Welcome to Laddersonline, the new virtual newsletter for the Office for Catholic Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Wilmington! In the coming weeks, your name will be added to our list and you will be subscribed to this new feature from our office. Please share this e-mail with anyone you wish.

Laddersonline will be e-mailed from CYM about every two weeks and will include important announcements, reminders, and links to important sites to aid in your ministry. Anyone can subscribe (youth ministers, coaches, DREs, CREs, athletic directors, priests, volunteers, and more!), so please pass the word.

In this first issue, please find the following:

  • Kommotion reminder

  • World Youth Day Registration process

  • October 11th prayer service opportunities

  • Round Table discussion opportunities

  • New Food Fast materials from Catholic Relief Services

  • Red Ribbon Race

  • Chesapeake Bay Conference

  • Youth Ministry Training

  • Diocesan Youth Board Information

  • On Line Materials

  • Some important facts about today’s young Church

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     * Kommotion is Coming!

    Sunday, October 21st is right around the corner and the plans are complete for our annual Jr. High Rally. This year’s keynote is comedian Bob Peron and promises to bring some much needed laughter into our world. Registration forms were sent out weeks ago, but if you need more, please call CYM at 302-658-3800. Registration deadline is October 15, 2001.

     * World Youth Day 2002

    Registration is now open for WYD 2002 in Toronto – and it’s all online! Just log onto http://www.cdow.org/cymyouthday.html and follow the directions. All the information is there, so click, print, fill out, pay and send it in to reserve your space. Remember that everyone must register through their diocese to attend, so please log on today!

     * October 11th Prayer Services

    The one-month anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. is coming up this week and there is a great student led prayer service available at http://www.nfcym.org/ to help our young people pause and remember the day that changed so much.

     * Round Table Discussion

    Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 25, 2001 and join us at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Cross in Dover for our fall Round Table. The topic is a great one and we’ll need your opinion to proceed. The Office for Catholic Youth Ministry has been charged by Bishop Saltarelli to create a strategic plan looking at our office’s ministry over the next three to four years. Part of this process is to look at the eventual shift from an office that provides direct services to one that empowers parishes to provide comprehensive parish based youth ministry programs. As we begin our investigation, we’d like to discuss the implications of creating a comprehensive model of youth ministry that features all 8 components and includes Confirmation preparations/retreats, adolescent catechesis outside Confirmation, theological reflection based on services rendered by youth, adaptability to various parish settings, the inclusion of athletics as part of comprehensive parish-based programming, basic standards and criteria and more. We have lots of work to do, so please help us in this process as we journey to meet the bishop’s challenge. Visit http://www.cdow.org/cymnetworking.html to learn more.

     * New Food Fast materials
    The 2001-2002 Food Fast Coordinator's Manual and Video are now available! (This national program has some local ties this year; the new curriculum was co-authored by our diocesan director, Patrick Donovan.) Food Fast is a 24-hour experiential hunger awareness program designed for youth in grades 8-12.  Participants are challenged to help reduce world hunger and poverty through prayer, reflective activities, and action.  It also incorporates Catholic Social Teaching and the reality of severe inequalities in resource allocation.  The new video describes stories of children in India who cannot attend school because they are forced to work to help support their families.  Materials are available in English and Spanish.  To order your own materials, visit http://www.catholicrelief.org/foodfast.html.

     * Red Ribbon Race

    The National Red Ribbon Week (last week of October) provides some great opportunities for you to continue promoting a drug-free lifestyle among our youth. Our Youth at Risk program is sponsoring a 5k run/walk on Sunday, October 28, 2001 so the whole community can get involved too! Call Kim Riccio (kriccio@cdow.org) at 302-658-3800 for more information.

     * Chesapeake Bay Conference

    Early Registration closes December 1, 2001 for this bi-ennial Region XIV Adult Conference. Visit http://www.cdow.org/cymnetworking.html for more information and to download a brochure.

     * Youth Ministry Training

    Have you registered for the next level of training? For date, times, and schedules, visit http://www.cdow.org/cymleadership.html.

     * Diocesan Youth Board Information

    Many people have inquired about the status of this year’s Diocesan Youth Board and CYM appreciates your patience. Plans for this year’s youth board are on hold, but we are recruiting a leadership team for Nexus, the high school youth rally set for March 10, 2002. If you have a young person (9th-12th grade) interested in participating, have them e-mail us at catholicyouth@cdow.org.

     * On line Materials

    For a flyer with some great Halloween safety tips for kids and parents, please click visit http://www.cdow.org/cymladders.html and for the discussion guide to compliment the new Dare to be Different sportsmanship video, produced by CYM, please visit http://www.cdow.org/cymladders.html.

     * Did you know?

    The typical American child watches 28 hours of television a week and by the age of 18 will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.