News
Salt and Light Newsletter May 2026
A message from Maureen Quinn...
The past few weeks have been filled with some great moments of joy and celebration, the highlight has been the regional visits that I have been blessed to hangout with so many of you! Each of you inspire me and I am so very grateful for your YES! We did have to reschedule 2 of our gatherings in Kirskville and Jefferson City so make sure to check out the rescheduled dates below and if you can join us please do!
Also so many exciting things are going on (some of which will be in future newsletters) and all of this is happening to help support YOU the leaders in our parishes! A few notable NEW items in this newsletter:
- NEW 2026-2027 Faith Formation Calendar - including all faith formation events that have already been scheduled for the coming year and items that are still being finalized but will be added. We hope to provide with you more information as it comes available. You will notice, we are working with numerous offices to put this calendar together. This is on purpose, as many times leaders in vocations or stewardship may be the same people as womens ministry or youth ministry. After all we are better together! We are working to get events added for Hispanic Ministry and are noting which are bilingual as well.
- World Youth Day 2027 Information (Seoul, South Korea) After some discernment and discussion it was clear our diocese is not able to take our own group to World Youth Day in 2027 BUT we could potentially join our neighbors! Springfield Cape Girardeau has welcomed pilgrims from our diocese with open arms and we are so thrilled with this opportunity!
- Exchange Conference is hosted by NFCYM (the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry and organization that also hosts NCYC) happens to be having their yearly conference for youth leaders just down the road in St. Louis. Check out the info below and if you are interested in joining us, lets chat!
- Introducing the Camp Store! This has been a long time coming and I am so excited to add this fun store to our offerings! The camp store is fun catholic gear that is inspired by our Catholic Diocesan Camps but by no means only for camp. Whether you go to camp or not, consider supporting the store which ultimately shares a positive Christian message with others throughout our diocese!
- Graduation Resources Graduation is right around the corner and soon our high school graduates will embark on a new world. How is your community helping these soon to be graduates get plugged into the church in this new step in their journey? We have the resources to help you! check out the info and help get the young people signed up for Newman Connection in the Faith Forward Movement.
- Still hiring one male camp counselor. We thought we were done but one counselor was not able to fulfill the job and we are back on the hunt for ONE male counselor for summer camp. If you know someone that may be looking for a summer job and loves his Catholic faith, consider inviting him! Your invite may be the ticket!
Important Dates to Note from our Religious Ed, Youth and Young Adult Ministry Team
May and June our team is on the move quite a bit! We want to make sure to note some dates we will be out of the office:
- May 5 & 6 the team will be out of the office to assist with 8th grade Mass & 6th Grade Vocation Day
- May 6, 8 and 11 Maureen is out of the office to help her daughter celebrate 8th grade promotion and take her kids to Nationals in Archery at Louisville.
- May 8-19 Mary Madelyn is out of the office on Vacation.
- May 26-June 6 our entire team will be predominately working remotely at summer staff training.
Besides when we are on personal vacation, we will be checking email regularly!
Upcoming Events
Spring DREYM Regional Gatherings
We have had such a great time visiting you all at our end-of-year gatherings!
Two of the gatherings have been RESCHEDULED. The new times and locations are:
- May 5th: 11:30-1:30 in Jefferson City at Santo Anejo Restaurant
- May 13th: 5:30pm-7:30pm in Kirksville at Mi Casa Restaurant
The end-of-year regional gatherings are a great way for us to listen about what is going on in your parishes and about how your year in religious ed/youth ministry has been. We want to know how to better support you in the coming year and allow you to have a chance to discuss with other DREs and Youth Ministers in your area!
Please RSVP below so we know to account for you!
6th Grade Vocations Day
6th Grade Vocations Day is a diocese-wide event where 6th graders come together to explore and celebrate their call to sainthood.
6th Grade Vocations Day 2026 will be on Wednesday, May 6th from 9am-2:15pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Columbia, MO.
Please pray for our young people, that they may learn how to discern the voice of God well in the coming years.
If you have any questions about 6th Grade Vocations Day, please contact followme@diojeffcity.org.
Life in the Spirit Retreat for Teens (bilingual)
This retreat will be mostly in Spanish for teens. It will be in Marshall, MO on May 30th, providing opportunity for encounter with the Lord and emphasizing how to live in the Holy Spirit.
For more information, contact Jose Funes: jfunes@diojeffcity.org
Looking Ahead
Diocesan Youth Conference
Our Diocesan Youth Conference is scheduled for Sunday, November 22 with Meg Hunter-Kilmer as our keynote speaker. Location and band both will be announced soon.
We are putting together a committee to help plan the theme and details of the event. If you or a volunteer or a youth in your parish would like to be part of the planning committee, please contact Maureen Quinn or Abby Thompson.
Mark your calendars and expect more information in the coming weeks and months.
Exchange Conference
NFCYM’s EXCHANGE is a national gathering bringing together ministry leaders, volunteers, supporters, and organizations working with young people.
This year the gathering is just down the road in St. Louis! Because the diocese is members of NFCYM, we are able to get the membership rate for this conference. Before June 30 the cost is $375 plus housing and dinners.
2027 Exchange
January 31 – February 3, 2027
St. Louis, MO
World youth day 2027
We are collaborating with the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau to organize a trip to Seoul, South Korea for World Youth Day July 30th-August 9th, 2027.
This trip is for any young adults 18 years of age or older who would like the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the other side of the world and experience the global, young Church!
Please share this opportunity with young adults in your area!
Summer 2026 News and Updates
Introducing the CAMP STORE!
We are excited to announce the opening of our first ever camp store! Here you can find apparel and merchandise to represent your favorite summer camps this summer!
On the camp store, you can purchase items that will be available for campers and families to pick up upon arrival at camp this summer. If you would like to purchase items, but will not be at any camps this summer, purchased items can be picked up in Jefferson City (contact athompson@diojeffcity.org for questions).
The camp store is OPEN NOW and will CLOSE MAY 17th at 11:59pm.
Camp Registration is Still Open
Camp Registration is open and filling up fast. If you have families that may be interested in diocesan summer camps, please encourage them to register! You can find promotional materials for camp here.
There are limited full and partial scholarships available for camp based on need. If the cost of camp is an issue, please encourage families to register anyway and we can see if we can work out a scholarship.
Week 1 of Camp Siena is full, and we have opened a waitlist for this week. Please encourage young women to sign up for Camp Siena Week 2 in the South Location.
Camp Lolek Girls is also filling up fast and a waitlist will be started soon, so encourage your families to sign up soon before camps fill up!
Volunteers:
If you are interested in volunteering at camp there is still availability! This is a great way to accompany the young people on this adventure! High School students can volunteer for middle school camps and adults can volunteer for any of the camps. Find the volunteer form here.
Steubenville Conferences
The diocecese does not take a group to the Stuebenville Conference but we 100% support our parishes in going and want to help equip our parish leaders so it can be as successful as possible. Below are some resources that may be helpful to groups. If you need anything beyond this link provides, feel free to reach out to our office or contact the office in St. Louis. They are FANTASTIC to work with!
If you are taking a group to a Steubenville Conference this summer, please don't forget to submit the names of your chaperones to the safe environment office as soon as you have them. You can email your list of chaperones to safeenvironment@diojeffcity.org. In the email, please include your group name, the name of the group leader, and the group leader email. These should match the Steubenville account you used to register your group. You must also list ALL chaperones, including the group leader, anyone over 18, and all priests, deacons, seminarians, religious, etc. that are attending with your group.
Totus Tuus Coordinator Meetings
Totus Tuus 2026 is fast approaching and we want to make sure all Totus Tuus coordinators are confident and supported, so it's time to start scheduling phone calls for Totus Tuus coordinators.
Click the link below to schedule a phone call with Maureen Quinn to go over all the details of what Totus Tuus entails for parishes. This is especially helpful to those who are new to Totus Tuus, but is also nice for seasoned Totus Tuus coordinators to talk through the program.
If your parish is not hosting Totus Tuus but are interested in learning more about this program, feel free to reach out and we will help get you to the nearest location this summer.
WE ARE STILL HIRING FOR SUMMER 2026
We are still hiring Totus Tuus and Summer Camp Missionaries for Summer 2026!
We are currently looking for:
1 male missionary for Summer Camp Counselor
If you know of faithful young adults in your area that may be interested in a summer job, please encourage them to apply or to reach out to us!
Totus Tuus and Summer Camp has always been an opportunity to build up young adults into leaders that are ready to go back and live out the Christian life in their communities. These young adults experience a faith community that transforms their lives for the better, all while working a paid summer job. Here are just a few quotes from staff at the end of last summer:
2026-2027 Faith Formation Calendar
Note this calendar is a draft and items will be added in the coming weeks.
FREE Formation Opportunities and Resources
Graduation Resources
Did you know that nearly 80% of young Catholics disengage after high school, often because they lack connection to a faith commnity during their transition? The first 90 days after high school are especially imporant.
This is why we are participating in Faith Forward Movement in partnership with Newman Connection and encourage our Parishes, DREs and Youth Ministers to find a way to help get these young people connected with Newman Connection.
Newman Connection will take the info that they share and pass it on to the Newman Center or parish nearest where they will be going post high school. This could be military, tech school, workforce or college. In talking to our Newman Centers here in our diocese, this becomes a crucial tool in making the initial invitations to incoming freshmen!
I encourage using the video or other resources linked below to help encourage graduates in signing up. This can be done at a senior mass or celebration for seniors in the parish, final youth group or PSR night or sending out an email to parents of seniors.
YDisciple is available to ALL of our Parishes
Starting in July 2026 we will be working to help any and all parishes get setup with YDisciple that is interested.
We are excited to bring in leadership from YDisciple this fall to provide trainings this next year for mentors in a variety of locations. Look for these dates and locations to be posted soon.
YDisciple is an online resources which includes small group discipleship resources, training videos, tools and content to help adults launch small groups and make young disciples. These resources can be used for middle and high school age youth. Though they are not intended for this age level, many of the resources could also be adapted for adults of all ages.
The trainings for adults are videos and some of the studies have videos included but not all of them! Many are bible or small group studies that you print or pull up on your phone and never need to watch a video. Also some of the video studies are done in a more social media format with short clips and lots of movement, which the young people find more engaging. Still not sure what YDisciple is? check out the video below!
If your parish is interested now in getting signed up and not waiting until this summer, let Abby or Maureen know and we will get you setup!
Any parish that is hoping to use YDisciple, we can set you up with an acocunt free to our parishes, thanks to the generousity of the RIB Grant through the Knights of Columbus.
Stay in Touch:
Youth Office Contact
Director of Youth Ministry
Maureen Quinn
573-635-9127, ext. 233
Assistant Director of Catechetical Formation
Mary Madelyn Mertes
573-635-9127, ext. 228
Administrative Assistant
Abby Thompson
573-635-9127, ext. 237
Moderator of Youth and
Young Adult Ministry
Fr. Joseph Luzindana
660-665-2466
Alphonse J. Schwartze
Memorial Catholic Center
2207 West Main St
Jefferson City, MO 65109-0914
Join the Dio Jeff City DREYM Team on GroupMe
This is a new(er) resource for our office that we are going to start using more with DREYM Team. This is a way for us to share resources, get quick feedback from others, share successes, add calendar invites, send out reminders. It functions much like text messages but is its own app (which can be accessed on your phone or a desktop computer) with more features such as events, polls or document sharing.
Event Calendar: We will be using the calendar feature which allows people to easily get the info, reminders, express interest and add things to your personal calendar.
Polls: We will use polls especially when needing quick feedback from people.
Topics: If this grows into something that is used often, then we will add topics that individuals can choose to join. For example there could be a topic on Jubilee year where people could share ideas they are doing in their individual parishes or there could be one for an event we are hosting that those who are going could join and share info throughout the event.