This blog will be used
to initiate conversation between members of your cohort group (CAFFE
participants with similar sized parish). We will use the blog to post
discussion questions about our readings and the content of our
sessions. Each cohort has an individual site for discussion.
Please post at least once between sessions.
You may post as often as you like! We will monitor the discussion to
ensure everyone is participating. We will also use content of
discussion to help direct future sessions.
For this month's session, please respond to the following before February 25:
1) What led you to sign up for the CAFFE program?
2) What is your role in your parish's Faith Formation or Youth Ministry program? How long have you been involved?
3) What do you hope to gain from CAFFE? What do you hope will be covered in our sessions?
Thank you!
Welcome to the comment section. It's is our hope that you will be able to dialog with your peers about the CAFFE content in between meetings. To help you do that, we have created this blog. Please take about 30 minutes per week to read other posts and add your own thoughts on the questions we post.
ReplyDeleteWhat led me to the CAFFE program? Good question. I think it has to do with the idea that we are better together than we are alone. I love the idea of getting together and wrestling with the issues that affect our ministry. So, we created CAFFE as a way to facilitate those conversations.
I have been in diocesan ministry for 8 years now, and spent 7 years before that in parish ministry doing Youth Ministry, Religious Education, and Young Adult Ministry.
I am hoping that our sessions will be honest, genuine discussions. I hope that we all grow to our professional potential and eventually turn that professionalism and renewed energy into helping young people grow closer to Jesus and His Church.
Welcome to CAFFE. I was a participant in the first program offered last year travelling all of one mile across Manchester since we at the Blessed Trinity Cluster hosted. So why am I coming back? For one, I found the gathering with fellow leaders to be of tremendous benefit and I feel fortunate to be chosen to help present this year. We had several great initiatives come out of our time last year. I am hopeful that gathering with new leaders will help us continue our progress toward a truly comprehensive faith formation program.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I love to learn and share what I learn. I was a 19 year volunteer in a large parish youth ministry program in the far west Chicagoland area. I initially trained under Frank Mercadante when he was beginning Cultivation Ministries 22 years ago. I grew to love working with teen leaders and finally made the step to be a full time Church employee 2.5 years ago. I completed my Masters in Ministry from Loras College a year ago with my capstone project being “Storytelling: Using Theological Reflection to Prepare the Personal Witness of Young People.”
Lastly, I feel the Holy Spirit has truly inspired this initiative. The dynamics will be waaay different than last year when we had less than 20 participants. But the team is confident that what we share will have a positive impact on your life’s work. I ask that you each pray for success of this venture for God’s greater glory.
I am excited about the opportunity to interact with others in the Faith Formation community and learn more and better ways to serve our youth.
ReplyDeleteI have been the Youth Minister at my parish for about six months. I hope to learn how to better serve our youth and help strengthen their faith. I also look forward to hearing how other parishes of similar size get their youth involved and keep them involved.
ReplyDeleteHello all! Well I am very excited to dive into CAFFE. When I first heard of this idea, I thought "what a brilliant way to strengthen the education and faith of our young people in the Archdiocese!" I am in the first year of my job as Coordinator of Youth Ministry and Religious Education at Sacred Heart in Maquoketa. I have learned so much and still have much more room for growth. Being able to share experiences and ideas with peers in my field will open up so many doors for the young people I represent! I am hoping CAFFE will give my parish a better avenue for religious education for our teens and more ideas on how to bring the kids in and keep them as well. I look forward to meeting all of you on Monday!
ReplyDeleteI signed up because I thought it would be a great to deepen my faith and to also learn different ways to pass it on. I have been an DRE for seven years. I hope to gain new and different ways to share and teach the people of this parish.
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Ashley and I signed up for the CAFFE program because it was recommended and I am all for any help I can get! I am the coordinator of faith formation (RE, Youth Ministry, RCIA, and AFF) for our Trinity Cluster (McGregor, Monona, & Postville). I am also in my first year as I started in August 2012. Like many of you, I hope to gain ideas from other parishes to help get our Youth Ministry back and running. I hope that we cover specific ideas and models that help our kids make faith 'real' in their life.
ReplyDeleteI am one of the few that have taken the CAFFE program before. While I found a lot of useful information last year, it was really only incorporated into programing at my parish (St. Mark, Iowa Falls). This year I am excited to take this class with my co-workers (Gary & Marisa from St. Mary, Eldora) so we may continue to mesh our programs together and make them stronger and provide the best programing possible for all the youth in our cluster.
ReplyDeleteI began working at St. Mark 9 years ago as a catechist and volunteer for youth ministry. I am currently the CRE, Youth Minister for grades 6-12, and Young Adult Minister as well as numerous other titles.
I hope to gain more knowledge and ideas to strengthen the programming offered to the youth in our cluster. I am most looking forward to the last class and seeing how things are going to be rolled out for the next few years.
I am always looking for ways to enhance our youth ministry program so CAFFE training seemed like a great fit.
ReplyDeleteI am currently in my 6th year at Holy Family Parish in Reinbeck. I'm currently serving as youth minister but have served as DRE and in adult faith formation.
I'm hoping to gain knowledge to bring back to my parish. Also I'm hoping to have ideas to use in a revamped Confirmation program next year.
I am in my first year as Director of Faith Formation at St. Joseph Parish in State Center. Prior to this position, I was the DRE at St. Mary in Marshalltown for 12 years. Youth Ministry was never part of my position before, and there has been very little in the way of youth ministry in State Center, so I'm looking for ideas to build a program from the ground up. I look forward to meeting all of you, sharing our thoughts and learning from each other.
ReplyDeleteI do not deal directly with Youth Ministry, but I want so much for our RE program. Right now it feels so disjointed, different people each taking parts of our program in different directions and no unity of purpose, for the most part. I am glad that Brenda, Marisa and I are doing this together so that we can begin to try to put things together and develop a plan that maybe everyone can do together.
ReplyDelete