Youth Ministry Team Meetings

Garrison, NY: Members of the Archdiocese Youth and Young Adult Ministry Team gathered from around the country for their bi-annual Youth Ministry Team meetings, which took place October 19-21 in Troy, MI. The Youth Ministry Team was graciously hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas and the Metropolis of Detroit, and is made up of each Metropolis/DAD Youth Director and the Director of Ionian Village.

The meetings began on Wednesday morning and included worship, teambuilding exercises, discussion on the challenges of ministering to young people, the role of social networking in ministry, and a review of new and existing parish resources provided by the National Department. The next day included a discussion with the legal committee about the Policies and Procedures for Screening and Selecting Youth Workers (Youth Protection Manual) and its implementation throughout all Metropolis Camps and Retreats. Updates were also given about the successes of Young Adult Ministry parish visits, the Find Them, Greet Them, Love Them campaign, and 10 in 10, which highlighted 10 service projects in 2010, one in each Metropolis. Summer camping programs were also reviewed, including future dates for camp director training in Dallas, TX at the 2011 Orthodox Camp and Youth Worker Conference.

For more information about the Youth Ministry Team, or about our Young Adult Ministry 10 in 10 projects, please visit www.youth.goarch.org, www.youngadult.goarch.org, or call our office at 646-519-6180.

Teachers and Social Networking

Hi Youth Workers!

Do you use Facebook or social media sites to communicate with your young people? Check out this interesting article from MSNBC entitled Teachers, students and Facebook, a toxic mix. Here's a teaser...

"Social networking is a digital minefield for school districts, adding to the already complex world of teacher-student relationships. Many districts are struggling to set workable policies around social networking, while at the same time, using Facebook and other similar tools as part of their educational program. How do they create virtual boundaries that protect teachers and students without squelching potentially useful technology tools?"

Here's the full article

Bully-cide: The new and fatal face of bullying?

Hi Youth Workers! Check out this article about bullying taken from our Youth Worker Pulse listserv:

Bullying is an ever-present issue in the lives of teenagers. The form of bullying has changed over the years. It used to be that the bigger kid at school would just shove the nerdy kid in their locker or knock their books out of their hands. Young people are being accosted on many different fronts… including via technology.

This bullying happens for many different reasons: race, sexuality, gender, appearance, disabilities, and much more. U.S. News and World Report states that “more than 62% of American students are bullied because of the way they look and or the way they speak.”

According to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), “more than 43% of teens report being victims of cyberbullying. Nine in ten teens (92%) say they know who is bullying them, but only 10% of victims report this bullying to their parents.”

So for some young people, they endure the bullying and move on. For others, the bullying results in emotional distress and social withdrawal. But the most startling trend is for young people to commit suicide as a result of bullying. It’s what’s being more widely-accepted as “bully-cide.” And some say it is contributing to the rising statistic that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 16-25 year olds.

At the end of September, Tyler Clementi committed suicide shortly after discovering a video of himself that had been secretly taped and posted online. Unfortunately, Clementi is not the only teen or young adult who has committed suicide as a result of excessive bullying.

So what can youth workers do to help address this ever-changing issue?

INFORM YOURSELF

Make sure to read up on some of the causes and signs of bullying. It’s very important to point these things out to parents and young people. However, it’s also important to recognize and stop possible bullying in your own youth groups.

Here are just a few websites about bullying and “bullycide.” Some websites are great for kids and teens, but most are for parents and adults.

For adults…

http://www.overcomebullying.org/bullycide.html
http://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html
http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Bullying&section=Facts+for+Families

For youth and adults…

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/problems/bullies.html
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/
http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/

EDUCATE THE TEENS IN YOUR YOUTH GROUP

Teen bullying prevention starts with education. It is important to discuss issues like this with youth groups to encourage young people take a stand against bullying. Also, it is very likely that some of them are either currently being bullied or have experienced bullying.

Before embarking on a Here are some questions that youth workers can use to begin a discussion about bullying:

1) What is bullying? How do you see bullying happen among your peers and friends?
2) Do you know bullies at school or in your other activities? If so, what do they do?
3) Have you ever been a victim of bullying? (Ask for volunteers to speak about their experiences)
4) Why do you think people bully other people?
5) What should you do if you or someone you know is being bullied?
6) Do you think you might have been a bully? How can we bullies, maybe without knowing it? (Judging others, gossip, not being inclusive, etc.)
7) What are some of the effects of bullying? (Depression, self-esteem issues, separation, anger and violent retaliation, sometimes self-violence or suicide, etc.)
8) In what ways can Christ and the Church help an individual who might be a victim of bullying? (Discuss the importance of community and how the youth group is a no-tolerance zone for bullying, discuss how the Church is full of trusted individuals that will listen to your concerns, discuss God's unconditional love, discuss Christ's own humiliation at the hands of those who He has come to save, etc.)
9) What does the Church say about how we should treat others? Should we EVER be bullies? (Read and discuss any of the following and how it pertains to bullying: The Greatest Commandment, the Parable of the Last Judgment, Luke 6:31-36 “Do unto others…” etc.)