October 8, 2019
Hello Dear Friends!
Happy Tuesday! Hope your week is going well.

New Updates:
  • TAPT XXXII: Save the Date! March 27-29 at Camp Lawrence. (ok, not a new update, but it’s still super important, so please make sure you spread the word!) Time to start getting ready for TAPT 32! After a year away, TAPT will be back at beautiful, Camp Lawrence located in Valparaiso, IN. We’ll send out applications for teens during the early part of December, but start telling your teens to save the date now! TAPT is open to any high school student who has not already been on a TAPT weekend.
  • Adult leaders: If you are interested in serving on the TAPT team, please contact Jamie Sandona at [email protected]. Adult leaders must be able to serve on the TAPT weekend, as well as attend three formation meetings (March 1, 8, 22). Formation meetings are important because they help bond the retreat team, review super important information, and receive training on small group facilitation.
  • Need your feedback-Travel Distance for Training: One of my roles as your Ministry Consultant is to maintain relationships with other dioceses and agencies so I can pass along the best information and opportunities to you. I’m getting ready to attend a meeting of diocesan youth ministry directors and want your feed back on a questions I’ve been pondering: How far would you be willing to go for a one day youth minister training? Take this quick survey and let me know. It will help me with planning and seeing how to best serve your needs. THANK YOU! I hope I’m not bogging you down with all of these requests for feedback, but the only way to know how to best serve you is by asking!
  • Young Catholics Ecclesial Commission: After the Diocesan Synod, the Diocese created ecclesial commissions to help pray for and assist parishes as they developed and implemented their goals. The Young Catholic Ecclesial Commission is comprised of a diverse group of individuals who have strong backgrounds of youth and young adult ministries. The Young Catholic Ecclesial Commission is ready to talk with parish synod teams and other ministries as they serve the Young Catholics in their communities. Parishes who have not immediately identified Young Catholics as a Synod goal can also reach out to the Young Catholics Commission for assistance. For more information or to request support, please email [email protected]. Please feel free to pass this information along to your Synod Goal Champions, too!
  • Young Adult Email List: Speaking of the Synod, one of the Diocesan Synod goals is to help young people live their faith long after they’ve been Confirmed. One way we are trying to do that is by compiling an email list of young adults. Our hope is that once or twice a month, we can share with young adults (just out of high school, people in their 20’s and 30’s), the things that are going on around the diocese for them. If you know of a young person who might like to receive this email, please share with me their information. Or, share with them the link to the sign up page here. This information is also helpful for discerning what types of things we should look into. Also, let me know if you would like to be included on that list! (you can fill out the form, too). Personal invitation is a wonderful way to invite young people to participate in activities.
Notes to Pass Along:
  • There is a NET retreat for middle and high school students being hosted by St. John Bosco/St. John the Baptist on Saturday, December 7, at St. John Bosco in Hammond. If you know of middle or high school aged students who would like to attend, please contact Vickie Blackwell at [email protected].
  • St. John the Evangelist invites parents to a presentation of “How to Raise Kids that are Strong, Smart & Pure,” Monday, October 14th from 6-8 p.m., SJE Trinity Hall, 11301 W. 93rd Avenue, St. John, IN. Childcare available in the SJE School MEC with advance registration. Parents of children aged 2 to 14 are invited to learn how they can share the beauty of the Catholic Church’s teachings on love and sexuality with their children in age-appropriate ways as they move from early childhood on through adolescence. The DVD-based presentation features renowned author, speaker, and radio talk-show host Dr. Coleen Kelly Mast with participant discussion facilitated by SJE’s Catholic Family Institute. Materials will be provided. Advance registration required.  Contact the Catholic Family Institute with questions or to RSVP at [email protected]
Reminders:
  • World Youth Day 2022: Lisbon, Portugal, August 2022. I know. 2022 is a long way away, but that will give us a lot of time to do some planning. If your parish is interested in sending a group to World Youth Day, please let me know. I’m hoping to have an informational meeting next month.
  • The next DYC meeting will be on October 20, 2019. Let me know if your parish would like to send representatives.
  • Formation opportunities: If you are looking for monthly formation opportunities, the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (the folks who put on NCYC), host webinars that focus on helping our young people. If you register, but can’t make it, you can always come back and watch them later. And they are totally free! Find the link: http://nfcym.org/webinars
Youth Ministry Events and Formation
  • Holy Fire 2019, October 18 or 19, Credit Union 1 Arena, Chicago. If you are looking for a faith experience for your middle school students, the Archdiocese of Chicago is hosting “Holy Fire 2019,” in October. Open to 6-9th graders, young people will hear high energy musicians and inspirational speakers from around the country and join with thousands of youth to get inspired for their faith. More info can be found at www.holyfirechicago.org.
  • Parish Vocation Ministry Workshop: October 26, 8:00 AM, St. Francis Xavier. The Office for Vocations is hosting a Vocation Workshop on Saturday, October 26, 8:00 AM to noon at St. Francis Xavier, in Lake Station. The purpose is to help parishes learn how they can promote and foster vocations at a parish level. If you are interested, please register by October 18 by emailing Peggy Guernsey at [email protected].
  • Liturgical Conference: November 8-9, St. Patrick Church, Chesterton. Raise your hand of your young people are liturgical ministers at your parish’s Masses! I’m betting a lot of you. The Diocese of Gary’s Offices of Worship and Intercultural Ministry are hosting “Source and Summit: Transfigured in the Eucharist/Fuente y Cumbre: Transfigurados en la Eucharistía.” All liturgical ministers are invited to attend: Eucharistic Ministers of Communion, Lectors, Art and Environment Ministers, Minsters of Care, Musicians, and Ministers of Care.” There will be sessions presented in Spanish and English. The cost is $35 per person ($40 if you register the day of), with a discount to $30 if three or more people from a parish signs up. Lunch for Saturday is provided. To register, fill out this form and return it to the Ministry Center.
  • Charity Summit: November 16, 2019, Queen of All Saints Legacy Center, Michigan City. Young people are passionate about making a difference in the world. Their example of calling for justice for the Earth this past week has been inspiring. The Social Teaching Ecclesial Commission is hosting a Charity Summit on Saturday, November 16 at Queen of All Saints Legacy Center. There is a special invitation for young Catholics who are looking to put their faith in action. It is free, but participants need to register. Please email Gayle at [email protected].
  • Presentation on Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit, November 25, 6:00 PM, St. Matthias Church, Crown Point. We have a location, date and a time! We are excited to announce that we will be hosting an evening presentation on Pope Francis’ Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Christus Vivit given by Paul Jarzembowski. Paul works at the USCCB with Youth and Young Adult Ministries under the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. He’s also a native NWI resident and Andrean grad. Paul was part of the USA delegation that attended the Vatican Synod in Rome last October on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment. We are so excited to bring his wisdom and observations from the Synod and from Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit. The event is FREE, but we are asking people to register to make sure we have enough space. You can do so here: http://bit.ly/ChristIsAliveTalk Please feel free to invite anyone you know! This event is open to the public.
    • This talk is for people who:
      • Work with teenagers.
      • Minister to young adults.
      • is a teenager or young adult
      • is a member of any age at a parish
      • want to know how to incorporate young adults into their ministry
      • are passionate about sharing in the ministry of the Church with others
  • Youth Ministers’ Retreat, January 24-25, 2020, Lindenwood Retreat Center. Save the Date! Youth Ministers are invited to the third annual Youth Minsters’ Retreat, hosted once again at Lindenwood. More info will come out in a few months. If you are interested in attending, please click this link to fill out an interest form. Please note: that link will not register you for the retreat. The information collected will be used to help plan the retreat.
Just a Thought:
October is Respect Life Month in the United States. It’s a time to remember that we are called to, as Pope St. John Paul II said, live as a “culture of life.” In all ways, we are to recognize the human dignity each person has because they are a beloved child and daughter of God, and made in the image and likeness of God.
Here are some resources regarding a few pro-life issues:
Videos
Dignity for the Unborn:
Migrants and Refugees
The Imprisoned
Feel free to share with me your favorite resources and I’ll pass them along next week!
Peace and all goodness,
Vicky Hathaway
Ministry Consultant for Youth and Young Adult Ministry