Welcome back, loyal readers, and happy June!

VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR of 5PF will come your way on June 20th via email. If you haven't subscribed yet, click the box at the bottom. If you need to UN-subscribe, please send a request to our circulation department at delaney@vasynod.org.

Last issue's Random Debate results are in, and it turns out the majority of our readers are energy-drink-truthers. 75% voted that energy drinks are a ploy by companies to prove that people don't actually care how things taste. 25% said they were a useful boost and only 2% labeled them a delicious post-workout reward (probably because of the term 'delicious'). Since our audience is so fond of conspiracies, which secret location would you rather have access to?

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM DEBATE:

Wearable & Tradeable:

5 Swap Ideas for the National Youth Gathering

The 2024 ELCA National Youth Gathering is next month in New Orleans, Louisiana!

Do you or your Gathering group know about swaps?

Click here to read our top 5 suggestions for wearable tradeables!

Happy Pride Month!!!

All Places Together is a faith community focused on embracing and embodying God’s radically inclusive love in daily life through core relationships, in the workplace, and in justice-seeking efforts.

Celebrate Pride with All Places Together by checking out their Queer Across Virginia podcast series on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

New episodes every Sunday in June!

For some sweet Pride merch, check out the

All Places Together Store.

We may all be just now catching our breath after the flurry of activities associated with the end of the school year, including the kinds of milestone / recognition activities that congregations with vibrant youth ministries are careful to observe. A time of rest is well-deserved. BUT: June is also the perfect time to continue plans that you may have for your youth in the fall. Here are five questions you can ask yourself or your ministry partners in the congregation that will assist you in having a strong start in the fall:

1. Do we have an updated and accurate list of our congregation’s children and teens? This might be a good time to do a phone survey of parents and/or youth to see if they have added or updated contact information (social media accounts, cell phone numbers, etc.). You can find out what each young person’s preferred method is for receiving information.

2. Are the adults who have been working with teens interested in continuing? Are there some who need to step aside for any reason? Are there other adults you would like to invite into ministry with youth starting in the fall? This is a time to begin those conversations and make sure important tasks like background checks and training for boundaries, emergency responses, and congregational policies are getting done.

3. Look back on the year and ask what were the most valued experiences. Remember that we have several metrics that work together: good numbers are helpful, but the real value comes from faith formation and community building.

4. Ask if there are any areas of the congregation’s ministry where gifted young people could be invited in to participate and/or lead. Remember that you are not just trying to get the congregation’s tasks done, but helping young people discern where they may feel called to serve.

5. Make sure all the thank-you’s are done. Think about people over the past year who have contributed to the vitality of your ministry, including the parents of your youth and those who may not be working directly with teens but have a supportive role in clerical work or managing the congregation’s finances.

To provide feedback ... ask questions ... obtain more info on any of this ... contact Dave Delaney, Virginia Synod Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries: delaney@vasynod.org