Blog on Hiatus

Because I am clearly awash with visitors, please note that there will be no updates to the blog this week. We are busy gearing up for our first youth group meeting this Sunday and as such I have bigger fish to fry.

Eco-Nun Strikes one for Nature

I came across this a few weeks ago and have been waiting for the right week to write about it. Its an article about the Sister's of St. Joseph in Baden and how they are doing all kinds of interesting things with sustainable farming.

I'll confess to thinking that nature, conservation and sustainability are important and I think what the Sister's are doing is worth thinking about.

Check it out here.

Youth Ministry Digest for September 19, 2009

Guys, lots of new stuff this week. So pay attention.

In this digest:
RSVP's
Office Hours
Upcoming Events

RSVP's
I realize that I have never explained this, but I want you all to know that I take RSVPing for stuff very seriously. It means that I can make sure I have enough chaperons and transportation for everybody who wants to go to go. It also means that when people show up I don't have to choose between the kids who already told me they were coming ahead of time and the ones who just show up to stuff.

Also, you can't RSVP for stuff with me in passing. If you RSVP for something I need it in a phone message ((724).375-7940), an email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com), facebook or making sure I write it down when you tell me about it.

I only have 4 RSPV's for Kennywood (two on Facebook, two I wrote down). I realize that its a month away and that Youth Group hasn't really picked up yet, but if you know someone and they haven't RSVP'ed with me, get on their case about it.

OPEN OFFICE HOURS
Starting on Tuesday I'm going to start having open office hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2-5pm. On Tuesdays I'll be at St. Titus. My office is in the old school building. You enter through the side of the building (where the principle's office used to be). On Wednesday I'll be at Our Lady of Fatima in the Religious Education office (in the school, ring the doorbell).

So why should you visit me during my open office hours? There are a couple of reasons:

1. You need religious counsel, I am a minister after all, and I do have an MA in Theology. So I can help you if you questions of a religious or spiritual nature.
2. If you need any other sort of advice, although I can't promise I'll know as much about other stuff.
   
3. Before I was your intrepid youth minister, I did enrollment management work for a University and that means I can help you get an insider's perspective on your college applications.
4. You saw a hilarious video on the Internet and you just had to show it to someone. (So long as it is PG)
   
5. You just want to hang out.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• October 4: Youth Group starts. 1:30pm. Fatima House. Our Lady of Fatima.
• October 24: Fright Night at KennyWood. 5pm. Meet the bus at Our Lady of Fatima. $21 for ticket; $5 for the bus. Permission Form. RSVP by October 14 or you can't go.

Good teamwork everyone,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister
titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com
(724)375-7940
Facebook
Calendar

p.s. Here is a picture of a French guy

Recruitment Drive Cancelled

I was talking with some of the Our Lady of Fatima staff yesterday, and I think we need to either reschedule or cancel the recruitment drive for the twentieth. We have a mission appeal on Sunday, and its really not cool for us to take attention away from an organization that helps the poor.

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says "Blessed are the poor." Let's take some time to think about that when we hear the mission appeal on Sunday

If you see any other youth ministry kids please let them know. Sorry everyone.

Thanks,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

Reading the Bible As Though You Have A Brain: The Two Our Fathers

I'm starting this "Reading the Bible As Though You Have A Brain" series to get the you to think critically about Scripture. To many Catholics (and Christians as a whole) take most things about the Bible for granted. We are starting by thinking about the Our Father.

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

Luke11:2-4 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

I used a different translation than we use in Church on purpose. Hopefully seeing the language slightly differently can help you think freshly about these passages. Notice that Luke's is shorter and that both versions include to a command to pray in a specific manner.  What might it mean that there are two different versions?  Which one is "correct?"  If so why?  Post your thoughts in the comments.

Youth Ministry Digest for September 11, 2009

Nothing new since last week. Let me just give you all a run down on our dates:

• October 4: Youth Group starts. 1:30pm. Fatima House. Our Lady of Fatima.
• October 24: Fright Night at KennyWood. 5pm. Meet the bus at Our Lady of Fatima. $21 for ticket; $5 for the bus. Permission Form. RSVP by October 14 or you can't go.

So how is everyone? School going okay so far? I'm alright. I took my wife to a concert on Thursday for her birthday (her birthday isn't until October but the band was in town now). The band was what's known as "industrial," or as I like to call it "noise and not music." But the event itself was pretty sweet.

See everyone later,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

All Along the Watchtower

Nobody took a stab at the last trivia question. So I'm going to post the answer. The song is All Along The Watchtower by Bob Dylan. Dylan spent some time after he was in a bad accident thinking about the Bible. There is a debate among his biographers about whether he actually became a Christian, but a lot of his music from this time asks serious questions about ethics, faith and the apocalyptic imagery in Scripture. I think that last category is what I like best about All Along The Watchtower (its one of my favorite songs).

In this song Dylan took some of the images from the Book of Revelations and combined them with some of the reversals he found in the Gospels. In the Gospels, Jesus usually reversed people's beliefs about how the world worked. He would say things like "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" or that good shepherds left their flocks to go after the one lamb who has gone astray. These were the opposite of what people thought. Jesus' ultimate reversal occurred when he, God made human, was nailed to a cross and died.

The first verse of All Along The Watchtower goes:

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

Here, the joker is taking his situation utterly seriously, while the thief is nonchalant. The situation in the song is the opposite of what we expect. In the second verse of the song features "two riders" (presumably the joker and thief) approaching "the Watchtower," while "princes [keep] the view."

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

I think that whatever Dylan thought about Christianity at the time, he was trying to reconcile the reversals he read about in the Gospels with some of the images in the Book of Revelations. These images are fiercer than many of us are comfortable with. For example, when Jesus first appears to John he has a sword in his mouth. Its sad that Dylan didn't keep with this stuff, but perhaps if we meditate on the what's going on in the song a little bit we can understand the Bible a little bit better.

Here is a video of Jimi Hendrix (Dylan always said that Hendrix did a better job performing the song) performing the song:

Youth Ministry Digest for September 4, 2009

Big digest this week. Some of the stuff I scheduled after the bulletin went to the printer so its announced for its first time here. So pay attention!

You'll remember from last time that there are two meetings for your parents coming up.

• The first is next Tuesday at 7pm September 9. It will be at the Upper Room at Our Lady of Fatima. This meeting has information about what Youth Ministry is, what we do. Its not required, but I highly encourage your parents to attend.
  
• The second is a meeting for any of your parents who interested in volunteering with Youth Ministry this year. It will be at 7pm on September 15 at St. Titus in the Church Hall. This meeting is required if they want to help. They need to RSVP with me by Thursday September 10 if they are planning on attending. My contact info is at the end of every Youth Ministry Digest post, so write it down and give it to them if need be.

Also, we are going to Alive Again! next Saturday, September 12. Meet me in the Our Lady of Fatima parking lot at 12:30 pm. Tell your parents we will be hoping to get back around 11pm. If you are planning on attending or know anybody who is planning on attending, please call or email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me so that I know whether to schedule a bus or not. And remember you have to have a permission form and $15 when you arrive.

The last bit of old news I have is that I need volunteers to help me the morning of September 20 for a small recruitment drive. I need volunteers to help at both Our Lady of Fatima and St. Titus, and I'd like to make sure I have both parishes represented. If you think you can help please email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me or confirm on Facebook ASAP.

Okay, new stuff now! For starters, we have a Fall schedule for Youth Group! It starting October 4, and going every Sunday after that until November 8. That's six weeks straight. The meetings will be held at Fatima House and Our Lady of Fatima (obviously). We are going to look into having some of the meetings at St. Titus too. I don't have to much scheduled out for the meetings yet, but I can tell you there's going to be lots and lots of food at the first meeting.

Finally, we're letting the spooky cat out of the haunted bag and announcing Fright Night at Kennywood!
When: October 24, 5pm
Where: Our Lady of Fatima
Cost: $21 for ticket; $5 for bus; one filled out permission form
RSVP: You must RSVP with me by October 14. If you do not RSVP you may not go. You may RSVP on Facebook, by emailing (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me and calling me.

That's it for this week folks. Hope school is starting to settle down for y'all.

Sincerely,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister
titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com
(724)375-7940
Facebook
Calendar

Bishops

I know some of you went to St. Paul's Cathedral last year, but did you know that its actually the second Cathedral in the diocese of Pittsburgh? It goes without saying that the Cathedral is the main Church in the diocese, and its also pretty well known that a cathedral is the bishop's Church.

I think a lot of times we think that the bishop is just a special kind of priest, the one in charge of the diocese and the one that reports to the Pope. This is actually untrue. You do have to be a priest to become a bishop, but a bishop something different than a priest, not just a priest plus.

To understand why this is the case we have to back to the apostles. After Jesus sent them out, the apostles established Churches all over the ancient world, and they set up bishops to be in charge. We know this because we have some of the letters that these very early bishops wrote. The bishops saw themselves as carrying on the work of the apostles after they died, and not as priests with some extra abilities. The bishops provide a line that stretches all the way back to Jesus (this is one of the nice things about Catholicism, history backs up many of our beliefs).

In fact, this situation with bishops is part of the reason the Pope is so important. The Pope isn't something other than a bishop. He's a bishop, but because he is the bishop that was appointed by the leader of the apostles, St. Peter, he has a special role to play in the Church. Just like Peter was able to coordinate where the apostles went and what they taught, the Pope helps organize the Church and makes sure everybody is on the same page.