Salt and Light Newsletter

Religious Ed, Youth and Young Adult Ministry Newsletter

January 2025

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

NCYC Registration Information

It's hard to believe its already time for another NCYC but here we are! Sadly as all things have gone up, we are planning on the cost for NCYC to be $750 a person. Bus and ticket costs went up quite a bit and of course we all know food has gone up. If our final invoices come in lower than we expect, we will reduce the final invoices. Good news is our hotel is walking distance and offers a buffet breakfast! Praise God!

From the interest forms we received, we purchased 200 tickets at the lowest cost and we have 125 hotel rooms reserved. The next Increase in ticket costs will be at the end of April so the deadline for parish registrations at the $750 amount is April 9. After this date, it will be increased to $800 a person (solely because of the increase in ticket price)

We are offering an informational meeting on NCYC February 19 at 4pm. This is a chance for us to to share details for this year and most importantly answer questions you may have. 

Below is linked the parish info packet with deadlines, explanations on registration will go and details you may need. This can also be found on the NCYC page for the diocese (also linked below). The NCYC Page has generic flyers under resources.

'24 '25 Confirmation Retreats Graphic
All Camps Flyer (Facebook Post)

Summer 2025 Camps

Mark your calendars, registration for Summer Camps will open up on January 31st! Changes for this summer:

  1. We have new sites for camps and are excited about some of the activities this site will provide! Lolek will be at a different facility than our high school camps.
  2. Camp Lolek will be housed by deanery and each deanery is being asked to send 2 chaperones who will be housed with the youth and get the opportunity to accompany the young people. There is no charge for the chaperones.
  3. Camp Lolek will be larger this summer, allowing 60-70 campers each week.

Please help us spread the word about camp registration!

We need your help in recruiting for Summer Missionaries!

If you know of any young adults that love their faith and want to share it with others, desire to live in a faith community, and want to have fun while getting paid to do these things, please share the link below!

Totus Tuus

TOTUS TUUS Summer 2025

Totus Tuus still have some openings for summer 2025. If your parish is interested  we have availability on the following weeks:

  • June 15-20 (spots)
  • July 6-11 (1 spot)

We will be sending out the Parish Manual, advertisement resources and invoices in the next few weeks.

Spring 2025 Calendar

January 22 @ 3:30pm

Steubenville Info Mtg

January 31

Camp Registration Opens

February 11 @ Noon

DREYM Team Chat- Summer Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Training

February 19 @ 4pm

NCYC Info Meeting via Zoom

February 25

Spring Workshop

March 1

Confirmation Retreat @ Tipton

March 11 @ Noon

DREYM Team Chat, topic TBA

April 8 @ Noon

DREYM Team Chat, topic TBA

April 28- May 2

DRE & YM Deanery Meetings

(final dates and locations will be announced in February)

May 7

6th Grade Vocations Day

May 13 @ Noon

DREYM Team Chat, topic TBA

Summer 2025 Calendar

May 27-June 6

Summer Staff Training

(we will be looking for volunteers)

June 8-14

Totus Tuus: Camdenton, Hannibal, Glasgow

June 8-12

Camp Lolek

June 9-12

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 1 Training Part 1

June 15-20

Totus Tuus: Sedalia

June 15-19

Camp Lolek

June 22-27

Totus Tuus: Columbia, Wein, Wardsville

July 6-11

High School Camp

July 6-11

Totus Tuus: Rolla, Tipton

July 13-18

High School Camp

July 13-18

Totus Tuus: St. Elizabeth, Mary's Home, Palmyra

July 14-19

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 1 Training Part 2

July 20-25

Totus Tuus: St. Martin, Boonville, Fulton

 

Ongoing Formation

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Level 1 Training

We are excited to be offering an opportunity for Level 1 CGS training this summer! Hopefully many of you have had a chance to learn about CGS at our Come and See events or workshops the past 2 years. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a Montessori style religious education program that nurtures a child's faith by giving them space to encounter the Lord in a unique way. Level 1 training prepares teachers to work with ages 3-6 and is a 2 part training. The first part will be offered over 2 weeks this summer and the second part will be offered summer 2026. You do not have to have a plan to start CGS in your parish to do the training.

Location: St. Thomas More Newman Center Parish, Columbia, MO
Dates: June 9-12 & July 14-17, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm with an hour lunch break, including the option for Mass
Cost: Cost for people from the Diocese of Jefferson City is $200 per person, per summer. To complete the training over 2 summers, the total cost will be $400.

Join us for the DREYM Team Chat in February to Learn more from Emily Shull, our diocesan expert and planner on this topic 🙂

This cost is significantly reduced thanks to the Knights of Columbus RIB Grant.

Steubenville Logo Secondary FullColor 600x144 1

Steubenville Conferences are offered every summer in Springfield, MO by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Many parishes in our diocese attend! Our diocese does not lead a group but we are happy to help support our parishes in their planning and our vocations office frequently attends the conference to be present to our young people.

We will host an informational Meeting Wednesday, January 22 at 3:30pm. This is ideal for anyone that is new to Steubenville Conferences. Below is a link to add this event to your calendar, the zoom link, the slides we will be sharing and the brochure for this conference.

2025 Spring DREYM Workshop Square Post

DRE & YM Workshops

Spring Workshop is Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia. The day will take place in Flanagan Hall.

Our Main focus of the day will be on the Pastoral Approach to LGBTQ+ individuals. TOPICS will include:

  • Foundational teachings of the Church we should all be integrating in our programs on Human Identity and Human Dignity
  • Virtual Speaker will be Dr. Julia Sadusky a Catholic psychologist who is working with people around sexuality and gender.
  • Virtual Testimony will be Manny Gonzalez who experiences same-sex attraction and is a dynamic CAtholic evangelist.
  • Opportunity to meet our new director of Safe Environment, Regina Quinn (no we are not related, but excited to have another Quinn in the building)
  • General updates from the office and opportunity to grow in community

We are offering the option to join us via zoom for those who are unable to make the journey to Columbia.

DREYM Team Chat (3 × 2 In)

DREYM Team Chat

Starting in 2025, we plan to have a guest speaker at the beginning of each DREYM Team chat.

All Chats will be recorded and posted on the website.

  • Mark your Calendars for Upcoming Dates: 2nd Tuesday each month at noon
    • Tuesday, February 11 at noon (Guest Speaker and Topic: Emily Shull about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 1 Training)
    • Tuesday, March 11 at noon (Guest Speaker & Topic: TBA)
    • Tuesday, April 8 at noon (Guest Speaker & Topic: TBA)
    • Tuesday, May 13 at noon (Guest Speaker & Topic: TBA)
    • Tuesday, June 10 at noon (Guest Speaker & Topic: TBA)

    These DREYM Team Chats are a way for us to check in with one another on a regular basis. Time will include diocesan opportunities and updates, special topic presentations with guest speaker, followed by time to share successes and challenges in parish ministry. This is a great place to bring questions, concerns and get updates.