture is
cool." - Candy Girl (memoir of a stripper) author Diablo
Cody, Entertainment Weekly, December 23, 2005, p. 84.
===========
"You are our hope. The young are our hope.
Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on
it!
- Pope John Paul II, Papal Mass, Toronto, July
2002
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