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.)