There's Always Room For Youth!SM

A Catholic Youth Ministry Services Provider serving the parishes and schools of the Diocese of Manchester and of greater New England.

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Our Mission

We offer practical and proven ideas that help young people and their parents, educators, families, and parishes interpret and evaluate the events and issues of the day using the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our customers leave with the best chance to build principle-based foundations that help young people and their families' lead fulfilling lives. 

Our customers are Roman Catholic catechists, youth ministers and leaders, Directors of Religious Education, parish councils, and the young people and their families.  Since we believe that parents are the primary catechists for their children, Tarfy Ministries focuses on nurturing this primary relationship.

Our mission is guided by our vision of purpose-driven Catholic youth ministry.

 

  
 

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Workshop Descriptions

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Introduction to Youth Ministry

A significant amount of magazine articles and books describe a sad state of affairs  for our  youth:  pregnancy and suicide and high school dropout rates, underachievers, overachievers, work-alcoholics, loafers.  More than enough reasons exist to develop youth programs at our Parish level to counteract the volumes of statistics.

Instead, Introduction to Youth Ministry views a parish's desire to minister to the youth as an opportunity.  Consider the following opportunities:

bulletUnite your existing youth programs under a common  vision
bulletDevelop a plan and a vision for your Parish's response to the needs of our youth
bulletEstablish new relationships and programs to youth, with youth, by youth, and for youth
bulletEnable the gifts of others, young and old, laity and religious, to form a partnership in youth ministry

No parish ministry would be valid unless it operated within the Church's threefold mission:

bulletProclaim the Good News of salvation
bulletOffer itself as a group of people transformed by the Holy Spirit
bulletBring God's justice and love to others through service

One of the  most significant aspects of the USCC's vision of  youth ministry is its recognition that youth are active members of a faith community - not only "future" members.  This allows our young adults to live and pray as equal partners within our Parish and community. With guidance, young people are extremely capable of assisting our Church with it's threefold mission - both as individuals and members of a faith community.  This attitude is a fair challenge to many people,  both young and old.

Introduction to Youth Ministry: Workshop Objectives>

  1. Understand the groundbreaking direction in youth ministry set forth by the United States Catholic Conference:
    2. bulletGoals of youth ministry
    bulletDimensions of youth ministry
    bulletComponents of youth ministry programs
    bulletUnderlying principles for youth ministry programs
  2. Understand adolescent physical and spiritual development
  3. Develop a youth ministry implementation plan
  4. Develop a leadership and volunteer training plan
  5. Develop and continuous improvement maintenance plan
  6. Understand practical details of running youth ministry programs and events

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Essential Thoughts and Habits of Highly Effective Teens

"Our lives will change when our habits change." - Matthew Kelly

The battle of the sexes started on the fateful day in the Garden of Eden. While Eve had to battle the “serpent” in a war of words and deceit, Adam stood by silently.  And when God asked Adam why he ate from the apple, he replied, “"The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."  They were ultimately convinced by Satan that God didn’t care about them and couldn’t be trusted.

As a result, God levied a series of consequences upon them including for woman, that their “urge shall  be for your husband, and he shall be your master." This is a prophecy of how men and women will wrongly treat each other. And the battle begins and rages on.

Fully understanding the spiritual battle of marriage, as well as fully understanding marriage as a sacrament and what "the two shall become one flesh" really meant, Tobiah and Sarah, in the Book of Tobit, were much wiser. Before he and Sarah consummated their marriage, this is the prayer they prayed together:

" 'Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. 'You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' 'Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age.' They said together, 'Amen, amen,' and went to bed for the night" (Tobit 8:4-8).

Clearly, Tobiah's and Sarah’s prayer is words of a married couple that clearly understand the sacrament of marriage. A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality. This sincere gift of oneself is also called "a communion of persons becoming one flesh" which reflects in a mysterious way the self-giving love between God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Our bodies and conjugal love is a sign of the self-giving love between God the father and His son, Jesus Christ.
 
The stories of Adam and Eve and Tobiah and Sarah are two key stories that we must teach our children: a marriage gone wrong, and a marriage gone right.
 
Based on Sean Covey's best selling book "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens", the youth-based version of the landmark work of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body, "Theology of the Body for Teens" by Ascension Press, and Matthew Kelly's "Rediscover Catholicism."  this workshop helps participants to learn new habits that improve their self image,  help them to better communicate with their parents and their peers, and learn effective ways to manage conflict.  It explores the influences (personal, economic, cultural, familial) that shape our view of ourselves and others as well as the Catholic biblical worldview of marriage as a sacrament; so much hangs in the balance in regards to understanding a solid foundation upon which to build a lifetime of essential thoughts and habits.

Habits of Highly Effective Youth: Workshop Objectives

  1. Examine the influences that shape our view of ourselves and others.
  2. Understand the Catholic biblical perspectives marriage as a sacrament.
  3. Learn positive and effective habits to clearly communicate.
  4. Learn effective ways to manage conflict.

Habits of Highly Effective Teens: Workshop Outline

  1. Part I: Who Are We?
    1. Habit 1: Begin with the End in Mind
      1. Thought #1: Created for Love
      2. Thought #2: Love Defined
      3. Thought #3: Naked Without Shame
    1. Habit 2: Put First Things First
      1. Thought #4: Hope and Redemption
      2. Thought #5: Truth and Freedom
      3. Thought #6: Language of the Body
      4. Thought #7: Free, Total, Faithful, Fruitful
  1. Part II: How Do We Live?
    1. Habit 3: Think Win-Win
    2. Habit 4: Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood
    3. Habit 5: Find Your Vocation
      1. Thought #8: Marriage
      2. Thought #9: Celibacy
    1. Habit 6: Date with Purpose and Purity
    2. Habit 7: Synergize and Renew
      1. Thought #10: Living the Good and Free Life
      2. Thought #11: Being the “Best-Version-of-Yourself”

Workshop Essentials

  • Eight hour workshop – retreat format
  • Prayer, music, videos, lecture, small group discussions and activities
  • Highly encouraged to integrate Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and Confession into workshop
  • Participants are seated at tables by gender; minimum 6 participants per table
  • One adult volunteer leader required at each table
    • Pre-workshop 1.5 hour training for adult volunteer leaders required and included in cost; conducted on evening before
  • One to three teens for witness talks required
    • Pre-workshop online mentoring for selected teens required and included in cost
  • Large room meeting space, adjacent to church/chapel
  • Large tables, screen, LCD projector, power cords
  • Each participant receives
    • 7 Essential Habits of Highly Effective Teen
    • Workbook
    • Handbook of Prayers, Student Edition
    • Rosary
  • Cost is $39 per person
    • Traveling expenses not included but negotiable
    • Airfare or mileage
    • No costs for overnight stays
    • No per diem
    • No costs when site is within 2 hours driving time
       

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TarfyTM Days and TarfyTM NightsSM

In any parish community, there are many “groups of youth” including, but not limited to acolytes, religious education teachers and assistants, music ministers, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, CYO cheerleaders and basketball players, and even groups by name of “youth group.”

TarfyTM  Days and TarfyTM Nights are age-appropriate youth gatherings (2 hour or 1/2 day programs) that are structured on the purpose-driven youth ministry framework designed to help youth move from being a community, to a crowd, to a congregation, to the committed and finally to the core. Through icebreakers, contemporary prayer and worship, and discussions, participants are invited and assisted to develop a deeper relationship with God and his Son Jesus Christ.

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TarfyTM Spiritual HappeningsSM

One of the main goals of most overnight retreats is to gather the Confirmation candidates in one place in order to build a sense of community among them.  While this goal is admirable, there are many ways to build a sense of community among Confirmation candidates.  Unfortunately, the goal of building community stands in the way of the first and foremost purpose of any retreat - to change lives.  A sense of community is a natural outcome of any retreat.  But, to walk out of a retreat as a totally different person - actually believing that they are “ok” and loved by Jesus - with a renewed Christian purpose is the true measure of any retreat experience.  This requires a significant amount of planning and resources to achieve.

Tarfy™ Spiritual Happening retreats (single overnight or full weekend programs) have been offered to a number of parishes in Nashua and Manchester for over 24 years.  Over half of the participants on any given retreat attend not to meet any Confirmation sacramental program requirement; they attend solely on their own.  A lot of participants attend this retreat several years in a row.

Tarfy™ Spiritual Happenings is a collaborative youth peer-ministry program designed to have both youth and their adult advisors share the retreat experience together. The retreat leadership team is made up of youth and adults.  Many of the adults have been assisting with this retreat program for five years or more and were once retreat participants themselves. The leadership team meets from August through October each year to plan skits, witness talks, and prayer services.  The retreat format is adopted from the Cursillo retreat format. 

The full weekend retreat program is offered on Columbus Day weekend - space is limited to 60 participants (including youth and adult advisors).  It starts with a weekday mass on Friday night and ends with a Sunday Liturgy. Participants leave Infant Jesus Church after Mass on Friday and return Sunday around 5:00 p.m.  St. Basil’s in Methuen , MA serves as the location for this retreat.

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Important Links

Check out Dan Goddu's blog

Read Catholic Online contributor Jennifer Hartline's article When Sex Becomes a False God

© 2004-2011 Tarfy Ministries

Checkout my blog at http://tarfy.blogspot.com/
 

A Catholic Youth Ministry Services Provider serving the parishes and schools of the Diocese of Manchester and greater New England.