The following training presentations are available for scheduling by parishes and schools in the Diocese of Helena. All presentations have been developed in collaboration with the Center for Ministry Development and are copyright protected. Contact Doug Tooke at [email protected] or call 1-800-584-8914 Understanding Youth Today Planning Meaningful Prayer Experiences Planning for Retreat Ministry Planning for Dynamic Youth Ministry Overview of Youth Ministry Organizing a Team for Youth Ministry Ministering to Middle School Adolescents Involving Youth in Service Hiring and Supporting a Coordinator of Youth Ministry Engaging Youth in Liturgy Empowering Youth for Parish Leadership Developing Volunteer Leaders for Youth Ministry Creating Gathered Youth Events Becoming a Youth Friendly Parish Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena Diocese of Helena Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry Understanding Youth Today This workshop helps parish leaders understand the developmental changes that young people are experiencing during early and older adolescence and how these changes affect the type of ministry that we offer. Participants will also explore how faith changes during these adolescent years and ways that ministry can address and support these changes. Sharing the Vision - A resource of the Center for Ministry Development The Diocese of Helena and its parishes have permission to reprint these materials for their local use only. Any other use is prohibited. To reprint these materials outside this permission, please contact: Cheryl Tholcke (916) 451-1551 [email protected] Understanding Youth Today Workshop Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2010. All rights reserved. Page 1 Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena Understanding Youth Today Workshop Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2010. All rights reserved. Page 2 Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena Opening Prayer Gathering Think about some of the young people in your own life… children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and those you know through friends, Church, the neighborhood, and the community. Bring these young people to prayer today. Leader: Gracious and loving God, you have made each age, each time of life, rich with its own struggles and rewards. Today we celebrate, in a special way, the young people in our lives and in our parish who are in that unique place of growth—of becoming more themselves. We thank you for the young people we have called to mind and celebrate the gift of them among us. We ask you to watch over them and to help us to help them on their journey. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our guide. Amen. Listen: 1 Timothy 4:12-16 Respond: After each quotation is read, please respond together with the prayer as listed below. Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own. Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) All: God of many faces, be with our young people as they try to find out who they are and who you are calling them to be. Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2003 All: God of all ages, help us to remember who we used to be so that we can have more compassion for the young. In youth we learn; in age we understand. Marie Ebner von Eschenbach All: Master Teacher, help us to use what we have learned to be guides for young people. We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) Understanding Youth Today Workshop Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2010. All rights reserved. Page 3 Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena All: Creator God, help us to cherish the beautiful gift that each young person is and to honor the potential that each person possesses. The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), The Dawn, Sec. 297 All: God of Chaos, help us to love and honor the questioning of youth, knowing the all things come from you. Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. Franz Kafka (1883-1924) All: God of Beauty, help us to always see the beauty in this world and allow the young to be our guides. Go Forth Leader: May the young teach us of enthusiasm and love. May we teach them of the same. In all times and ages we call on you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, To guide us as disciples to live in your love. Amen. Understanding Youth Today Workshop Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2010. All rights reserved. Page 4 Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena Millennials Service-Oriented Young people have a strong sense of the common good and of collective social and civic responsibility. They are more knowledgeable than any previous generation about social issues. They are very socially concerned about the environment, AIDS, drugs, homelessness, crime, and discrimination. They engage in service activities more than any previous generation. Hungry for the Transcendent Young people are spiritually hungry. While more than 80% of young people today will identify themselves as believers, the question that should be raised is, what do they believe in? They are hungry not just for answers, but more importantly, the knowledge of how to find answers for themselves. They are seeking a practical, pragmatic, everyday faith they can grasp that will help them to make sense of the world around them. Diversity is Important This generation values diversity unlike any before them. They have a high tolerance for differently held beliefs. They believe strongly in equal rights. More than any previous generation, they believe that immigrants are a resource to the United States and they support the rights of immigrants. Discrimination against minorities is in the top five issues about which they are very concerned. Focus on Wealth Getting rich is an important goal for this generation; most say that it is either their most or second most important goal. Mediavores This generation is addicted to media. It is not uncommon for them to be doing their homework, listening to a CD, watching television, and communicating online at the same time. Their use of technology and social networking sites is their mechanism for staying in touch with friends and family. Love of Family In light of all the troubles in the world in which they live, there seems to be a surprising trend toward relying more on their family as a sanctuary against the difficulties of life. They view their parents as the most important source for guidance and emotional support, and as young adults, stay in contact with their parents on a daily basis and rely on them for financial help. Understanding Youth Today Workshop Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2010. All rights reserved. Page 5 Youth Ministry Training In-Services provided by the OYYAM in the Diocese of Helena Self-Reliance Young people believe that becoming successful is up to them and they are not depending on others for help. Finding a good job is a priority. They are the young navigators. They must chart their own course and captain their own ship. “It’s up to me to create my own well- being.” They value personal experience and are prone to seek out critical thinkers. They are independent, and emotionally and intellectually open. They strongly value individual rights – the right to be left alone, the right to privacy, the right to have and express their own views. They want to be treated fairly. Hungry to Belong This generation has a strong need to identify with a place they can call home. They have a hunger for exploration but a need to be able to return to a home-base. They have the need to be acknowledged and affirmed for who they are now. They have a strong sense of loyalty to the people and places that they can relate to as their own. Educational Achievement Youth’s main priority is to get a good education and their core value is personal competence. This generation identifies a good education as the gateway to success. Relationships are Paramount Young people rely strongly on close personal networks of family and friends. They also have a desire to be connected to others – friends, in school, interest groups, and online virtual communities. Peers are important and are not always a “pressure.” There seems to be a significant shift in how this generation responds to peer pressure. Politically Involved Voter turnout has increased based on this generation’s involvement in the political process. They are interested in what is happening politically and are not as cynical about the government as previous generations have been. Know Their Heroes Young people today are much more likely than previous generations to name as heroes people known to them personally. They look to friends, family, teachers, and mentors much more than political leaders or national figures as role models. Hope Young people today are growing up with hope. This is a significant change from the previous generation. They are not pessimistic or cynical. Rather, they are optimistic and realistic and expect to be happy adults.