Youth E-Chat
Northeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
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Don't Miss!
Upcoming deadlines and events to watch for:

Synod Journey registration opens September 19!
The links to enter information for the Online Forms are now open!

All Synod Journey Registration Forms
In This Issue
Synod Journey/ELCA Youth Gathering
Practice Discipleship Events
Free Webinar!
Discipleship Challenge
Lutheran Campus Ministry
Hunger Training Event
Extravaganza
New Cert School
Middle School Gathering
Peer Ministry Training
Continuing Ed Events - More New Events!
Youth Ministry Positions
Synod YM Calendar
20: Hunger Training Event

October 2014
4: Synod Journey Training, Hermantown
5: Synod Journey Training, Camp Onomia
9: Practice Discipleship Webinar
12: Synod Journey Training, Grand Rapids
23: Practice Discipleship Day Event, Camp Onomia

November 2014
4: Practice Discipleship Day Event, Duluth
21-22: Middle School Gathering
22-23: Middle School Gathering

January 2015
30 - Feb. 2: Extravaganza, Detroit

February 2015
15: LYO Applications Due
27 - March 1: Cardia Deo

July 2015
11-20: The Synod Journey

ELCA
Outdoor Ministries
in and around
NE MN Synod
 
Encourage your young people and families to go to camp next summer!

Camp Amnicon

Camp Onomia

Luther Crest Bible Camp

Luther Park Bible Camp

Voyaguers Lutheran Ministries

Wilderness Canoe Base

Journeys(Listing and links for all ELCA Outdoor Ministries) 
ELCA Youth Gathering Links

Quick Links
 
Join our list
Join Our Mailing List
Get Networked!

Youth ministry is hard work.  We are strengthed personally and professionally when we get together regularly to share our stories, swap ideas, learn from each other and lean on each other.  Make time this month to join in on one of these network opportunities, or have coffee with a youth worker near you!

Duluth Area Network Meetings:
Second Thursday of Every Month, 10:00am
Beaner's in West Duluth
Contact Deb Westerberg for more info.

Brainerd Area Network Meetings:
Second Thursday of Every Month, 10:00am
Caribou Coffee on Hwy 371
Contact Stacy Johnson for more info.

Cert Schools
Sponsored by Trinity Lutheran College  Certificate in Children, Youth & Family Ministry The 3-week program is open to staff, pastors, and volunteers looking for in-depth training in congregational ministry leadership. Find details at www.tlc.edu/cyfcenter.


Sponsored by
Vibrant Faith Ministries and Wartburg Seminary
This week-long training experience is supplemented by five weeks of online training. For dates and more information please contact Jim LaDoux at 877-239-2492 or click here.


Sponsored by
Youth Leadership 

This two year program covers the key areas of youth ministry leadership with a personal component that will help you grow as a leader in your particular context.

For more information, click here.  
September 2, 2014


"Be strong and courageous;
do not be frightened or dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
- Joshua 1:9

It was a new day for God's people as the book of Joshua opens. Their trusted leader was gone. They were heading to a new place. No wonder God said to Joshua three times, "Be strong and courageous."

I like to imagine this scene with God taking Joshua's face in His hands, looking Joshua in the eye and saying, "YOU CAN DO THIS! Stick to the plan...remember the Story of my love for this people...teach that Story. I've got your back!"

I think a new school and program year brings out a little bit of Joshua in all of us. So as this new year gets going, feel God's hands on your face and God looking you in the eye saying, "YOU CAN DO THIS! Yes this world is changing...but now more than ever my people need to know the Story of my love for them. Teach that Story! YOU CAN DO THIS...because I'm with you every step of the way!" 

 

Together in Christ,  

Catherine Anderson 

Coordinator of Youth Ministry
The Synod Journey to the
2015 ELCA Youth Gathering
Synod Journey Registration opens September 19!   

 

There are 3 steps to register for the Synod Journey:

 

Step One: ONLINE FORMS

Now - September 19 

From now until registration opens, enter the online information needed for your registration. These online forms must be completed BEFORE you send in your Mailed Registration. These are NE MN SYNOD online forms, not the Gathering online registration! Remember: If you are registering for The Synod Journey, do NOT register online through the ELCA Youth Gathering!! 

 

Step Two: MAILED REGISTRATION

September 19 - 26, 2014

This event has had a history of filling on the first day, so we encourage congregations to have all materials ready to be postmarked on September 19! 

 

Step Three: BACKGROUND CHECKS

October 1-15, 2014

Once registered, all adult leaders will receive a link to submit information and consent for a background check. Your group will not be considered fully registered until all adult leaders have entered this information!  

 

For all information on the Synod Journey, visit  

www.nemnsynod.org/SynodJourney. Click on "Registration Forms" to access the online links and paper forms needed! 

 

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Not Going on the Synod Journey? 

A "soft opening" where you can begin to enter your registration information opens September 15. Visit www.elca.org/YouthGathering for more information. 

2014 Practice Discipleship Training Events


The 2014 theme for Practice Discipleship is "Frame." 
Training events will explore biblical, theological and practical frames that can give intentionality to how we prioritize our ministries and respond to the gospel in our daily lives. 

Train the Trainer Event

Sept. 16: Our Savior's Lutheran, Cloquet 

Deadline to register is September 10! 

Cost: $50 per congregation (unlimited number of participants) 

Bring a team of 2 or more to be equipped to lead the Practice Discipleship trainings in your congregation.

 

Local Day Events

Oct. 23: Camp Onomia

Nov. 4: First Lutheran, Duluth

Cost: $10 per person or $25 per congregation (unlimited participants from one congregation) 

These are open enrollment workshops for individuals or groups to attend.

 

Click here for more info and to register! 
Full and partial scholarships are available for all events! Email Catherine Anderson to request a scholarship. 
Practice Discipleship Webinar:
Framing Christian Community

September 11, 2014

9:00am - FREE and ONLINE!

Josh Graber, ALT Year Director  

 

This lesson will present a way of walking alongside individual young people, communities and families as we help them frame their lives by learning through relationships with surrounding community, learning from an intentional community and learning about yourself through community. We will explore practices of faith that help us frame our lives in solitude and in community.   
 

 

Register now! Can't make the time/date to watch this live? A recording of the webinar will be available the next day at www.practicediscipleship.org. 
NE MN Synod Discipleship Challenge!

 
All of us are living a story. Together we are living in the middle of God's story - for us, and for our neighbor. Faith practices help us on our faith journey to KNOW God's Story for our lives and the world...to BE God's story of love and reconciliation in the world...and to TELL God's Story so the world can know they are part of God's Story too!

   Dig Deep Together on a Faith Journey to...
            KNOW the Story
                    BE the Story
                           TELL the Story
                                    ...of Christ's Love in the World!

September Resources:
Introductory Teaser Video
Introductory Discussion Guide 
Lutheran Campus Ministry
The transition into college life can be daunting...and a lonely place on a young person's faith journey. As your students head off to college, take time to connect them with a Lutheran Campus Ministry to help with this transition and to continue to walk with them on their faith journey!

There is a new resource to easily make referrals for students heading to public colleges and universities: http://elcacampusministry.org/. For students attending our ELCA colleges, you can locate contact info for college pastors on the school websites. Be sure to give your students the contact info for campus ministry at their school as well. It takes time, but is well worth the investment!
Hunger Training Event
September 20, 2014
9am - 3pm
Salem Lutheran Church, Deerwood

Learn how to address hunger issues in your community and how to get more involved! Two adults and two youth from every synod congregation is invited and encouraged to attend! Sponsored by the NE MN Synod Hunger, Justice and Rural Life Concerns Committee.

For more information and to register for this FREE event, click here.
EXTRAVAGANZA!
January 30 - February 2, 2015
Detroit, MI
The Extravaganza is an annual 4-day conference that draws together anywhere from 500-750 adults who work with youth in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the premier renewal, education and networking event of our church. It is for the professional and the volunteer. It is for the old and the young. It is for the urban, the suburban and the rural. It is for pastors, it is for laypeople. It is for all who share in the adventure we call youth and family ministry.

Registration now open! For more info, visit www.elcaymnet.org/E2015.  
Children, Youth and Family Ministry Certificate Program
January 5-23, 2015
Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, WA
This training is designed to equip church staff, volunteers, and pastors for effective leadership in congregational children, youth, and family ministry. Students learn in an interactive seminar format, including discussions, presentations, videos, role plays, and more. Topics include biblical and theological foundations, Bible study methods, human lifespan development, creative programming, counseling and relational skills, and program administration. Housing is available. For more information, visit  www.tlc.edu/cyfcenter or contact Rev. David Ellingson at 425.249.4722 or david.ellingson@tlc.edu. 
Middle School Gathering
November 21-22, 2014 OR 
November 22-23, 2014 
Grades 6-9, Cragun's Resort 
"FOREVER"
Speaker: Dave Scherer (Agape)

Join nearly 1000 middle school youth and adults for the for a weekend of fun, friends, learning, laughing, play, worship and so much more! The theme for 2014 is "Forever" - in the Sacraments we are FOREVER given our identity as child of God, and we are strengthened in that relationship FOREVER!

For more information and to download registration forms, visit www.nemnsynod.org/MSG 

WANTED - ASSORTED CROSSES!
Each year for the Middle School Gathering, we ask congregations to invest in the faith life of our youth by creating a symbol the youth can take home to remember that they are loved by God, and that we take our baptismal promises seriously! This year we are looking for assorted crosses from key chain size to no bigger than a square foot. Be creative They might be key chains, magnets, necklaces...made out of wood, crocheted, saudered nails...your imagination is the limit! More information can be found at www.nemnsynod.org/MSG.  
Peer Ministry Leadership Training
Sept. 19-20, 2014 
Augustana Lutheran Church, W. St. Paul 
Peer Ministry Leadership is students equipped with SKILLS to build caring, welcoming and affirming relationships that are LIVED every day, everywhere and in every relationship...LOVING others because Christ first loved us.

For more information and to register, click here.  

Calvary Lutheran Church in Mora is exploring holding a Peer Ministry Leadership Training this fall. Dates are still being considered, but would be sometime the end of September - beginning of November. If you are interested in participating, contact Susan Williams at 320-679-1706. 
Continuing Education Events Beyond Our Synod
Our synod is located just hours away from some of the top youth ministry training in the nation! Click on the organizations below for a complete listing of training opportunities!
  
Youth Leadership
Offers 3 hour, one day, intensive and certificate programs.

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EveryDay / Peer Ministry / Marilyn Sharpe Ministries
Living Room Summit, Peer Ministry Leadership Camps and trainings, Coaching.

Peer Ministry Leadership Training
September 19-20: Augustana Lutheran, W. St. Paul
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Vibrant Faith Ministries
Online learning, coaching. Tons of free resources on the Faith Formation Learning Exchange!
  
Youth Ministry Position
Youth Director  
Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Duluth
Experience working with youth & adults & involvement in life of a congregation. Planning, programming, supervising. 20 hrs/wk. Mail cover letter & resume to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Attn: Exec. Director,  410 N. Arlington Ave., Duluth, MN 55811; or dekma50@gmail.com 
You are welcome to copy and use any of the information or writings above for use in your newsletters and other communications.

If you have any questions regarding any of these events, please contact me at the number and addresses listed below.

Catherine Anderson
Coordinator of Youth Ministry

 

Phone: 218.724.4424, ext. 124
Fax: 218.724.4393