Prayer Journals: A Mom's Hope

"...instead of cards and presents for our new baby, I decided to create a journal for people to write in. Believing that prayers transcend time and space, I want it to be a record of the prayers prayed for her by our community of young and old for the next 18 years. I'll have several blank pages for each birthday where people can record their prayers for her as she grows."


This is a mom-to-be who is taking congregational support and prayer seriously. Read the full story here.

Too busy for Jesus?

"...Quite frankly, I don’t get the idea of wanting to abandon families on the battlefield of over scheduled, undervalued lives when our healing, saving, joy-giving Savior is right here to embrace broken lives and make them new..."


Dr. David Anderson of Vibrant Faith Ministries has some more interesting things to say in his blog post, Too Busy for Jesus.

New curriculum has local connection

Tara Eastman, Youth & Family Director at First Lutheran in Jamestown, is a contributing writer to an exciting new Sunday School curriculum from Sparkhouse (a division of Augsburg Fortress).

Connect is a witty, video-based Sunday school that helps preteens start connecting individual Bible stories with larger biblical themes. Connect is designed to be used with fifth and sixth graders.

Each Connect session features a short animated video that unveils the lesson’s theme and its meaning, and sets students up for Bible exploration. Students then use their learner sheets to create a visual and interactive project that relates to the lesson’s theme. During this time, leaders are encouraged to ask questions listed in the Leader Guide to help kids engage their minds and connect with one another. The Leader Guides offer visual cues and brief, clear descriptions to help save time each week. Each guide contains all the lesson material leaders need, including supply lists and scripture references.

Congratulations, Tara! For more information about Connect, please visit Sparkhouse.

Many Students, Many Methods: Teaching to Connect with Kids’ Various Learning Styles

Good article from Youth Worker magazine about various learning styles you will encounter in any group of young people. Check it out here: Many Students, Many Methods: Teaching to Connect with Kids’ Various Learning Styles | YouthWorker.com

Tend to the environment for real change

I was a kid in the heyday of model making. I’d have a few bucks burning a hole in my pocket, so I’d browse the well-stocked shelves at Jamesway, Kresge, or Wendelboe’s agonizing over which kit to take home. The funny thing about it is, I was never actually that good of a model maker, because I didn’t have any patience. I’d rip open the kit when I got home and start enthusiastically gluing things together in a willy-nilly fashion, referring to the directions only in the case of an extreme emergency. And boy, did I ever have emergencies! I made the Six Million Dollar Man into the Six Dollar Man, a Frankenstein Monster with grounds to sue for medical malpractice, and a Starship Enterprise where one could almost hear a tiny Scotty imploring, “Captain, the warp engines can’t take much more ‘o this!”

The other week I was in Mike King’s elective at the Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry. It was called “Flourish: Curating Environments for Communities of Christian Practice." With a title like that I felt smarter just walking in the classroom! Mike has been a youth worker in Kansas City since 1975. That is not a typo. We’re talking several decades, not several years. Sometimes people choose a seminar in hopes of a quick fix to a problem, or a few tips that they can pick up and implement the very next week. But Mike talked about things like stability, environment—and patience. Dynamite stuff, but I sensed a little unease in the room. I don’t think many of the folks were alive in 1975, so they may have been overwhelmed by the process he was advocating.

He had a lot of good stuff to say, but what I will remember most is his story of Antoni Gaudi, the famous modern architect, designing the cathedral La Sagrada Familia knowing he would never see it completed in his lifetime. Begun in 1882, it is hoped the cathedral will be completed by 2026, the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi’s death. Let that perspective of time sink in for a minute. Earlier in the week I sat in on a presentation about The Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten Bible in over a thousand years, which was a lifetime dream of royal calligrapher Donald Jackson, and fifteen years in the making with a talented team of artists and theologians. Both are monumental undertakings resulting in magnificent places of worship and art. They glorify God and enrich humankind. But they seem so out of sync with “real life.”

Maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Society today seems entirely about the bottom line and deadlines. Spiritually speaking, it leaves us in the bread line, malnourished and looking for scraps to fill the hunger in our souls. Quick, bigger, better, more, faster, higher… I wonder sometimes if we do our work, orient our families, teach our children, and organize our society not unlike a young child slapping together a model kit with the paint still wet and pieces falling off…

I can be just as much a slave to the calendar and anxiety-driven as the next person. But what if instead of planning in terms of weeks or months, I looked down the road in terms of years? What if I made decisions based on what I could do now to sustain the faith and well-being of young people years and decades down the road? (I think Mr. King took it even further, saying “after I am dust” if my memory serves correctly.) Often we get stuck in project and event mode, but real community changes occur when the whole environment is cultivated, and systems and processes are put into place to keep the environment healthy. Because just like in nature, that’s where things grow and thrive.

At best, a young person will be in my youth group for six to eight years. I have a good program and friendly volunteers. But Mike’s elective gave me a push in the right direction that will be reflected in next school year’s program: namely, help them practice disciplines (good habits) that will serve them long after they’ve graduated. Build deeper partnerships with families and help the families with resources, too. Connect the youth program better in the life of the whole congregation, so they don’t age out of church at the same time they age out of youth group. I guess it’s not just about thinking about how to help a young person right now, but what I can do to help that young person a decade or two down the road, too. Not just thinking about my youth program, but about all the various environments that impact young people… I have been writing of ministry, but the principle holds for the workplace, school, and the community. Patience, reflection, cooperation will all be a big help.

By the way, several years ago I bought back a piece of my childhood with a reissue of the classic 60s/70s Frankenstein model kit. I trusted the process (followed directions), received advice and feedback (from my artist wife and creative kids), and above all had patience (ensured each bit was dry for a day before moving on the next step). The result? A rock solid Frankenstein proudly keeps guard over my curio shelf to this day.

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.

Connecting with a Connected Generation

This article from youthministry.com describes the importance of social media, teens favorite ways to connect, and tips for meaningful communication. Check it out at: Connecting with a Connected Generation | YouthMinistry.com

Meeting minutes for May 2012 Conference Youth Ministries Team Meeting

Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team Meeting
May 5, 2012 9 am
First Lutheran Church

Meeting minutes

Present: Ian Eastman (SW Conference), Tara Eastman (First Lutheran), Mike Felsman (Tri-Church), Sue Kilmartin (Bethel), Judy Lind (Immanuel) & Ann McKillip (St. Tim's). Regrets: Jennifer Spacht (Bethel).


DEVOTION/PRAYER...

Tara Eastman led the group in a lectio divina exercise from the Gospel of John. We prayed for Jennifer Spacht, who was taking her final teacher certification exam that morning.


PASTOR ON THE PLANK...

The feedback we recieved on Pastor on the Plank indicates that it is a "keeper" and we will do another next year, provided the pastors are up for it. Lifeguards and JCC Phys. Ed. staff were great to work with and we will use the facility again. We ended up raising over $700 for the ELCA 100 Wells Challenge, which the youth will present in a special offering at this summer's Youth Gathering in New Orleans.

The ELCA News & Information Service took notice of the event and did a feature article on the event on the "Living Lutheran" website. Check out the link here.


2012/2013 PROGRAM YEAR...

Our goal is to have our schedule "carved in stone" by the August 2012 meeting, so we can encourage churches to build Conference Youth events into their schedules early. We will check with LCLC beforehand so as to not conflict with any of their events. We will make the themes of each event available too, and encourage confirmation programs to incorporate Conference Youth events as part of their program.

How the program year is shaping up so far...

9/15
Ian presenting at the Women of the ELCA Conference at Chautauqua Suites. "A Field Guide to Young People--and their Care & Feeding." CONFIRMED.

10/26 - 10/27
Youth Worker Retreat at LCLC. Good event at a very reasonable cost. Will encourage youth workers, Sunday School teachers, Confirmation teachers, etc. to attend. CONFIRMED.

11/18  1 pm - 4 pm
Captive Free, a musical and teaching ministry of Youth Encounter, at the Gateway Center. Will do laser tag and other events, too. For youth in grades 5 - 12. TENTATIVE--Youth Encounter not officially booking events for November yet. Ian will follow up with Youth Encounter and Gateway Center staff. Sue K. sees this event as a "Mini-Quake" and sees potential for growth.

12/8
Santa's Secret Shoppe. ON HOLD while Joint Neighborhood Project reevaluates how they are doing this event and what their volunteer needs may be.

2/17  1 pm - 4 pm
Toilet Bowl II. For grade 5 - 12. TENTATIVE. Ian will book with Gateway Center. Ann also suggested that we could also consider doing a Bowling event as an alternative.

March or April 2013  3 pm - 6 pm
Pastor on the Plank II. For grades 5 - 12. TENTATIVE. Waiting to see where Spring Break falls in 2013 before committing to date.

July 2013
Mission on the Mon. 1 week mission trip in McKeesport PA. For grades 9 - 12. TENTATIVE.

Full Circle Training for parents and caring adults is being considered at several churches.

We talked about the need for food at events. The Gateway Center has a snack bar available for a reasonable cost. At events like "Pastor on the Plank" we will need to bring snacks in. Sue suggested soliciting businesses for donations.


PRAYER SUPPORT...

Acknowledging youth helps bond them to the congregation. We can do this on more than just Confirmation or "Youth Sunday." The team will put together a different prayer for youth each day, which churches can incorporate into the prayers each Sunday. In addition, we will put together outlines for specific events, such as the Youth Gathering and Gloria Dei's mission trip, so churches in the Conference can "pray along" with these trips. We can put the prayers on the Young Lutherans website, Facebook, and in church bulletin inserts.

LEARNING...

We discussed what it means to be a "Triple A" adult and why it is so important to make this cultural shift a priority around the conference. A key principle is understanding "Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal trusted relationships." (The Youth & Family Institute) All youth need 5 - 7 people to help nurture their faith. This can be from siblings/peers, but also from the family, congregation, community, culture, and creation.

Adults can best build relationships and foster faith by being Authentic, Available, and Affirming:

Authentic
Youth learn from people who live what they believe. “Do what I say, not what I do” is never acceptable. We all communicate constantly. In reality we are all faith teachers. Young people listen, observe, and pick up most of how they live and what they believe about faith through observations of the people who are closest to them. Some of us use more words than others, and some of us simply live it. An authentic faith is a vibrant faith. It responds to God’s love and grace by practicing the Four Keys, which include caring conversation, devotions, service, and rituals and traditions.

Available
Time is always mentioned as an essential quality. Showing up, calling, e-mailing, and sending a card are ways of communicating a loving presence. Being available means sharing our own time in our own ways, as well as letting a young person know it is okay to call, ask for coffee time, and so on. Search Institute’s study in 2001, called Grading Grown-Ups, found that only one in 20 adults is connected to the lives of young people. Without available adults, without cross-generational bridges supporting youth to adulthood, kids are left to raise themselves.

Affirming
The verbal and nonverbal ways we communicate give our approval. “What gets attention gets repeated” is a quote that encourages people to look for all the positives in a young person’s life and uplift these. Catching a person doing good, and naming it, shapes lives much more than always trying to correct the negatives. Intentionally observing the spirit of God at work in and around young people and then verbally naming what you see affirms young people’s faith. Such affirming perceptions build and encourage Christian vocational living.

You don't have to be a youth worker, Sunday school teacher, psychologist, or pastor to be Authentic, Available and Affirming. Here are some things you could do this week:

Authentic

• Listen deeply, wanting to fully understand the person’s feelings and situations.
• Admit to mistakes. Ask for forgiveness.
• Share the questions you wonder and for which you may not have answers.
• Find methods to always remember and honor the special days in a person’s life.
• Remember what the young person told you. Next week, ask follow-up questions about it. He or she will know you were listening.
• Make promises and then keep them.
• Ask for specific things for which you would like him or her to pray.

Available

• Set up times and places to share with just that person.
• Call, text, e-mail each week and ask, “What can I pray for you this week?”
• Give permission to call at appropriate times. Enter your phone number in the young person’s phone.
• Show up at games, concerts, plays, and other events in which a young person is involved.
• Send e-mails, texts, cards, or letters letting the young person know you are mindful of her or him.
• Let young people teach you about technology, music, and the latest trends.
• Share your interests. For example, teach him or her how to fix a car.

Affirming

• Observe and name what the person is doing that is good, honorable, and right.
• Tell others all the good and positive things you see.
• Use thumbs-up gestures, high-fives, hugs, and other nonverbal affirmations often.
• Announce that going out for ice cream is a celebration for something good that has happened.
• Acknowledge feelings, ideas, experiences, and questions as important and relevant.
• Write affirmations and send them often.
• On those days when there seems to be nothing to affirm about the young person’s behavior, affirm him or her as a beloved and forgiven child of God.

These materials were drawn from the Full Circle Triple A Training Manual by Tom Schwolert and Lyle Griner.

The team suggested getting these tips into church newsletters and bulletins.

UPCOMING MEETINGS...

June: 6/2/12
July: No meeting
August: 8/4/12
Sept.: 9/8/12 (Please note this is moved to the second Saturday to avoid the Labor Day weekend.)

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.)

"Diving right in" on LivingLutheran.com

Our Pastor on the Plank event was covered by the ELCA News & Information Service in the Living Lutheran Magazine! Check it out in the link below:

Diving right in - Stories - LivingLutheran.com

Young people, divorce and youth ministry

Andy Root, a professor of Youth & Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, writes in Immerse Journal about divorce and how the church can provide security to youth in the midst of pain.

Here's the link: Young people, Divorce and Youth Ministry

Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry News for May 2012

The Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry is going to take advantage of the nice spring weather in May. All SLYM events, with the exception of the Conference Planning Team, are open to grades 5 - 12.

Conference Youth Ministries Planning Team @ First Lutheran
Saturday, May 5  9 am - 11 am
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!

CALY Team Lunch @ Saint Timothy
Sunday, May 6  12:30 pm
As the CALY team prepares for New Orleans, we'll break bread and discuss how Jesus makes peace and calls us to see each other as God sees us.

Youth Group @ First Lutheran
Thursday, May 10 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Recreation and worship.

Youth Group @ Allen Park Playground
Thursday, May 17  6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Have fun with your friends and learn about God’s creation.

Youth Group @ Holy Trinity
Thursday, May 24  6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Come celebrate and reminisce during the last weekly SLYM of the school year!

Note: There will not be SLYM on Thursday, May 3 as Tara & Ian will be participating in a ministry retreat.

As always, keep up with all things youth-related at younglutherans.blogspot.com.