CYFUSA Highlight Stories
National Association of Catholic Youth Ministry Leaders
Through the generosity of the CYFUSA, the National Association of Youth Ministry Leaders (NACYML), in association with Ministry Training Source (MTS) is able to offer online learning opportunities to its membership. The program, called OnCourse, incorporates online courses and seasonal online retreats to further develop the spirituality and the knowledge of lay ministers throughout the Untied States. These online courses and online retreats are specifically designed to develop the skills and competencies which will help youth leaders to be better ministers in the communities where they serve.
The OnCourse learning programs take place over three weeks and each one has one learning module per week, requiring approximately three to five hours of participation per week. The OnCourse retreats last ten days and require about 30 minutes of participation sometime during each day, approximately three to five hours in total. These retreats offer great opportunities for reflection, reading, and online sharing.
Due in large part to the grant monies from CYFUSA, over 25 NACYML members (and some non-members) have participated in the first course - Sacramental Theology and The Practical Reality of Adolescent Confirmation - and Advent retreat program - Together Journeying to New Life.
Instituto Fe Y Vida
In the summer of 2005 Instituto Fe Y Vida (Institute for Faith and Life) held their 11th annual summer program in Wheeling, WV. Over 160 Hispanic youth and those who work with them attended this week long program, making it their largest ever.
With a generous grant from Catholic Youth Foundation USA, Fe Y Vida was able to provide partial scholarships to several attendees who demonstrate a strong desire to empower themselves in leadership ministry, but lack sufficient funds to attend the program.
Joe Matty-Cervantes, Administrative Director for the program notes an interesting commitment by the participants that were awarded scholarships. Some flew across country and others even drove 30 hours to attend this innovative program.
“Thanks again to CYFUSA for their dedication to youth ministry and for assisting (us) in empowering Hispanic young people for leadership.”
Diocesan Leadership Forum
The Diocesan Leadership Forum Sponsor by the Center for Ministry Development took place in December 2005. This innovative program took place in Phoenix Arizona where over 35 Diocesan Directors and Youn Ministers gathered together. The goal of the program was to provide a life-giving forum in which diocesan directors of youth ministry and young adult ministry could come together for spiritual renewal and to acquire practical ledership skills.
Winds of Change—or—The Hum of “Awesome God”
The Sunday evening my son Kevin returned from Atlanta became one of those nights of really good conversation and story telling. The National Catholic Youth Conference ended the previous evening and after getting very little sleep in a hotel full of youth, followed by a 10-hour bus trip, I had expected to be greeted by a tired, hungry, and perhaps grumpy teenager. Instead of heading for the shower or his bedroom, he sat at the kitchen table and began to talk about his previous four days. His enthusiastic opening line was simply, “this was the best ever, it was just amazing!” Continue reading…