News from Around:

Recently, there was a newspaper editorial that congratulated local youth ministry for what was being accomplished, but looked for something more…

ST. LOUIS, MO — As an archdiocese, we are far from perfect, but we are making great strides in youth ministry. We must constantly ask ourselves how we can more effectively reach young people. We must also be asking ourselves how to reach the parents of teens — so that parents can help to nurture the faith that their kids so enthusiastically embrace.

A youth leader in our archdiocese recently wrote on Facebook, "I’m becoming increasingly convinced that youth ministry efforts which don’t aggressively strive to reach parents are mediocre, at best."

Read more of the St. Louis Review editorial

JACKSONVILLE, FL — Brian Shields will tell you straight up he’s all about instilling Christian values in young people and encouraging them to keep Christ at the center of their personal and professional lives. But what makes this Catholic evangelist different is the method he uses to spread the gospel and inspire youngsters to follow suit: film-making.

The film camp is aimed at inspiring creative youth to adopt the same mentality in whatever art form they eventually pursue. "The camp is our opportunity to do one-on-one evangelization," Shields said.

Read more from the at Jacksonville.com: Florida Times-Union

News from ‘Round Here

Sunday found me in Indianapolis wrapping up NCYC Animator Camp and flying home much more successfully than flying there. A midnight return home initiated a quiet week-long vacation.

Monday started the over due work stoppage with nothing more exciting than a carpet cleaning and some general household cleaning and shopping. Tuesday morning, all my adult kids returned home from a red-eye flight from Hawaii for a very early morning arrival at BWI.  Breakfast at the Double T lead to a relaxed day of chillin’ and naps.

Wednesday, as the summer heat really began kicking in, we caught a early morning feature of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Rango in the evening on DVD. Thursday was a quiet day except for the web announcement of re:Build.

Friday, we headed out to a ballgame.  It was 104 degrees at first pitch.  The ballpark was hot, the O’s were not so much. Saturday, a family steak dinner ended with a raucous game of Pit.

Ahhh, stay-cations!