Our vision: "Every ELCA congregation in the Southwestern Conference will collaborate together to benefit our youth, sharing knowledge and resources, using best practices."
"The next generation of committed Christians are being raised by families who are intentional about their faith and religious practice. They realize that family faith practice is a compass by which they can navigate the troubling waters of contemporary culture and the swift current of their busy lives" -- Leif Kehrwald.
Vibrant Faith has a brand-new, free resource available to help families foster faith practices and formation in the home. Vibrant Faith @ Home is chock-full of easy-to-use tools, tips, family activities, blogs, forums, and advice for families. A definite must-see for parents in your congregation!
The Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry is going to be here, there, and everywhere this April--so keep this schedule handy! All SLYM events, with the exception of the Conference Planning Team, are open to grades 5 - 12.
Collect $1 Votes Now through Easter Sunday
Collect $1 votes from your friends, family, and congregation to decide which pastor is going to walk the plank at the upcoming Conference Youth event! The pastors to choose from are: Pastor Adam (Bethel), Pastor Allie (Tree of Life Parish), Pastor Dan (First), Pastor Jordan (St. Tim's), & Pastor Tim (Gloria Dei/Bethlehem). It costs $2,500 to build a clean well in Africa--each vote moves us closer to that goal!
CALY Team Lunch Sunday, April 1 12:30 pm First Lutheran Church
As the CALY team prepares for New Orleans, we'll break bread and discuss how Jesus makes all people free and calls us to be disciples.
Maundy Thursday Worship Thursday, April 5
Youth will join with the rest of the church family this week as we meditate on the Last Supper. Two locations to choose from: Bethel at 6:30 pm and First Lutheran at 7pm.
Conference Youth Ministries Planning Team Saturday, April 7 9 am - 11 am First Lutheran Church
This team is open to all interested youth in grades 9 - 12 and caring adults. Come share your skills and have input into youth ministry throughout the conference!
Groovy Movie & Party Thursday, April 12 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Bethel Lutheran
Bring a snack to share and come dressed in your grooviest clothes as the youth group travels back in time to the 1960s! We'll have games, contests, and a vintage movie from the era.
Pastor on the Plank Sunday, April 15 3 pm - 6 pm JCC Fitness Complex
Come enjoy a pool party and a time of contemporary worship! Admission is $5 and benefits the ELCA's 100 Wells Project to provide clean water throughout Africa. (Note: Must be 13 years or older to use stream room. Must take swimming test before using deep pool or diving board.)
Camp Preview Night Thursday, April 19 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center
Come enjoy Kan-Jam, GaGa Ball, and other outdoor fun as we hang out at LCLC. We'll finish the night with a marshmallow roast and some campfire songs. Parents are welcome to come, too. If it rains, we'll just move the fun indoors. Please bring along some non-perishable food items to donate to Joint Neighborhood Project and help them meet the One Million Dollar Feinstein Challenge!
Note: There will not be SLYM on Thursday, April 26 as Ian & Tara will be participating in the 2012 Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry.
The Hunger Games, based on the bestselling young adult novel, is released to movie theaters today.
The blogger "DJL" describes the book's themes and offers some good discussion questions for your kids, Sunday School class, or youth group. Find it here.
There is a nice meditation on hospitality in this month's issue of The Lutheran. Have you seen it yet?
Peter W. Marty writes, "More than pleasantness, more than friendliness, biblical hospitality elevates the needs and hopes of the guest (or stranger) over the preferences and comforts of the host. Breathing space is created for guests to flourish. They are set free from having to conform to the image of the host. They have room to be themselves." How might this relate to youth ministry and the way churches relate to young people?
The whole article is worth a look. Find it here: Host and Guest.
One of these Lutheran pastors is going to WALK THE PLANK!
Will it be Pastor TIM HOYER of Gloria Dei & Bethlehem?
Or Pastor JORDAN MILLER STUBBENDICK of St. Tim's?
Maybe Pastor DAN NAGLE of First?
How about Pastor ALLIE LEITZEL of Tree of Life Parish?
Perhaps Pastor ADAM MILLER STUBBENDICK of Bethel?
YOU get a say in who takes the plunge!
Through Easter Sunday, young people in the Southwestern Conference are collecting $1 Votes for the pastor you want to walk the plank at their next youth event.
Why are they doing this? To raise funds towards the 100 Wells Challenge, an initiative of ELCA World Hunger to build clean water wells in Africa. It takes $2,500 to build one well, so the pastors are offering a fun incentive to encourage everyone to make a donation to this fine cause. The top vote getter will walk the plank into the swimming pool at the next epic event for young people organized by the Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team! Details below.
PASTOR ON THE PLANK Sunday, April 15 3 pm - 6 pm Jamestown Community College Phys. Ed. Complex
Bring your swimming suit and towel to a pool party with Lutheran youth from throughout our conference! Enjoy two hours of open swim in JCC's two massive swimming pools. Or just relax with friends in the whirlpool or sauna.
Then get inspired during a time of contemporary worship when many young people from throughout the conference will share their talents and gifts. Our guest speaker, Sally Baer, is a missionary and humanitarian worker in Ethiopia.
Admission is just $5. All proceeds benefit the 100 Wells Challenge.
All youth in grades 5-12 are invited to participate.
We resume our exploration of the 40 Developmental Assets, described by the Search Institute as "building blocks of healthy development…that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible." Researchers have found a link between abundant developmental assets and positive lifestyles characterized by thriving characteristics and resistance to negative behaviors. So it is everyone's best interest that every young person experience as many assets as possible. Last week I described the kinds of environments that help young people thrive. This week we'll look at Internal Assets, good old-fashioned virtues and characteristics that help young people make good choices. Here they are:
Category: Commitment to Learning
21. Achievement Motivation—Young person is motivated to do well in school.
22. School Engagement—Young person is actively engaged in learning.
23. Homework—Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.
24. Bonding to school—Young person cares about her or his school.
25. Reading for Pleasure—Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.
Category: Positive Values
26. Caring—Young person places high value on helping other people.
27. Equality and social justice—Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
28. Integrity—Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs.
29. Honesty—Young person “tells the truth even when it is not easy.”
30. Responsibility—Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.
31. Restraint—Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.
Category: Social Competencies
32. Planning and decision making—Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
33. Interpersonal Competence—Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.
34. Cultural Competence—Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.
35. Resistance skills—Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
36. Peaceful conflict resolution—Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.
Category: Positive Identity
37. Personal power—Young person feels he or she has control over “things that happen to me.”
38. Self-esteem—Young person reports having a high self-esteem.
39. Sense of purpose—Young person reports that “my life has a purpose.”
40. Positive view of personal future—Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.
The Internal Assets are a little trickier to promote than the External Assets, because we obviously don't have control over a young person’s buy-in to these ideas. If we cannot light the fire for young people, there are still certainly some things we can do to "fan the flames" about these good character qualities:
Lead by Example. Sometimes we want young people to have better character than we demonstrate. Showing them your own consistent good example is better teaching than dozens of lectures.
Critically engage culture. When you're watching television with your child, ask them about the behaviors and attitudes you see portrayed on television, such as: "How do you think people in real life would treat someone who behaved that way to their family?" or "How would you go about solving this problem if you were in a similar situation?"
Call out the good. When you observe young people expressing positive assets, mention it. Be specific, as in: "Tony, that was very caring of you to help that elderly lady with her shopping cart" or "Emily, I was so proud that you had the courage and character to stand up for that classmate when others were making fun of her." It is too easy for adults to criticize what we don't like, and it rarely helps in changing behavior. So let’s resolve to break that bad habit. As Dale Carnegie advised, "Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to." Still good advice today.
The 40 Developmental Assets are easy to understand and a practical help for families, educators, clergy, coaches, and caring members of the community. It is well worth your time to learn more about them. Check out the Search Institute's website.
Ian Eastman, M.A. is the Conference Youth Coordinator for the Southwestern New York Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Coordinator of the Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry in Jamestown NY, and a Youth Minister in the Pastoral Care Department at Gustavus Adolphus Family Services. He is a student at the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.
The contemporary Christian band Willet will be in concert on Friday, March 30 at 7 pm at the Otterbein United Methodist Church in Pittsfield, PA. Tickets are just $5.
After being raised in a Christian home with years of music lessons from their father, 3 brothers from Maryland (Jeremy, Justin & Jordan) started a rock band in 2006, touring simply under their last name, Willet. Since that time, the band has been touring full time (performing over 150 shows per year), recorded and released 6 studio albums, sold over 20,000 records, won independent music awards, and landed several independent #1 radio singles.
Although many considered the band “successful” in the music industry, these achievements took second place to the main focus of the group. Through Willet tours, over 2,500 'Food for the Hungry' children living in extreme poverty have been sponsored & the band has led several trips to Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda & Haiti to visit the children. In addition, Jeremy and his wife, Kathleen, lived in Haiti for a year (2009-2010) where Kathleen served as a community development facilitator during the January 2010 earthquake.
In 2011, the band added Tyler Klusmann from South Dakota as a studio & touring drummer. The band's latest release is 'LOVE ON THE OUTSIDE E.P.' (2012) produced by Grammy Nominated, Aaron Gillespie (Underoath, The Almost).
There is an important food drive happening through April 30, 2012 at Joint Neighborhood Project (JNP). It has been selected as part of the Feinstein Foundation’s $1 Million Dollar Giveaway to Fight Hunger. Any donation of cash, checks or food will be counted towards the giveaway. The more donations JNP receives, the more of the Feinstein grant it will receive! JNP does so much for this community--please help them during this food challenge!
For more information, contact: Joint Neighborhood Project, 532 East Second St., Jamestown NY 14701. Phone (716) 664-7101.
How does your church focus on what matters most? Jim LaDoux of Vibrant Faith Ministries shares some intriguing thoughts in his blog post Sticky Messages.
There's an old joke that goes something like "There was once a man who had no children and five theories about raising children. A few years later he had five children and no theories." Like all good jokes, there is a nugget of truth in there, one that definitely resonates with parents. Sometimes we don't know what to do. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by all the risks out there youth face every day.
My boss, Gary Lester, didn't coin this phrase, but he says it enough that he might as well have: "You don't become successful focusing on what went wrong. You become successful by learning what works." I think Gary has it right. A lot of what we see on television or read in magazines regarding young people tends to focus on the more lurid issues and risks. Let's face it, that kind of stuff gets TV ratings and sells magazines. But it isn't particularly helpful to most parents. I wanted to let you know about a framework available to parents that shows you what works.
The 40 Development Assets, identified by a research organization called Search Institute, are "building blocks of healthy development…that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible." It is not another list of dangers and risks, but a compilation of positive experiences and qualities we can foster in our young people—what works!
Does that mean that risky behavior doesn’t matter? Of course not. The neat thing is that research indicates that the asset approach has some bearing on protective factors. From Search Institute: "Studies of more than 2.2 million young people in the United States consistently show that the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors and the more likely they are to thrive. Assets have power for all young people, regardless of their gender, economic status, family, or race/ethnicity. Furthermore, levels of assets are better predictors of high-risk involvement and thriving than poverty or being from a single-parent family."
This week I'd like to explore the first half of the list, called External Assets. These are the environments that we can cultivate in our homes and around the community that promote success and healthy behaviors in our young people.
Category: "Support"
1. Family support—Family life provides high levels of love and support.
2. Positive family communication—Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parents.
3. Other adult relationships—Young person receives support from three or more nonparent adults.
4. Caring neighborhood—Young person experiences caring neighbors.
5. Caring school climate—School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
6. Parent involvement in schooling—Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.
Category: "Empowerment"
7. Community values youth—Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
8. Youth as resources—Young people are given useful roles in the community.
9. Service to others—Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
10. Safety—Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.
Category: "Boundaries & Expectations"
11. Family boundaries—Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young person’s whereabouts.
12. School Boundaries—School provides clear rules and consequences.
13. Neighborhood boundaries—Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people’s behavior.
14. Adult role models—Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.
15. Positive peer influence—Young person’s best friends model responsible behavior.
16. High expectations—Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.
Category: "Constructive Use of Time"
17. Creative activities—Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.
18. Youth programs—Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in the community.
19. Religious community—Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.
20. Time at home—Young person is out with friends “with nothing special to do” two or fewer nights per week.
Quite a list, isn’t it? How many assets do you think your child is experiencing? (A great conversation would be to show this column to your child and have them answer that question, too.) Are there assets that your young person is missing? Pick one to work on as a goal.
Also—something for parents and non-parents alike to consider: Imagine a community where all young people are experiencing all of the assets listed. It would be a pretty nice place to live, wouldn’t it? Now think about the different places in our community where you have influence—you know, where you work, volunteer, and serve. Can you promote a particular asset in those parts of the community? Helping ALL youth develop healthy, caring, and responsible behaviors benefits everyone!
Next week we'll look at how we can foster good values and responsible characteristics in young people. If you are interested in learning more about the 40 Developmental Assets in the meantime, check out the Search Institute's website.
Ian Eastman, M.A. is the Conference Youth Coordinator for the Southwestern New York Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Coordinator of the Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry in Jamestown NY, and a Youth Minister in the Pastoral Care Department at Gustavus Adolphus Family Services. He is a student at the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Eating disorders, especially among adolescent girls, are more common than many people realize. Youth Worker Magazine recently ran an informative piece by Kimberly Davidson about eating disorders that will inform you of the warning signs, the different causes, and its risk and prevalence. Keep informed by checking out the this link: Deadly Eating Disorders: What Youth Workers Need To Know
The Toilet Bowl, a Conference Youth event held at the Gateway Center, was held 2/27/12. We had youth and chaperones from 7 churches around the conference: Bethel (Jamestown), First, Gloria Dei, Holy Trinity, Immanuel, St. Timothy, Tri-Church. 67 in worship. We collected 155 paper products for First Things First/We Believe Recovery Ministry.
Feedback from youth, adults, and the team were good, so the event is definitely a "keeper." The team felt like we would get an even bigger response from youth if we did it again, as they would invite their friends.
Worship was conducted by youth from Bethel, First, and Gloria Dei. We will continue to invite youth to share their gifts in future events.
We had many friendly adult helpers.
Judd Hamilton was a great speaker and the youth were very interested in his testimony.
The Gateway Center is a wonderful facility and the staff was very accommodating.
There was a good balance between fun, service, and faith formation.
Doing an event after church was very convenient for transportation and inviting youth.
What we could improve...
Jen expressed that the event was so close to the Souper Bowl of Caring that some people confused it with the Toilet Bowl and didn't contribute paper products. She suggested doing it earlier or later than the other event. We have some flexibility with our schedule, but want to stay away from the many annual meetings at congregations.
We had some feedback/speculation that some families didn't bring youth to the event as they were already committed to combined confirmation later in the evening.
NOTE: A full set of photos from the event can be found at this link.
ENGAGING YOUTH
We will organize 3 events annually that balance fun, service (justice/peacemaking), and faith formation (discipleship).
Spring 2012: Pool Party
We want to keep the momentum of the team going by doing an event in the spring. The team determined that earliest and best date that will avoid other activities is Sunday, April 15.
Fun aspect - pool party with a pirate theme or a "Survivor" theme (Ann's suggestion). Ian has left messages with JCC & the YMCA regarding facility rental. Sue suggested that we also try the Boys & Girls Club.
Service aspect - We can raise money for the "100 Wells Challenge". The ELCA is doing an offering for this at the Youth Gathering this summer. The CALY team can deliver this gift this summer. There are already fundraising efforts going on, and we don't want to compete with projects already happening. Ian had an idea for a way to raise funds without diverting a lot of funds: Pastor on the Plank. People could vote on a pastor to walk the plank (diving board) at the pool party. (A vote would cost $1.) Ian will check with Pastor Rumfelt, the conference dean, to gauge the support for this. [UPDATE: Whoops! Pastor Rumfelt is the incoming dean. Pastor Leitzel is still the current dean.]
Discipleship aspect - Many themes involve water. No speaker was identified, though.
There is a lot that needs to happen quickly to make an April event happen. The team will keep in contact via email.
An alternative idea (if the pool doesn't work out) is to do a ropes course with the Survivor theme.
Autumn 2012: Youth Encounter
We want to host Captive Free, a Christian band from Youth Encounter, to come to the Conference in late October or early November 2012. Bethel and Saint Timothy have both hosted the team in the past.
We would have to house/feed the team. The team gets a freewill offering (we'd hope to raise approx. $375) and accepts personal care items.
We have a few options for the event... Do we want to do it as a stand-alone event, or make it part of an overnighter? Captive Free could work an event up to midnight.
The travel schedules aren't available yet. June/July is a good time to check back and get a good date.
We have to identify a service/justice/peacemaking part of this event.
Winter 2013: The Toilet Bowl
Spring 2013: Pool Party (if youth determine it's a "keeper")
Summer 2013: Mission on the Mon
Looking at a 6 day mission trip experience organized by the SWPA Synod in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Ian spoke with the pastor who organizes the event. Youth would be involved in various service projects in the community, bookended with worship and reflection, and sightseeing and recreation in the evening. A few things intriguing about the Mission on the Mon.
It's Lutheran.
It is in the same regions as Southwestern New York (Appalachia and the Rust Belt). We are serving and learning at "home."
Easy transport (a 3 hour drive).
Relatively inexpensive: $125, includes food and lodging. (Youth would need extra money for souvenirs and personal care items.)
Adults from the SW Conference can be incorporated into the staff. Youth going into 9th grade through seniors who just graduated can participate.)
The team will approach the CALY team about keeping the cooperative fundraising efforts alive to raise funds for the Mission on the Mon in the 2012/2013 school year. Sue asked about the possibility of raising funds for youth work in general around the conference.
ENGAGING OURSELVES...
We can apply for a grant through the Connections Project at Princeton Theological Seminary for youth worker support in the conference.
We could purchase a book to read together as a team for several months.
We could also cover registration for the Youth Workers retreat held annually at LCLC (last Friday/Saturday in October).
We need 7 - 10 people to be eligible for the grant. Email Ian ASAP if you want to participate.
Ian will write the learning plan & grant.
Judy suggested meeting after the monthly conference youth meeting.
Ian has noticed a connection between the Conference Youth Team meetings and attendance at events. So it is in everyone's best interest that we make connections at each church in the conference that go deeper than the pastor and secretary... We need that youth leader, or Christian Ed. Chair, or Sunday School teacher who will engage youth and parents. We have made much progress since last September, but still need to make connections at the following churches:
Bethel (Portville)
Bethany (Olean)
Bethlehem (Falconer) - Ian has a potential contact he will follow up
Grace (Dunkirk)
St. Mark's (Mayville) - Brenda Sampson is checking in on this one
Zion (Frewsburg) - Lois Rumfelt is checking on this
Zion (Silver Creek)
Ask around when you meet people from other Lutheran churches and share the good things happening with youth people around the SW Conference. We want ALL youth and congregations to benefit from this work.
ENGAGING PARENTS...
We learned about the Vibrant Faith framework. This ministry has many good resources to help families foster faith formation. The framework is great to share and discuss with parents, Sunday School teachers, Christian Ed. Committees, etc.
The Southwest Conference Youth Ministry Team consults and trains congregations in creating an environment conducive to the development of Mature Christian Youth. Full Circle Triple A Training is about surrounding youth with faithful adults who are available, authentic and affirming. The beauty of this training is that it is not another program. It results in people empowered with the skills and intention to help nurture the faith of a young person.
Can be offered as 4 Sunday School sessions
Can be offered as a 1 day seminar (2 sessions, lunch, then 2 sessions)
Combined Confirmation could work (do the class for parents while youth are in confirmation)
Maybe churches could organize a Sunday School training day with Triple A training and breakout sessions specific to their churches?
UPCOMING MEETINGS...
The first Saturday of every month has worked well for the team, so we will continue to meet then.
4/7/12
5/5/12
6/2/12
Meetings are at 9 am at First Lutheran Church, 120 Chandler St., Jamestown.
(Note: The Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team is open to young people in grades 9 - 12, plus interested adults. Please circulate these minutes to youth, Sunday School teachers, Christian Ed committees, etc.)
Two weeks ago I related four hazardous environments that work against the well-being of youth at-risk: destructive relationships, climates of futility, learned irresponsibility, and the loss of purpose. Last week I described four needs adolescents must meet to develop self-worth: belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity (which the authors call The Circle of Courage).
The authors conclude the book by getting down to the nuts and bolts of the "Reclaiming Environment." It's a mindset of "recover[ing] and redeem[ing]" youth, helping them live a good life, rather than fixating on faults. This environment has four characteristics:
Relating to the reluctant. Values are transmitted through relationships. Reclaiming youth at-risk requires adults who are willing to be with them for the long haul—even in discouraging times.
Brain-friendly learning. Experiences designed to help youth learn to think for themselves, employing "problem solving, creativity, and field research."
Discipline for responsibility. Similar to #2, this is about adults "focus[ing] their efforts on mapping out…structure and values" to help youth make their own good decisions.
Courage to care. Youth develop empathy and compassion through experiences that help others.
The whole book is great, but it is this last section that makes me want to put a copy of this in the hands of everyone who works or volunteers with young people. Many books about youth are heavy on theory but lacking in practical direction. Reclaiming Youth At Risk: Our Hope for the Future gives readers what they need to apply the info, while still remaining flexible to multiple situations. The authors, Larry Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg & Steve Van Bockern, are to be commended for their fine job of communicating a wealth of knowledge and wisdom so simply. Recommended!
Ian Eastman, M.A. is the Conference Youth Coordinator for the Southwestern New York Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Coordinator of the Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry in Jamestown NY, and a Youth Minister in the Pastoral Care Department at Gustavus Adolphus Family Services. He is a student at the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.
