Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I now have all I need to start a Dead Theologian Society chapter! Mwahahahahaha! Now all I need is to convince the youths' parents that I need more than the hour they currently give me to catechize their kids (I mean...seriously...an hour? Once you factor in social time and prayer, I'll only have a few minutes to discuss the faith with them!). God bless, Micah PS-Can a deacon invest people in the brown scapular, or only priests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traichuoi Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 my brother's youth group had DTS...it's totally awesome if the kids get into it. I remember they would meet in a dark chapel lit with just candles while Gregorian Chant music played. It was cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishSalesian Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='Raphael' post='1361344' date='Aug 17 2007, 07:19 PM']I now have all I need to start a Dead Theologian Society chapter! Mwahahahahaha! Now all I need is to convince the youths' parents that I need more than the hour they currently give me to catechize their kids (I mean...seriously...an hour? Once you factor in social time and prayer, I'll only have a few minutes to discuss the faith with them!). God bless, Micah PS-Can a deacon invest people in the brown scapular, or only priests?[/quote] Only a priest can invest the scapular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='IrishSalesian' post='1361515' date='Aug 17 2007, 09:46 PM']Only a priest can invest the scapular.[/quote] Darn...okay, well...I'll have to find a way to get my priest to attend meetings every so often... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StColette Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Just ask the parents. The worst they can do is say no. Never hurts to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpugh Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 So... what is this DTS? I'm interested. Not many youth oriented stuff around here. Maybe my Youth ministry could adopt something like this (if they put away the geetars... haha.. I dunno. Maybe I'm foolishly assuming it's highly traditional.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='Sacred Music Man' post='1361567' date='Aug 17 2007, 11:00 PM']So... what is this DTS? I'm interested. Not many youth oriented stuff around here. Maybe my Youth ministry could adopt something like this (if they put away the geetars... haha.. I dunno. Maybe I'm foolishly assuming it's highly traditional.)[/quote] www.deadtheologiansociety.com It's pretty much amazing. Based on the lives of the saints...candlelit sessions with gregorian chant and incense...initiation rites, special gear for members...I haven't heard of a single place it's been unsuccessful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpugh Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 (edited) Cool. I'll think about it. We need some ballance of tradition, but I dunno if we're called to have it here now... I'll pray on it. Edited August 18, 2007 by Sacred Music Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Just a question Micah How much time are you spending hangin with the kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='traichuoi' post='1361399' date='Aug 17 2007, 06:26 PM']my brother's youth group had DTS...it's totally awesome if the kids get into it. I remember they would meet in a dark chapel lit with just candles while Gregorian Chant music played. It was cool...[/quote] I think we should start a UST chapter ... we could meet in the meditation room, maybe ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='hot stuff' post='1361796' date='Aug 18 2007, 09:47 AM']Just a question Micah How much time are you spending hangin with the kids?[/quote] 3-4 hours/week base, plus special events, retreats, going to their games, plays, etc. It's not all catechesis. Heck, half of the time involved in DTS itself is just hanging out and having snacks and talking, then I have a 1.5 hour session with them Wednesday evenings where we'll hang out and discuss the topics they bring up, with maybe a few formal things. Most of my time is spent in planning, arranging for help from parishioners, getting and keeping connections within the community. Why do you ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1361798' date='Aug 18 2007, 09:48 AM']I think we should start a UST chapter ... we could meet in the meditation room, maybe ...[/quote] You totally could...or Theology on Tap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 [quote name='Raphael' post='1361896' date='Aug 18 2007, 01:36 PM']3-4 hours/week base, plus special events, retreats, going to their games, plays, etc. It's not all catechesis. Heck, half of the time involved in DTS itself is just hanging out and having snacks and talking, then I have a 1.5 hour session with them Wednesday evenings where we'll hang out and discuss the topics they bring up, with maybe a few formal things. Most of my time is spent in planning, arranging for help from parishioners, getting and keeping connections within the community. Why do you ask?[/quote] It wasn't a loaded question. I found that the more I went out to them, the more they came in to my events. A lot of parishes have this idea that they want their youth staff to be in the office 40 hours a week. And when I was starting out, I was relying heavily on the mentoring of others because I had the passion but I didn't know what to do. It was later that I realized what a poor support system most of my kids had. My showing up at their events, school lunches, etc. made a difference to them. I also realized that my being "out there in their world" was more attuned to what Christ did then the programs I had in place at the Church. It certainly isn't a shot at starting a Dead Theologian Society. Its a great program. But now 10 years out of the biz, I found that the moments the kids remembered were more from the relational ministry than the programs. I had a conversation with the YM at my church the other day. She was frustrated that she had found all these great programs but so few of the kids were interested. But it was clear she wasn't comfortable going out just to "be" with the kids. That's why they weren't showing up. I'm glad you're out there in their world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 Yeah, sorry for jumping at the question. Unfortunately, everyone has a different idea about how youth ministry should be done and most everyone is very willing to try to push their own way. Not that I thought you'd do that, but it was sort of a knee-jerk reaction. The Incarnation shows us that relational ministry is the best work we can do, of course. It's the effort we make to be amongst them that impresses them the most but, naturally, without programs, they aren't really being catechized, just mentored. So it's a delicate balance. Fortunately, these kids are very curious about their Catholic faith...many of them want to come to learn about it because they don't always understand why they're different (keep in mind, this part of the country is like 90% Protestant, and very vocal about it). One of the volunteers wanted to pray a decade of the Rosary with the youth, but they didn't know much about it...so I offered to explain it to them...I actually had to cut off the questions because there were so many, and they were all being asked so fervently. That's great encouragement to me, so in response to it, we're having a 1.5 hour session every week just for them to ask whatever they want to know about the topics that have been coming up recently, all in a very informal setting, complete with snacks, some goofing around, etc. The DTS and occasional doctrinal lessons are on Sundays and are more catechetical, but still include significant time for goofing off and having fun. You're right, though...relational ministry is awesome. I'm pleased that one of my close volunteers is a professional mentor at a local high school and will be getting the foot in the door for me. Then we've got one kid who has no interest in youth group because he's too excited about soccer, so I'm going to try to make a deal with him...he can coach (or assistant coach) the middle school soccer team we'll start up if he also comes to youth group. What you're discussing is something advocated by a Protestant youth ministry organization called Young Life, which basically says that before anything else, "you've got to earn the right to be heard." It's a beautiful ministry and something our best catechetical saints advocated. Luckily, I got Jennie to agree to the fact that we'll probably be having a lot of dates consisting of going to high school games and plays, lol. God bless, Micah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traichuoi Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1361798' date='Aug 18 2007, 05:48 AM']I think we should start a UST chapter ... we could meet in the meditation room, maybe ...[/quote] that would be cool!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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