More from Mary Lee Becker on teens

by JoAnn Borchert

February 1, 2001, will be a day filled with excitement and new insights about the faith life of adolescents. Mary Lee Becker spent time in our diocese in the fall of 2000. She was very well received. Her presentations energized and engaged her audiences. Her knowledge of youth today and how we as parishes can respond to their needs are profound. As one participant remarked in the fall, "She deepened and confirmed what I believe about youth." She is a trainer, author, and consultant in youth ministry. She has been professionally involved in Youth Ministry since 1980.

The daylong workshop will be from 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on February 1. The content for the workshop will cover strategies for providing faith formation experiences which actively engage the curiosity and energy of adolescents making use of the existing ministries of the parish as resources for catechesis. She will also present strategies for becoming family-friendly in our ministry with youth engaging parents as partners in faith formation. This event is for pastoral leadership, parish staffs, directors of religious education, youth ministers, school staffs, catechists, and anyone interested in involvement with youth. The cost for the workshop is $20 which includes lunch.

The evening workshop will be titled "Nurturing the Spirituality of Teens." It will cover a planning process for providing meaningful prayer experiences for young people and strategies for awakening the daily life of youth at home, school, and in the community. This workshop is for catechists, parents, parish education committee members, scouting leaders, liturgists, and those named for the daylong session. The cost of this workshop is $4.

These workshops will take place at the Jubilee Center at St. Aloysius parish in Olivia and are sponsored by the diocesan Offices of Religious Education and Adult Religious Education and Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

JoAnn Borchert is director of the Office of Religious Education for the Diocese of New Ulm.