Diocesan Youth Council 2020-2021:
A New Youth Council
for a New Time
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Please help recruit young people ready to step up—or be raised up—to active ministry at the diocesan level: young people deeply engaged in questions of faith and the role of the church in the world today; those looking for more responsibility, more leadership opportunities, more creative outlets for their ideas and energies; those lone teenagers in congregation really interested in church but without peers their age. |
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This year the structure of the Youth Council is expanding to provide a broader range of opportunities, acknowledging that the young people of the Diocese of Massachusetts have a broad range of talents and interests.
This year's Youth Council will be divided into several different teams, each with their own responsibilities and commitments.
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One team will serve on Diocesan Council and/or deanery assemblies, lead DYC participation in Diocesan Convention, and represent the interests of young people to the wider church (for more information, check out the next announcement).
- Another team will plan and run retreats for young people at Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center.
- A third team will work to organize young people around social justice issues such as racial reconciliation, creation care, or gun violence prevention.
There are other possibilities for other leadership roles, too, and we'd love to hear your ideas!
The applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with a planned first meeting (by Zoom or in person, depending on how things play out) in mid-October. In the meantime, reach out to H. Mark Smith if you have any questions, or suggestions for other leadership roles that young people could take on in the church!
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Diocesan Council Seats Open
For High School Students (Gr 10 - 12)
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Diocesan Council is a representative governing body that meets monthly to conduct business of the diocese between conventions.
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Dismantling Racism: Youth Curriculum
Free on-line training
sponsored by the Diocese of Massachusetts in Sept.
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Dismantling racism is the work of a lifetime, and no single course of study will "fix" things. However, a well-designed curriculum with solid theology, good pedagogy, and useful materials can help jump-start a conversation within a youth group and a church. This resource is one such opportunity.
The Office of Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Atlanta in partnership with The Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing have designed a groundbreaking six-lesson Dismantling Racism for Youth Curriculum for grades 6 through 12.
In order to receive the Leader’s Guide and other materials, one must be trained on teaching the curriculum. The training will consist of two three-hour meetings, with both an daytime option (Sept 15 & 16) and an evening option (Sept. 22-23). Congregational teams are encouraged to send at least two people to be trained on the curriculum together.
The Absalom Jones Center requires each participant to have already completed an introductory anti-racism training. If you are planning on participating in Diocese of Massachusetts-sponsored youth curriculum training but have not participated in an anti-racism training course beforehand, you will be asked to do some preliminary assignments and attend a two-hour online session on September 9 from 7-9 PM.
NOTE THAT SPACE IS LIMITED.
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Bishops Offer Details on Meetings with Young People in Expansion of Protocols for Regathering in Stage Two
As restrictions on gatherings begin to ease, youth groups and Confirmation classes are wondering about finding ways to gather in person. This is a reasonable instinct; the importance of social interaction during the adolescent years can’t be overstated. That said, if congregations decide to gather groups of middle and high school students together, it must be done in the safest possible way.
The A Journey By Stages guidelines, assembled by the dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts, provide a wealth of helpful information. Complimenting these guidelines, expanded protocols were issued August 6 to supplement and seek to clarify how the guidelines for small group meetings apply to youth ministry gatherings during Stage Two.
This week, Canon to the Ordinary Bill Parnell and Youth Missioner H. Mark Smith will host a series of Zoom conversations (Aug. 11, Aug 12, and Aug. 13) about the expanded guidelines, open to clergy, wardens and youth ministers. Contact HMark if you have not already received the links to these meetings.
In addition, this month's online youth worker gathering next Thursday, August 20 at 3:30 PM will focus on imagining together what implementing the youth gathering protocols might look like both logistically and programatically
The ongoing series of gatherings for conversation, idea and resource sharing, shared problem solving, and collegial support continues monthly, on the third Thursday of every month at 3:30 .PM.
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Transitions From Youth Ministry to Campus Ministry: Let Us Be Your Village |
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Heading to college in the Fall? Or know recent grads who are and who might be interested in connecting with an Episcopal Campus Ministry or an Episcopal Chaplain? The Episcopal Campus Ministers of greater Boston would love to welcome you or your student to our schools, connect for a cup of coffee and conversation (at a safe distance) and get to know you or your student and share about our communities.
If you know someone for us to meet, please pass along to them our contact information. If they are comfortable having you share their name and information with us, we will be happy to reach out to them as well.
Many thanks, and many blessings on all our students and young adults.
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Community Service Opportunities |
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Our World, Our Future is designed to help organize youth groups, individual young people, and others to support outreach efforts according to their abilities and interests, all while maintaining recommended physical distancing protocols.
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For more information, see the Our World, Our Future web page. There you will find the on-line catalog of service opportunities, tip sheets, and additional tools to help implement this campaign in your parish or home today! There’s also a form you can use if you have a parish-related outreach ministry you would like included in this catalog of COVID-19 responses. Finally, you will find tools you can use to share your story and hear from other people who are getting involved in their communities. We want to raise up the power of your young people as agents of hope, agents of recovery, and agents of change in our world, here and now.
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Looking Ahead: Our 2021 Plans
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot say for sure when we will be able to meet in person, much less when we will be able to gather for in-person retreats at Barbara C. Harris Camp & Conference Center in Greenfield, NH. However, we ask that you hold the following days open in your calendar. We will be meeting in some capacity on these dates, though depending on the circumstances, we might make changes to location, setting (in person or over Zoom), or time. Still, whether it's in person or from your own home, we're looking forward to seeing you!
Three Retreat Weekends are set for 2021:
- Friday, Feb 5 -- Sunday, Feb. 7
- Friday, March 19 -- Sunday, March 21
- Friday, March 26 -- Sunday, March 28
"Watch this space," as they say, as plans for these retreats, both general and preconfirmation gatherings, emerge.
If there are more ways that you'd like to be in touch with your neighbors across the diocese (diocesan Game/Movie Night? Compline services?) please let us know. We can't wait to see you!
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Resources for Youth Ministry |
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Confirmations TBD. In the Meantime...
While the bishops and their advisors continue to discern what confirmation services might look like for the foreseable future, we know that both confirmations and confirmation classes will certainly look different for some time.
Meanwhile, how do you keep the young people who were expecting to be confirmed in the spring engaged during this period of uncertainty? How do you continue to bring meaningful content to confirmation groups who have finished their designed curriculum, but now have to wait an unknown amount of time to be confirmed? We’ve heard some great ideas, from matching young people with mentors from the church community to meeting to talk about current events. Whether it’s a game night, individual or group service projects, or an anti-racism book club, there are plenty of ways to continue engaging with young people leading up to (and hopefully after!) their confirmation.
Planning will require careful consideration, but this change in structure may give us space to re-imagine what confirmation can mean to the confirmands and the church community. In support of those conversations and in preparation for remote confirmation classes, we’ve put together some of the most helpful resources that we’ve found. As usual, we’d love to hear about what’s working for you and what’s making you excited for confirmation this year, so let us know!
In terms of curriculum, we highly recommend Confirm not Conform, and have heard good things about its ability to be adapted to online meetings. Sparkhouse’s re:form curriculum is based around videos, individual activities, and group discussions, and also seems well-suited to virtual classes. For more resources, see the suggestions on diomassyouth.org
Because this is a topic of interest to a lot of people, and because we still don’t have all the information about what this coming fall will look like, virtual confirmations and confirmation classes will be the topic of an upcoming monthly online Youth Worker Gathering, likely in September, so keep your eyes open for that announcement!
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Please note: The unsubscribe link below will remove you automatically from other diocesan mailing lists. If you would like to be removed from the Youth Ministry News distribution, but continue to receive other communications, please e-mail the Rev. H. Mark Smith.
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