Let's blanket Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center in our prayers

Another season of camp begins this Sunday, July 1, at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center. Let's blanket campers and staff in our prayers all summer long!

Here are some specific ways you can pray:

• Pray for safe travels
• Pray for the health of campers and staff
• Pray for safety in all activities
• Pray that kids would bond with their group and not be homesick
• Pray God would open the hearts of campers that they will be receptive to the Gospel
• Pray for staff to have the stamina and energy needed to serve the kids
• Pray God will bless each camp with good weather so that all of the activities are able to run smoothly

Faith forming activities for summer

Vibrant Faith @ Home is an interactive resource designed to give you everything you need to build a stronger, more faith-focused family! They recently added 60 easy-to-use tools, tips, family activities, articles, and advice that take advantage of the summer season. The website is free, but requires registration. Check it out: Vibrant Faith @ Home

What the Sandusky Story Means to Youth Workers

"Childhood sexual abuse….a subject that has typically been shrouded in secrecy, silence, and shame has been suddenly thrust into our collective consciousness. The perpetrator-a beloved and benevolent community leader. The victims–kids hungry for relationship…trusting, and innocent. Sexual abuse of children continues to occur at an alarming rate and for at least this moment in time we can’t pretend it doesn’t. As men and women who care for young people we have no choice but to pause and ask ourselves why and how we ought to respond." 

Youth ministry expert and therapist Dr. Marv Penner shares some practical things youth programs can do to help victims of abuse and create a safe environment for youth. Here's the link:

learning my lines. . .: What the Sandusky Story Means to Youth Workers

Get the most out of summer vacation

Did you hear the youthful shouts of joy echoing throughout Chautauqua County the other day? It can only mean that another school year is over and summer vacation has begun! The coming months present some wonderful opportunities for growth and development in young people. A balance of constructive time and free time is a winning combination for the warm days ahead.

Constructive time… Young people need to learn what they're good at, and how they can make a positive difference in the lives around them. This is how they gain self-esteem and confidence. Making time for organized activities ensures that young people will learn about their world through experience, which is the best teacher of all. Search Institute suggests several promising avenues to explore for constructive use of time: creative activities, like music, theater, or other arts; youth programs, like sports, clubs, or organizations; and religious community activities. Constructive activities don't always have to be official programs, either. Time at home is important, too. Consider sharing a hobby or working on a project with a young person you care about.

Free time… Young people need rest too, and most people who thoroughly study this topic have concluded that most young people aren't well rested or get enough sleep. It is also important for brain function and comprehension that youth have some time to "recharge." Cultural pressures often compel adults to overload young people's schedules, but young people also have a need to simply "be."

Summer Vacation 2012 has some wonderful times in store for youth in Chautauqua County. An intentional balance of constructive time and free time will ensure that young people get the most out of it.

Ian Eastman, M.A. promotes the spiritual, social, and emotional development of young people and their families. He 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 graduate of SUNY Empire State College (B.S. Cultural Studies), Northwest Nazarene University (M.A. Spiritual Formation), and is currently a student at the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Mission on the Mon 2012

Five young people and chaperone Jeannine Gambrel from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Lakewood are spending next week (June 24 - 29) doing mission work in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

The Mission on the Mon is a neighborhood immersion experience filled with mission projects and exposure to innovative ministries in the this former industrial town near Pittsburgh.

Please pray for the Gloria Dei team as they go forth to serve and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ!

Healthy strategies for graduates coping with transitions

"...we tend to talk to our kids a lot about the change of moving from high school into college, yet we don’t properly prepare them for the transition that awaits them. Change is going to college. But the transition involves tasks like learning to deal with peer pressure, self-managing projects at school, taking responsibility for one’s actions, dealing with confusion over majors and career choices, navigating sexuality on campus, or the constant wondering of where God fits into a college student’s life."

The transition from high school to college is exciting. It can also cause a surprising amount of anxiety for youth and parents. Rhett Smith, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, offers some illuminating thoughts about transitional anxiety, strategies to accompany youth through transitions, and some action points to get started. Here's the link:

Sticky Faith - Anxiety in the In-Between Stages of Our Lives

SLYM Mini-Golf this Sunday

The Shared Lutheran Youth Ministry has several special events happening this summer. We extend an invitation to all youth in grades 5 - 12 for our event on Sunday:

SLYM Mini-Golf
Sunday, June 24 at 1pm
Lakewood Golf Center
$5 per person (18 hole)
Snack bar extra
Grades 5 - 12
Call Ian for info 720-8584

Meeting minutes for June 2012 Conference Youth Ministries Team Meeting

Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team Meeting
June 2, 2012 9 am
First Lutheran Church

Meeting minutes

Present: Ian Eastman (SW Conference), Tara Eastman (First Lutheran) & Ann McKillip (St. Tim's).
Regrets: Mike Felsman (Tri-Church), Jeannine Gambrel (Gloria Dei) & Jennifer Spacht (Bethel).


DEVOTION/PRAYER...

The group meditated on Psalm 139: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."


2012/2013 PROGRAM YEAR...

We continued to work towards our goal to have our schedule "carved in stone" by the August 2012 meeting. We want to make it easy for churches to collaborate with Conference Youth.  A schedule of events, with spiritual themes, will be made available. Tara will speak with the Combined Confirmation team to encourage them 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.

Sept/Oct
Full Circle Training for Adults. Tara is going to float the idea with the pastors that the Full Circle Training could be at the same time as Combined Confirmation. Parents are already driving to a church twice in one evening. Maybe we could convince them to stay for dessert and discussion about how to foster faith? If everyone is amenable to the process, we'd invite parents during the first session of confirmation, then run Full Circle during sessions 2-5. It will be open to more than parents--anyone can come. PROPOSED.

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. The theme will be "Invite" (one of the 7 faith practices of the ELCA). Our service/justice aspect will be collecting personal care items for the Captive Free team. For youth in grades 5 - 12. CONFIRMED--Youth Encounter. TENTATIVE--Gateway Center. Ian will follow up with Gateway Center when Pastor Amy is off maternity leave.

2/17  1 pm - 4 pm
Toilet Bowl II. For grade 5 - 12. Will collect paper products for First Things First Recovery Ministry. TENTATIVE. Ian follow up with Gateway Center when Pastor Amy is back.

March or April 2013  3 pm - 6 pm
Pastor on the Plank II. For grades 5 - 12. Theme: Baptism. TENTATIVE. Jamestown Public Schools Spring Break is 3/25 - 4/5, JCC's break 3/27 - 4/7, so those dates are out.

July 2013
Mission on the Mon. 1 week mission trip in McKeesport PA. For grades 9 - 12. TENTATIVE. Jeannine Gambrel at Gloria Dei is taking a group of girls on this mission trip this summer. She will report back on the experience so we can decide if we want to pursue it as a conference-wide event in 2013.

Santa's Secret Shoppe was removed from our schedule while JNP evaluates if/how it wants to pursue this event in the future.


PRAYER SUPPORT...

The team put together a collection of prayers for the Youth Gathering, so churches in the Conference can "pray along" with the youth. We will put the prayers on the Young Lutherans website, Facebook, and in church bulletin inserts.

The national Youth Gathering folks have put together a blessing litany for youth, appropriate for the Sunday morning before the Gathering. Ian will pass that info along to the churches.

We still want to have a collection of youth prayers for every day of the month. We thought we could build the prayers around the 4 questions of adolescence: Who am I? Where do I fit? What am I good at? Am I capable of love? If everyone chipped in and wrote several, we could make this resource a reality in time for September.


LEARNING...

We continued learning about the "Triple A" adult framework. We talked about the intentionality that fosters faith formation with young people. I used the terms "hand holding" (being present) and "finger pointing" (positive sense, like in the "notice that" way we do with toddlers. The key question for discussion was "How do you practice faith?" A great framework for setting an example and having faith conversations with youth is The Four Keys.

Key #1: Caring Conversations
Caring conversations often happen at bedtime, mealtime, travel time, home sick time, vacation time, or candle time. They express an interest in others, their hurts, their joys, concerns, and dreams, their values and faith. Caring conversations require time to be available to listen and to speak. Congregations are encouraged to help families identify the holy ground of their lives where precious, caring conversations take place, and where lives are strengthened and nurtured by the love and mercy of God through the support, guidance, and genuine interest of others.

Key #2: Devotions
A devotional life is a way to practice the presence of God through the Word of God. Many families and individuals need help with the language of prayer and faith in daily life. A devotional life is more of a consciousness and way of life than a formula to accomplish a certain task. Family devotions connect the generations with faith, hope, and love in a world that speaks and operates on a different basis than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Key #3: Ritual and Traditions
Rituals and traditions are those patterns of behavior that can be expected to occur on a routine basis and communicate certain meaning in life. The way people greet one another each day, a table grace, bedtime prayers, the blessing of a Christmas tree, and a birthday or baptismal anniversary celebration are all examples of family rituals and traditions that can effectively communicate the good news of Jesus Christ.

Key #4: Service
Serving one’s neighbors is the calling all are given through the life and message of Jesus Christ. For a Christian, service is motivated by the life we have first received from God. Service communicates that love to others, and is a concrete expression of one’s own faith and values. Family service projects have been shown to be a vital way to pass on faith from generation to generation. Children and youth are greatly influenced by what they see in the lives of others, especially parents and other family members.

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

Please share these tips in church bulletins, etc.

UPCOMING MEETINGS...

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.)
Oct: 10/6/12
Nov: 11/3/12
Dec: 12/1/12

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.)

Things My Dad Never Told Me

Today's guest blogger is Gary Lester, the Executive Director of Family Services of Warren County—a charitable agency that provides counseling, substance abuse services, and support groups. Gary worships at First Lutheran Church in Warren, PA.

Fathers’ Day is Sunday, a good time to reflect on paternal influence.

Dad never told me I was stupid. I do some counseling with guys in the jail. Many of them say their dads told them just that, over and over again. Guess what? Many believe it! If I tell them they have good insight into an issue, they act like they never heard that before. Maybe they haven’t. Sad, isn’t it?

Dad never told me women were property or inferior in some way or other. Clients in our Healthy Relationships Program heard those very things. The man is the boss, the man makes all the decisions, the man is the king of the castle... These attitudes don’t serve very well. Dad and Mom had (and still have) issues like everyone else, but they’ve worked through them for more than 60 years. Not a bad track record and not a bad example.

Dad never told me I was worthless. I’ve seen men in tears when they tell of such heartless remarks. Imagine the constant message: “You’ll never amount to anything.” We’re supposed to believe what our dads tell us, right?

Dad never told me “big boys don’t cry,” at least I don’t recall him telling me such a thing. Little boys certainly do cry and so do “big boys” sometimes.  I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I suppose a certain amount of stoicism is healthy, but we guys should be cut little slack. What about laughing ‘til we get tears in our eyes? Dad and I used to fall out of our chairs watching Red Skelton! And what about grief? A few tears in times like that should be acceptable. They are for me, Dad understands.

Dad never told me I had to be a baseball player, or a golfer, or a hunter, or a fisherman, or a musician. There was no pressure nor was there any vicarious thrill of living out his life through mine. He exposed me to all those things and gave me the space to experiment, to fail, to succeed, and to stay involved in the things that appealed to me.

Dad never told me what I should do education or career-wise. He was very successful for many years in his career in insurance sales. Most people avoid guys in that business but people appreciated Dad’s advice and fairness. There are even stories about him NOT trying to sell people what they didn’t need! Even if they asked for it! People my age still say: “I remember when your Dad would stop by the house… Mom and Dad thought he was great, and he was so friendly to us kids...”  And there were the loaves of homemade bread, jars of jam and jelly and pickles, and other tokens brought home that were further testimony of clients’ appreciation. But Dad didn’t pressure me to follow in his footsteps. He supported and encouraged me as I explored my own interests.   I remember when he bought me my first good camera at Everett Borg’s shop, a shiny, new Miranda. It launched me into a 20-plus year career in photography. I doubt that was ever on his radar as a career for me, and I’m sure he had his doubts about my future, but the support was there anyway.

And Dad never told me people were dangerous or stupid or that we were better than someone because of nationality, politics, or color. Instead he’d say something like: “Bob is a little different, but…” and he’d follow the “but” with something positive, a reason to connect with Bob. This taught me to look for the good in people and when I do, I usually find something. That’s some advice everyone can use these days.

So HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY, DAD, and thanks for all the things you never told me.

This column originally ran in the June 17, 2011 edition of the Times Observer.

Guide to Graduation Gifts

"Graduation is a time to celebrate the teens and their families, and it is a time that will be a springboard for their next step in this journey called Life. Make sure you don’t miss your opportunity to maximize your influence in the life of a teen. You received an announcement or invitation on purpose, so give a gift and speak a blessing on purpose, too."


'Tis the season for graduation parties. Parentzilla has some fantastic ideas about meaningful ways to connect with the graduating young people in your life. Here's the link:


Guide to Graduation Gifts

Ride Around the Lake

We are blessed to have Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center (LCLC) in the Southwestern Conference. Its ministry is so appreciated, especially by our young people! You can support the camping ministry of LCLC by riding or sponsoring a rider around the 42 miles of Chautauqua Lake. Here's a message from Lee Lindeman, its executive director:

Dear Friends of LCLC:

It’s time!

Time to start gearing up for our 8th ANNUAL RIDE AROUND THE LAKE!

Bicyclers from near and far are invited to participate in this exciting event on behalf of Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center. The RIDE will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 14, 2012.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 for LCLC. It is important that LCLC be accessible to everyone. The funds raised by the Ride will enable us to keep our fees as low as possible. They will also help us keep our promise of never turning a camper away due to financial need.

Not a cyclist? There are other opportunities to help such as sponsoring a cyclist. Church, individual, and business sponsorships are all welcome.

If you would like to volunteer as a cyclist and or make arrangements to spend the night prior, call us at 716-386-4125 or email us at lee@lclcenter.org. Your help is very important to us, so please volunteer to ride or sponsor someone today.

I’m looking forward to seeing you on July 14th. And thanks–in advance–for anything you can do to help.

Sincerely,


Lee Lindeman
Executive Director
Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center

Barriers to Communication with Youth

Creative Youth Ideas describes some barriers to communication with young people: ordering, threatening, preaching, avoiding, pacifying, and lecturing. Are you doing any of these? Read the article here: Barriers to Communication with Youth.

Please pray for Convo this week

Today's blog post is by Tara Eastman, the Youth & Family Director at First Lutheran in Jamestown.


Convo is a youth retreat that wraps around our annual Upstate NY Synod General Assembly each Spring. This year we will be reading and studying the transfiguration of Christ form the New Testament and the Exodus account in the Old Testament. The motto on our shirts is "The Lord leads us by day and by night."

Would you please support us in prayer this week? Below are some prayer prompts: 

Tuesday
God bless all who prepare, pack and travel to Rochester to lead our Synod's youth for Convo 2012. Give traveling mercies and restful nights in this busy time of preparation and training of staff.


Wednesday
It's a quick turn around from staff training to students arriving for Convo. Bless Parents who support and transport youth and take extra measures to connect their youth to others that foster faith.

Thursday
God help our Convo family to closely bond. Help us to support, pray, play and care for each other as you intend. Help us to grow in our faith with each experience you give us!


Friday
As many travel to attend the Synod Assembly, help those voting and making leadership decisions for the ELCA in our synod. Grant us wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus on each day of our journey.


Saturday
It is time for us to take steps back to our homes, schools, and churches. Help us to carry friendships and God's spirit with us wherever we go.


Tara Eastman is the Youth & Family Director at First Lutheran Church in Jamestown. She is a contributing writer to Connect, a new curriculum that helps preteens connect individual Bible stories with larger biblical themes, published by Sparkhouse (a division of Augsburg Fortress).

Nurse Aggie

I am blessed with relatively good health, so it is the rare occasion that I have to call off work. Quiet and rest do wonders when I have enough sense to respond to an illness early on. Sometimes the quiet and rest thing is elusive at the Eastman house, due to the bedside manner of Nurse Aggie.

Aggie is a beagle/Australian cattle dog mix. She has a soft coat (think upscale teddy bear) that is mostly white with black markings. Her coat looks more cow than canine. She is a friendly little dog with a devil-may-care approach to life. I suspect she is powered by a nuclear engine that doesn’t have an off switch.

Aggie somehow senses when I am staying home and responds as if it’s Mardi Gras, New Year’s Eve, and the Superbowl all rolled into one. It’s as if her little dog brain is going, “Hey, the big goofy human is in his pajamas and robe during the daytime. Party! Party!” The concept that the big goofy human wants to rest is lost on her as she drops a tennis ball at my feet while I down cold-n-flu remedy.

Several years ago I threw my back out something awful. Almost had to have surgery. I was in misery, flat on the couch. Aggie approached and made it clearly known that she wanted me to take her outside to our backyard, or as she thinks of it, her toilet. I slowly and painfully lumbered, as if I were Boris Karloff in the Mummy, from the living room at the front of our house to the back door. Back then, Aggie had this bad habit of jumping up and standing against me as I put the lead on her collar, which I had tried for ages to break her to no avail. But in this circumstance, every movement a nightmare of pain, Aggie’s stubbornness to change would actually benefit me and save me from bending. I pulled the lead off the shelf and beckoned the dog. What did she do? Aggie chose that moment, of all moments, to finally get the message. She immediately sat down at attention like she was in some sort of doggie military formation. She refused to move a muscle and stared straight ahead. I couldn’t coax her to stand up for anything. I don’t know how, but somehow I ended up bending down and affixing the lead. It may have taken me the better part of the afternoon.

Last month I was hit hard with strep throat. My whole head felt like it was on fire. I felt like I had a dead battery and wanted nothing more than to sleep it off. My wife kindly arranged everything I needed on the night stand next to me: crackers, tissues, ginger ale. I got under the covers and closed my eyes. I was abruptly awakened by Nurse Aggie, who apparently thought the best way to observe her patient was to lay across my chest with her bony elbows stuck into my ribcage. I rolled her off of me and told her to get down. She compromised and laid down a foot away from me on the bed. Too tired to argue, I closed my eyes and went back to dreamland. The next time I awoke I was on my side precariously on the edge of my bed. The dog was sideways in the bed with her paws pressing on my back. Apparently she was slowly pushing me out of the bed so she could have the whole thing to herself. Enough was enough, and I commanded her to get down. She obeyed and found a comfortable place on the floor. I assume it was comfortable for her, because unlike me, she had no problem immediately falling into a deep sleep. So deep in fact, that she started to loudly snore, making a noise not unlike someone playing a trumpet, badly.

Eventually I did get to sleep that day. I woke up to discover the crackers mysteriously vanished, tissues spread around the room as if the box exploded, and Aggie precariously standing on the night stand with her snout deep in my mug of ginger ale. The dog jumped down as my wife, back from work, came into the room. She put her hand on my forehead.

“You’re burning up,” she said. “Glad you stayed home and let Nurse Aggie take care of you.”

“Just the same,” I said, “I think next time I’ll seek a second opinion before calling in.”

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.

Happy birthday Holy Trinity Lutheran Church!

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is celebrating 125 years of faithful ministry this weekend. Here is a nice write-up about its history in today's Post-Journal.