The Network

Well another summer has come and gone and it's only now that it seems that Mother Nature is finally cooperating and giving us our just due of sunshine. Hopefully everyone enjoyed this (typically)slower time of the year.

I want to bring you up-to-date on a number of developments and upcoming events.

First off, over the summer I finished updating the Area Youth Ministry contact list (although there are a number of parishes which I have still not heard back from, it is as complete as possible). If you wish to be kept up-to-date on the goings-on within York-Scarborough (and beyond), please contact me to ensure that your name is included in future mailings.

Diocese of Toronto Youth Ministry Group - As much as we all enjoy youth ministry there are many pressures that can arise and we can be left with the feeling that we are an island unto ourselves and are operating our ministry in a vacuum. A couple of weeks back Christian Harvey, the Area Youth Coordinator for Trent-Durham, sent out ane-mail asking former members of the Diocese of Toronto Youth Ministry Working Group (decommissioned in late 2008) to attend a meeting at St. George's Willowdale to see what level of interest was in reestablishing or reinventing this group. Christian was the first to articulate what many former members of the group were feeling - we missed each other. There was a good turnout with many hugs and smiles. It was almost like a class reunion or meeting up with long-lostfriends from summer camp. There was much discussion around: what had happened, what should happen, and what is going to happen.

The bottom line is, it was decided that this new (unnamed) group would meet every other month to join together in fellowship and share with each other (at a bare minimum) our successes, challenges and ideas.

This is an invitation for all youth ministers in the York-Scarborough Network to attend the next meeting scheduled for November 3, 7:30 PM at St. Clement's Church.

http://www.stclements-church.org/component/content/article/220

Next on the calendar is Looking Forward (November 6-7, 2009) -  an event that I cannot recommend highly enough. There are always many interesting workshops and it's a great opportunity to network with other Youth Ministers.

from their website...

http://www.zipsqueal.com/leadership_weekend.html

Looking Forward is...

... A leadership training opportunity as well as a community building event for youth leaders across the province. Looking Forward seeks to provide a forum to offer training on current youth ministry practices, share resources and ideas, and build community and shared ministry among youth leaders.

- Many workshops offering practical skills and food for thought

- Experience different styles of worship

- Music from within - music ideas for those who don't have a rockband at their disposal

- Downtime and social times for rest and relaxation

- Forests, streams, waterfalls and trails to explore at CanterburyHills

- Time to re-energize yourself

Who is the program for ?

This event is for individual adult leaders as well as parish teams of leaders which could include youth members. We welcome leaders from across Canada but our primary target region is the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario which includes the dioceses of Niagara, Toronto,Ottawa, Huron, Ontario, Algoma and Moosenee.

more Looking Forward details...

http://www.zipsqueal.com/leadership_weekend.html

There are many more events in the works and I will keep you updated as details become available.

Peace,

Brian