Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Saskatoon

So I finally have time to sit at my desk, with my computer, with my jacket off for more than 5 minutes! 

It has seemed that myself and Myron have been constantly on the road these last two months talking about Steps in Faith. It all began at our Adminstrative Days presenting to the leadership of the Diocese the intiatives of the YMO with Steps in Faith. It is now our baby to take care of after the good work of the Rural Catechetics Office in developing it. After a successful Admin Day that created a lot of excitement, buzz, and questions we hit the road for our Deanery Town Hall Meetings.

I must say before I forget - THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU for coming out! The turnout was simply amazing for Deanery's big and small, especially having so many youth themselves and their pastors was a special blessing as well. More than anything just showing up is a testament to your investment in the young people. As I said at Admin Day, they are our church not for tomorrow alone, but TODAY. 

Myron and I constantly on the drive home were always sharing glory stories of the way God is moving in our Diocese. I am so impressed by the efforts you all are making at journeying with our youth. It was wonderful to meet so many great people and connect to all the corner's of the Diocese. I hope and pray we can continue to nurture the relationships born from our travels.

So why did we decide to go out? Well it was two fold. One was to just connect to our people and talk youth ministry at a basic level. The other was specifically related to Steps in Faith and the world of reordered sacraments and the "now what?" question. Our goal was to motivate, inspire, and encourage you to begin, continue, and build and I think you did the same for us!

So for those that missed out on the Town Halls - do not fear! Our presentations will be uploaded under the Steps in Faith part of our site along with samples of youth nights, service ideas, calendar year of events, and outline's to reaffirming your youth. The point is try, and let God work through you. If you have a concern or questions, CALL US! We are here to help. 

And remember the basics at all times about Steps in Faith:

• It isn't a program, it is a process of doing basic youth ministry to grades 6-8 in our Diocese.
• 4 Components - Catechesis (based on the creed), Retreat Experience (offered to deaneries by DYRT), Family/Service Component, Reaffirmation service at local parish offered to Gr. 8's
• Why grade 8 - because we look at this as an opportunity to journey with youth over 3 years in comprehensive ministry, not a checklist to complete to "get done". We invite them to participate in a reaffirmation, we don't register them. We want it to be meaningful, and it will be if there's a journey leading to it. 
• Over grade 8 and want to do the reaffirmation ritual - DO IT.
• Have youth who aren't Catholic? Welcome them, and contact their faith community to let them know. Perhaps they'd like to reaffirm their faith in their own church? 
• Lastly - be daring - see what's possible... don't limit yourselves!

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to post a link to a video over at salt and light tv of a 30 minute interview of our soon to be ordained Bishop Bolen! Get to know how he grew up, where he studied, and what he hopes for in coming here to the Diocese of Saskatoon! 

Above all else, pray for Him and for us that the Spirit may guide Him in leading us ever closer to our God in every moment of our lives. If you didn't get a ticket to the ordination, don't fret! The ENTIRE ordination is being streamed online at http://www.saltandlighttv.org Also, if you are free this Wednesday night at 7 PM, come to St. Paul's Cathedral for an ecumenical prayer service with Bishop Elect and many other faithful from many different christian communities! It looks to be a great evening!

And lastly, please comment below with your prayers, greetings, and desires that you would like to pass on to Bishop Bolen. I will make sure that he gets a chance to read them! 

Peace!

http://www.saltandlighttv.org/witness/

This is Sr. Evelyn coming to you from the Discernment House.

Some of you asked about the long silence but due to Sr. Mary Jane's profession we did not have a Discernment weekend in the fall. But we are ready to go with the coming of the New Year. Our first one will be the Personal History weekend January 15th to 17th,2010. For many at the beginning of the term is a less heavy time so hopefully it will work for those of you who are interested. Some of you already have an idea what the weekends are about and others not so I'll give you a bit more info.

The Personal History weekend is a great opportunity to look at your own personal life; your relationships with yourself, others, the Church and God, the events etc which have fashioned you into who you are today. Through a process of journaling you will come to discern how God is calling you in your faith journey with Him. It is a great weekend to bring together all your life experiences and look at how you can move forward with it into the future responding to the Will of God. If you are trying to discover how God has always been a part of your life and how he is calling you forward at this time I encourage you to come to this weekend.

I know it is a bit early but we are trying to catch people before they leave for Christmas holidays as the weekend comes up quick in January. We'll be confirming in January if you are not sure yet.

Here is the specific info:
When: Friday Jan 15th @ 7:00 pm to Sunday Jan 17th (ending with noon meal.)
Where: 851 University Drive, Saskatoon
Cost: Recommended offering $40.00 (This includes accommodations, meals, and retreat)

Please invite any friends you think may be interested.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could RSVP by emailing me at discernmenthouse@lycos.com. Hope you can make it! It is always a great time!

If you have any questions we can be reached at 244-0726 Sr. Evelyn/Sr. Mary Jane. If there is no answer just leave a message and one of us will get back to you asap.

P.S. Have a blessed Advent and Holy Christmas!

Peace in Christ, Sr. Evelyn

Check out our exciting website at http://www.presentationofmary.ca

The Journey to WYD 2011 in Madrid!

I've gone to World Youth Day since 2002 in Toronto. I must say every time my life has been changed. Not always in profound, obvious ways like a sudden conversion like St. Paul, but in the every day moments. Looking back I can see who I am days, weeks, years after and who I was before each pilgrimage is quite drastic. Sometimes it is the relationships built from them that strike me the most. The lifelong friends, memories shared, and growth in one's vocation and relationship with God.

Toronto in 2002 taught me to be proud of my faith, Cologne in 2005 made me love the rosary and silence, and just recently Sydney in 2008 exicted me about my vocation to married life. I thought maybe my run had ended, but was surprised and excited to learn of the opportunity to help lead a Diocesan Group from Saskatoon to Madrid in 2011. I'm really excited to uncover the wisdom the Lord wishes to give to all 32 pilgrims from across the Diocese of Saskatoon coming on this trip.

Now for most of the group, this might be their first time to Europe! So we've extended our pilgrimage (not a vacation!) to enhance the once in a lifetime experience that is WYD. We're beginning our pilgrimage in Rome for two days, visiting many holy places such as the tomb of Pope John Paul II whose vision brought about World Youth Day. Next we will visit Assisi and reflect on the lives of St. Francis and St. Claire before continuing our journey in Santiago de Compostela. It is there that we will be for Days in the Diocese and share our lives with the local faithful hosting us. There we will be at the end of the famous "Camino" pilgrim route and visit the Basilica of St. James. Finally a week in Madrid, with visits to Toledo, Segovia and Avila. It is in Madrid that we will have an encounter with Pope Benedict and millions of other young people excited about their faith. Please pray and support our pilgrims as they journey in their faith now and on our trip. We go as pilgrims on behalf of the entire Diocese. So much more important that your financial support they may ask for, we ask for your prayers that the trip may be blessed. Moreover, feel free to email/write us with prayer requests you wish for us to carry in our hearts during this Journey.

The most important thing about a pilgrimage to me is; it starts now. It starts the moment you discern going. The church has created a great tool to help us prepare and remember our experiences of World Youth Day called iActive8 on www.xt3.com Here you can follow along news leading up to Madrid 2011 and read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts of all sorts of things related to WYD and your faith! It is a great resource for people who've gone in the past, people wanting to stay connected to family/friends gone on pilgrimage, and for people looking for info about going! So If you're looking to organize a trip for yourself or a group to go to WYD this is the place to check out! If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me at youthmin@saskatoonrcdiocese.com

Keep it Real. God bless and Peace!

-Colm