October 2, 2008 Meeting

Sign In, Social Networking, Morning Hospitality

Introductions

Prayer

Beatitudes
Led by Paula Minell

YMN Business

  • Youth Mission Project (Shawn Phillips): Mission to Red Lake w/ Youthworks & Center for Mission
    • Red Lake Reservation is a closed reservation
    • Youthworks trip with Catholic focus and perspective
    • Service projects are more relational based
    • Barry Shay and Hannah Waterfield shared their experience of the Youth Mission Project
    • You can go to Youthworks site and pick the July 26-31, call them and say you want to signed up. Also call Mike Haasl
    • Can also contact Shawn and Mike with support (fundraising/CM)
  • Bill Casey:
    • WYD 2008 Update
      • 232 from Archdiocese
      • Way of the Cross was very touching and wonderful
      • Prayer and worship was great
      • Great to have Pope
    • WYD 2011 Madrid
    • Yearly WYD, Sunday Oct 26th
      • How to show case our youth and affirm them?
      • Recognize and highlight parish youth
      • NFCYM Resource Manual, has resources
    • Workshop with Tom East
      • Open to comments
    • NCCYM
      • Who is going?
      • Regional VIII gathering Thursday night before conference
    • NCYC 2009 (November—week before Thanksgiving)
      • Expecting 20,000
      • 9th-12th grade and adults; young adults (18-20) can be assistants
      • Kansas City, MO
      • Site visit—went well, improvements from last time; sessions will be divided between two locals
      • Food: not a package deal
      • Which parishes are going and how many?
      • Bill will email a flyer and ask for educationed estimates of numbers
      • Cost: $525-$600
      • Bussing
    • What is new—fall planning
      • Archbishop visiting parishes and deaneries
      • What is happening in the parishes?
    • Fall Liability Workshop: TBA (early November)
    • Parish service teams: what have they learned
      • Each parish is a little different
      • See weaknesses and have been able to connect with people to help improve
      • Some small outlying parishes feel disconnected with archdiocese—working to connect them
      • Not there to fix problems—not reporting back to archdiocese/archbishop (reporting problems)—there to see how things are going, what are the needs of the community, how to connect the parishes and share resources
      • Issue brought up that hard to get ahold of people at the Archdiocesan offices—if someone is not returning phone calls contact Bill or Rico

Announcements

  • YMN Social: October 28th @St. Hubert’s in Chanhassen
    • Youth Ministers Have a Month
  • Parking:
    • Please park at Cathedral or history center
  • Recharge: January 10, 2009
    • Ecumenical Conference for teams????
    • Brochures coming out soon
    • $35/person; teams cheaper
    • Contact Amy with Questions
  • Wildfire
    • Praise and worship/food/socializing
    • Ecumenical
    • Most Holy Trinity in SLP
    • Nov 7th in evening
    • Contact Erin Mohler
  • NACYML
    • National youth ministry network
    • Looking at profession and practice of youth ministry
    • Check out website: www.nacyml.org
    • Membership meeting day before NCCYM conference
  • TEC
    • October 3rd is deadline for October retreats
  • Ministry Day
    • October 23rd at Pax Christi
    • Asking all ministries to have an exhibit

Bob Bartlett:

  • Teens in Crisis
    • Issues brought up by YMN members: drugs, loss, disease, gang involvement, bisexuality, teen pregnancy, economics/busyness, pornography, suicide, lack of opportunities for education/afterschool activities, intense issues with parents, divorce
    • Prayer is powerful and important
    • Need staff and resources in community that you can call
    • Keep objectivity
    • Listening is crucial
    • Assess the situation
  • Who are they connected with (friends, family, etc)
    • Ministry of Presence is HUGE
    • Don’t get backed into a corner
  • “Don’t tell anyone!!”
  • Don’t promise anything, or promise that you will do everything to help them
    • Options
      • Kids don’t feel they have options—help them see all their options, problem solve with them
      • Who can you (the minister) rely on?
      • Don’t worry about legality, worry about ethics and morality
    • Suicide
      • What are the signs are immediate
        • Have a plan
        • How they are going to do it
        • Withdrawn
        • Happy right before
        • If they are using, increases instances
      • Ask them
        • Make a contract-verbal or written
      • Report
        • To closest people, together
          • Ask them who they are closest to
      • Kids who under-react
        • Hard to read
        • Don’t see signs
      • What to do with a teen who is using it as a threat with parents?
        • Advise parents to not play with it—if she threatens bring her to hospital
      • What is the parents think it’s manipulation, but it’s not?
        • You act, you get them the help
      • Resources: talk to Virtus coordinator who has the list of resources
  • Drugs
    • What if you feel that you’re the problem (kid feels too guilty tell you/see you)?
      • Go with gut
      • Subtle things to do:
        • Make sure you are accessable
          • Include general prayers for those struggle
    • Counseling has bad rap, so good to find counselors you trust and you know are good with teens.
    • Don’t overreact
    • Don’t fight a kids about drugs
    • Snoop if that’s what it takes
    • Drugs (meth, etc) effects their brains in a way that it effects reason; become irrational all the time
    • What to do when resources are limited?
      • Involve teachers, and teens who can help
      • Get creative and maybe more political
      • Ramsey County is a good resource
  • Media
    • 1:5 witness violence in person
    • Kids are saavy—you can tap into that; discussions;
    • David Walsh good resource
    • Help them critique media
      • Consumerism
    • SMP: Media Mindfulness
  • Gangs
    • Serve a good purpose-social network
    • Youth Groups are gangs for God
    • Gangs will give you everything you want, but they demand a price
    • What are willing to do? What are you going to do? Think about that, is there somewhere else you can go?
    • Have ex-gang members come speak with teens
    • Gangs still degrading to women
    • Start early to intercede— gangs are recruiting in middle school
    • Everyone is unique—learn each of their world’s
    • Need a place that is safe, people to talk to
    • Tracy Chapman song: Bang, Bang, Bang is good song on racism/gang

Submitted by Maria Amundsen