Sometimes the smartest thing a person can do is simply be a conduit to other smart people, to other inspirational things, to other insights that give food for thought.  That's the case here.  Check out "The Teacher: 3 Parables" on Building Faith, an online Christian ed community.  Which kind of teacher helped to you really know God?  We probably all know people like the first teacher, and maybe sometimes our creativity for "active learning strategies" leads us into temptation to be a bit like the second.  What does ministry in our church look like if we are like the third teacher?

Have you been busy being a saints? From Dec. 9-12, Jennifer Belock and I attended our national youth ministry conference (NCCYM) in New Orleans, LA, where we celebrated the theme “March with the Saints!” Obviously it was a very appropriate theme for the location, but it was also a tremendously powerful theme in terms of our faith. We were reminded throughout the weekend of the power of the communion of saints – those who have gone before us in our faith tradition, those who have gone before us as saints and faith mentors in our own personal lives, those who march with us side by side today as living witnesses, and those young people who we are preparing to be saints, marching into the future.

Looking for a program to help revitalize (or kick start) your youth ministry program? May I humbly suggest that you "Venture" in a new direction . . .

Who says Boy Scouting is just for boys? Or that it's not for older teens? If your parish youth ministry program is looking for some new life, new energy, or a new structure, consider Venturing! Venturing is a program for young men and women 14-20 years old (or 13 years old and completed 8th grade) to provide positive experiences through youth-led activities that help them pursue their special interests, grow by teaching others, and develop leadership skills. Remember, scouting IS youth ministry, and Venturing is a program that fits well within the framework for Catholic youth ministry described in Renewing the Vision.

The holiday season is most definitely here. With Thanksgiving immediately ahead and Christmas not far behind, it’s an opportune time to ask: What is your parish doing to welcome young adults?

Holidays are one of the natural connecting moments between the church and young adults. Think about it . . . Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when:

• many college students return home for a visit
• out-of-town young adult children come home to visit parents
• many young adults visit with their boyfriends’ or girlfriends’ family and friends

The holidays are a time to put forth your parish's best efforts to welcome and invite young adults to your parish. Consider a special emphasis on the virtue of welcome this Advent & Christmas season.

Excerpt from remarks shared at the 38th annual Bishop McNulty Award Dinner Dance (11/19/10):

Once there was a king was traveling with his child and his whole entourage through the wilderness. Suddenly the procession came to a halt because the king’s son was crying for water. So the king ordered his royal engineering corps to dig a well right there, on the spot at which they had stopped. Soon the royal engineers were boring a hole through the desert sand and rock. Toward evening they reached a vein of water, and the prince’s thirst was quenched.

After he had drunk his fill, the prince asked his father, “Why did you trouble your men to dig a hole in the desert? After all, you could have obtained water much more quickly and easily by sending men by horseback to the nearest settlement.”

November is Black Catholic History month. During this month we knowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of our black brothers and sisters in the faith. Throughout history people of color have served the church and lived their faith in many important ways. From the African who helped carry the cross of Jesus to present day role models such as Sr. Thea Bowman and Fr. Augustin Tolton, black people have witnessed to the good news of God's love and challenged us to love one another. People of all races, all ethnic or cultural groups, and all ages can learn from the incredible faith witness of our black brothers and sisters.

Yesterday and today have been awfully frosty here in the northtowns of our diocese. Perhaps the Southern Tier has already had it's share of frosts and snowy hilltops, but now that deep chill is slowly spreading across all eight counties of our diocese...

Unlike "Christmas" which seems to have BURST onto the scene in the past week! I was struck all weekend by the number of stores that have gone into full blown Christmas-mode already. It won't be long till the radio stations are playing Christmas music 24/7.

Personally, I'm not in favor of the "way-too-early full court press" approach to Christmas. (I prefer the slower paced Advent waiting time . . . but more about that in a future blog!) I have, however, discovered one happy thing about the early focus on Christmas...

It encourages us to think about WinterCamp! Boys and girls ages 7 - 16 are invited to sign up for WinterCamp 2010 at Camp Turner!
 

At yesterday's Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth in-service, Dr. Sean Reynolds discussed the difference between technical change and adaptive change. Technical changes are quick fixes, limited in scope. Adaptive changes are paradigm-shifting, long term movements of re-thinking the whole enterprise. An example may help: If the "problem" we face is parents who are less engaged in our parish and faith formation than we'd like them to be, then technical changes may be re-formulating the Parent Meetings for sacramental preparation (to make them more dynamic), creating a parent section on the parish web site, or sending more resources home to parents. On the other hand, adaptive change asks questions like: How can we structure parish life so that everything we do is aimed at helping parishioners anchor faith in their home? Can we transition from a system of sacramental preparation that allows people to "receive sacraments" to a parish life that invites people - especially families - to live sacramentally?

Larger questions? Yes. Harder to do? Yes. The only true option to consider if we want our church to survive and thrive in the future? Yes. (At least I think so!)