Ever wondered what it would be like to experience the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry from the perspective of a speaker? What about from through the eyes of someone brand new to the youth ministry adventure, or perhaps an exhibitor or a performer? What could you learn if you experienced the NCCYM through the eyes of a seasoned veteran?
Well, now you can! Through the magic of technology, we'll be following this year's NCCYM from all these perspectives and more, through MicroBlogging. For more on MicroBlogging, click here.
NEW! Flip Video Feed from the Conference! Click here.
_chrisweeber_ Muscatine, IA Catholic Community Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Chris Weber full bio and feed
What is going on at NCCYM right now...
Lauren Arroyo is in her first year as a full time youth minister at
St. Joseph (
Fullerton) Parish in
Baltimore,
MD.Lauren earned her bachelor’s degrees in Theology and Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville OH and is currently completing her master’s degree in Philosophy there as well. Originally from
NorthernVA, Lauren has been heavily involved in youth ministry since her freshman year in high school and has wanted to be a youth minister since she was 14!She blogs at http://lovebeyondself.blogspot.com.
Sr. Colleen Clair, FMA is a Salesian Sister. Since "Salesian" is synonymous with youth ministry, she has dedicated her life, like St. John Bosco and St. Mary Mazzarello to the young and the poor. Although Sr. Colleen admits her favorite group to work with are five year olds, because "it's like being a rock star," she also enjoys young people of all ages, especially teens and young adults. She serves as vocations director for her community and she blogs at www.happynun.wordpress.com.
Anne Marie Cribbin delivers a powerful and often hilarious message about God's love for us through story and song. She travels across the country leading retreats and giving keynote addresses for audiences of all ages. When she's not on the road she spends her time writing, cooking, and being a nanny. You can visit her website at www.annemariecribbin.com and read her blog at www.cribbschronicle.blogspot.com.
Kim McMillan is the Coordinator of Youth Ministry at St. Celestine Parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago and has been ministering in a parish for 16 years. As the board chair of the Association for the Advancement of Catholic Youth Ministry ( AACYM)in
Chicago, Kim is an advocate for youth ministry and youth ministers, in the Archdiocese. Kim is married and has three sons.
Gene Monterastelli is 52% of APeX Ministries (he outweighs Brad). No longer eats paste nor drinks cologne. Despite the rumors he was not raised by a pack of wolves (it was just two). Would love it if everyone knew how much God loved them and that they deserved that love. You can check out Gene's web site at www.monterastelli.com.
Mike Patin lives in Lafayette, LA. He is a husband, and a dad (one daughter). He spent 6 years as a high school teacher and coach, and has worked in youth ministry since 1990. Since 2003 he has been speaking around the country to young people and adults on issues of Catholic faith, positive attitude, using your gifts and living life fully. For more about Mike's ministry, and to read his blog, check out his website - www.mikepatin.com. Mike will be presenting a workshop entitled "The Passion Epidemic."
Well, the simple answer is that it's a form of blogging that allows users to post brief text updates (in this case, 140 characters or less) using a website, email, or even a cell phone. For more about MicroBlogging, check out this wikipedia article.
Why "MicroBlog" the NCCYM?
There are a few reasons.
first - we're hoping to share knowledge, insights, wisdom and experience. For example, say one of our posters hears something incredible in a workshop - as easy as they can send a text message they can post up a key nugget or insight and share it with the world. Say another poster finds an awesome bargain in the exhibit hall. A quick post to their account and suddenly 100 more people know about that little bit of conference goodness.
second - there's no way you could possibly experience everything the NCCYM has to offer. Now you don't have to try. Our posters will be sharing their insights so we can all learn from their experiences. Even if you can't make it to this year's NCCYM - you can still "follow along" from home.
third - the internet has given us a ton of resources to help bring young people closer to Christ. MicroBlogging has great potential for use as a ministry tool, but surprisingly few people are actually using it. Perhaps this site will give you some ideas for ways you can use this technology in your ministry to, by, for and with young people.
What technology are you using for this?
Twitter is a free MicroBlogging service that allows users to post updates via the web, sms (txt) message, email, iphone, blackberry, pocket pc, and a bunch of other ways.
RSS (really simple syndication) is a technology that allows you to "pull" content from a source like a blog, news service, etc..., and publish it in a website or other application.
How can I follow the content?
One of the beauties of this technology is that there are a variety of ways to follow the content - here are just a few...
Visit this site. We'll be pulling content from all of our posters and displaying it here in one easy to use location.
Sign up for a free twitter account. With your own twitter account you can follow individual posters on the web. You can also choose to have specific posters' updates (aka tweets) sent to your cell phone through sms (aka text messaging), delivered to your email inbox, displayed on your desktop, and on and on and on. Here's a short little video about how twitter works.
How can I contribute to the project?
There are a couple ways you can contribute, if you're interested.
You can always post comments in the guestbook. Please remember, this site is intended only as a service to those who serve the young Catholic Church. Please practice the virtues of patience and charity when posting.
If you plan to blog from the NCCYM click here to send us a link. As the conference gets closer we'll add a page with links to blogs that will be covering the conference.
Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors! Help spread the word about this little endeavor. Consider sending an email with a link to this site to anyone you think might be interested.
ALSO BLOGGING THE NCCYM! If we've peaked your interest and you're ready for even more live-blog coverage of this year's NCCYM be sure to check out:
Special Thanks to Gene Monterastelli for helping to fix the html code for this site! Dude juggles and speaks geek. Rockstar!
Last Update: Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Note: this site is not affiliated with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry, or Twitter(r). None of the contributors to or authors of this site are receiving any form of compensation for their services. The opinions expressed herein are just that, opinions. You are free to agree or disagree, but please remember that this site is intended only as a service to those who serve the young Catholic Church.
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