...supporting the pastors, clergy, coordinators of
youth and young adult ministry and the parish communities of the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ.
The St. Ann Room, St Peter Room and St Benedict Rooms are in the lower level of the Gym Building in Bert Hall.
The Marian Chapel, St. Gregory, St. Thomas, St. John the Baptist, and Blessed Mother Rooms are all located in the basement level of the Retreat House Building, across the parking lot, past the Jesus bushes.
Family & Intergenerational Parish Ministry
Presenter: Brian Caldwell
St. Benedict Room
Interested in engaging the entire family in your parish ministry programs? Want to know more about the role of the family in how we minister? Want to hear stories about how engaging families has worked and not worked? Join us for a discussion on family ministry in a parish setting and bounce some ideas around to build up the Kingdom through families!
Being the New Evangelist
Presenter: Tony Melendez
St. Peter Room
Come learn about and let’s discuss the seven qualities that help us become the New Evangelist!
Self-Care for the Servant Leader: Who Cares for You?
Presented by Sue Matour and Christina Lamas
St. Ann Room
Self-care is a journey. To care for others, we must first care for ourselves. When we stop caring for ourselves, we veer off course. Developing a self-care practice involves developing a resilient mindset while caring for the mind, body, and spirit. Gather with Christina and Sue to unpack the connection between resilience and avoiding ministry burnout, strategies for building personal resilience and the development of concrete goals to improve self-care. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for your teens. Do it for Christ. He needs you to be healthy to lead others closer to His Sacred Heart.
The 7 Deadly Church Social Media Sins (and what to do about them!)
Presented by Will Smith
St. John the Baptist Room
With the average person spending over 2.5 hours per day on social media, are you taking your church social media seriously? Still using the same techniques, platforms and content from 2018? Do you post "when the mood strikes" or are you intentional with what you post, when you post, and who you are trying to reach? Come to this workshop for the resource give-aways, stay for the strategic best practices, and walk away with a new social media plan that will engage and delight your followers.
Where Did My Kids Go?
Presented by Blair Ransom
St. Thomas Room
A bold approach to retaining participation from kids after they've been confirmed! Jesus demonstrates His method of ministry in his very being: the Incarnation. Young Life takes the same approach to Youth Ministry by showing up in the world of kids. By building authentic, trusting relationships with students, and creating environments to share the gospel youth leaders are better able to conteztualize ongoing participation in the sacramental life through personal devotion to Jesus Christ.
Love As Never Before
Presented by Sarah Hart
St. Gregory Room
During a year of Pandemic, many raised the concern: “will anyone come back to church?” But even before the pandemic, this is perhaps a question that we as church should have been paying greater attention to. Many in the faith – and not just the young – have become disenfranchised from the church, feeling excluded or unknown. So, what does true welcome look like? How do we progress towards the goal of being a people who invite, include, and adapt to all of the changing needs and demographics of the church? Through personal storytelling, songs and prayers, Sarah Hart will explore this topic. Come laugh and cry, sing and pray, and welcome one another in this workshop meant for EVERYONE!
The Joy of the Gospel
Presented by Deacon Nathan Gunn
St. Benedict Room
When Pope Francis introduced the world to "The Joy of the Gospel" in 2013, the Holy Father laid a blueprint for effective and transforming Youth Ministry. Come and learn the foundational and necessary principles that allow any sized parish to express the Holy Father's vision while also engaging young people in their world.
Getting Out of the Checkbox Mindset
Presented by Chris Rogers
St. Peter Room
Many parishioners (child, youth, and adult) experience their faith as a series of checkboxes. How did we get to this point? We will talk about how we encourage and guide the people of God to live out a real relationship with Him, and move beyond seeing Mass, the Sacraments, prayer, etc. as a series of checkboxes? You are invited to come talk about hope, strategies, and sharing the great opportunities that are already happening to get people to live beyond the checkbox.
Three Habits of Professional Youth Ministry
Presented by Christopher Wesley
St. Ann Room
Youth ministry is exhausting and too many people are burning out and leaving. The problem is that eager youth ministers are being thrown into an overwhelming situation without the tools to grow a professional-grade ministry. In this workshop, Christopher Wesley will offer three habits every youth ministry leader should embrace so that they can experience God's joy while building a quality ministry experience for their teens.
Encounter with Christ: World Youth Day, Lisbon, 2023
Presented by Phil Russo
St. John the Baptist Room
What is a pilgrimage and why go on a pilgrimage? A look at what is involved in planning and participating in World Youth Days, and in particular, World Youth Day, Lisbon, Portugal from August 1-6, 2023. For youth leaders, young adults and youth, a WYD experience can be a life changing event.
Growing Youth Protagonism and Leadership
Presented by Marisally Santiago
St. Thomas Room
By virtue of Baptism, youth in the Church are also mandated to "Go...and make disciples of all nations" (Mat 28:19). Ministry with Youth means that we must "accompany young men and women showing leadership potential, so that they can receive training and the necessary qualifications" (CV245) so they can become "agents of youth ministry" (CV 203). We will look at how to "spot" leadership potential, examples of youth leadership formation, and "necessary qualifications." Because there isn't just one way, we invite you to come ready to share your own knowledge and experience. We will even begin to create leadership formation plans for our young leaders!
Help!!! I'm pregnant and my parents are going to kill me.
Presented by Bob Perron and Chloe Battle
St. Gregory Room
Over 750,000 teens each year are faced with this conversation. Shock, fear, embarrassment, and a feeling of complete inadequacy are normal and common responses to the situation. As a youth leader, do you know how to lovingly respond? Most likely a pregnant teen is going to reach out to a friend first. Have you equipped your youth ministry teens to respond? This workshop is designed to help youth ministers and parish leaders prepare them and parish teens to respond in a life-affirming way. Bob and Chloé serve at the largest Catholic crisis pregnancy center in Florida and see young moms in this situation on a regular basis. They often feel like nobody is there to help! You can help moms and save babies by attending this workshop!
Come and go from room to room engaging in the conversations you want to be a part of, getting ideas, and sharing past experiences.
St. Thomas Room Middle School Ministry led by Christie Smith
St. Gregory Room Music in Ministry led by Q Furnald
St. John the Baptist Room Technology led by Will Smith
Blessed Mother Room Icebreakers led by Jenn and Tom Ferraioli
Marian Chapel Retreat Ideas led by Joel Gomez