September 5, 2003

In this morning's Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus says to Simon, "Do not be afraid." Did you know that this is the most repeated phrase in the New Testament? Maybe that's good advice to give our young people as they head back to school and face new challenges and new adventures. Maybe its great advice for us in ministry too! As you gear up for another year of sports, schedules, students, and surprises, may you and your ministry be blessed with an abundance of calm and may each of us be unafraid of the challenges we face.

To help you in your journey, we offer the following in this issue:

  1. We've posted a Blessing for Athletes online. Encourage your pastor or associate pastor to invite all athletes to a specific parish Mass (or repeat the blessing at all Masses one weekend) and share this opportunity with the whole parish community.

  2. Don't forget to check the classes available in the new Youth Ministry Institute. Eight new opportunities for training and continuing education are offered for those in ministry to, with, and for our young church.

  3. Have you started plugging Kommotion 2003 yet? If not, start today by inviting your young people to the Diocesan Jr. High Rally coming this October. Or register online!

  4. What would you get if you combined Scripture stories with meaningful clips of today's hottest songs?…..Cornerstone Media's Scripture Themes and Popular Music Kits allow you to bring the Bible's messages to today's young people by weaving their music into these important stories. Each kit comes complete with 4 audio tracks (on 2 CDs) and a Leader's Booklet, which contains meeting ideas and scripts of the stories. These powerful audio tracks can be used not only for classes and meetings, but also as a source for personal reflection. Your teens and young adults will be surprised that the issues in these important Scripture stories are the same issues in their music! Two brand new Scripture Themes and Popular Music Kits are available now for $40 each. For more information, or to order one or both kits, go to the Cornerstone Media web site at www.cornerstonemedia.org, or call us at (707) 542-8273.

  5. Congratulations to the college students at the University of Delaware who have traveled to some 20 parishes and schools presenting the "Worth the Wait" Chastity Program. This is one of seven exceptional programs from around the country that will be recognized at the U.S. Bishops' Meeting in November. You'll be able to sign up to bring the program to your area in the coming weeks.

  6. The theme for Nexus 2004 (March 14, 2004) is "Standing on Holy Ground" and will focus on our call to be of service to our neighbor. Negotiations are under way with Free the Children and it's co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, to secure our keynote speaker. If you have pictures of young people from your parish serving their neighbor, please submit them to CYM in the coming weeks.

  7. Attention Scout Leaders! A letter will go out in the coming weeks with this news, but to prepare you: the background check that BSA requires of its leaders is not compliant with For the Sake of God's Children. All leaders of a Boy Scout troop sponsored by a parish must complete the diocesan mandated background check and volunteer covenant. Don't panic, the letter will outline the details.

  8. The complete listing of the CYM Calendar of Events for program year 2003-2004 is now available online.

The Pastor's Mailing went out last week. Check with your pastor to see what they thought! Also, if you missed it, the latest edition of Ladders is available online.

If you are receiving Ladders Online for the first time, please know that we've just updated our records with new email addresses for DREs and AAPs. Thanks.