February is Black History Month. YMI offers resources for your ministry on confronting racism and anti-racism work. Find available resources here.
We are thrilled to announce our summer events, which includes a NEW summer program. Please also check out all of the events we are offering through the winter and spring. Our events are filling up quickly, so don’t wait to register.
From the YMI Director: Preach from Our Scars
Dear youth ministry friends,
In seminary, we are taught to preach from our scars, and not from our open wounds. “You don’t want to bleed all over the congregation,” I recall being told.
There are good reasons behind this perspective. I can think of a couple pretty quickly.
See YMI Director Jill Old’s message on preaching from our scars here.
The Science of Well-Being for Teens
YMI was thrilled to host Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale Professor of Psychology in 2020 for The Science of Well-Being webinar, where she discussed the mental health struggles of youth and strategies for living a more satisfying life. View the video and clips here.
Dr. Laurie Santos is now offering a new course specifically designed to help high school aged youth to manage stress and feel happier. This free course for youth is being offered on Yale Coursera, which can be found here.
2023 Upcoming Events and Offerings
Limited Seating – Screening of RACE To Be Human, a Documentary on Teens and Race
Zoom | February 6 | 7 pm Eastern
We have limited seating for our screening of the documentary, RACE to Be Human on February 6th at 7 pm Eastern. RACE to Be Human is a 45-minute film that showcases young people as they discuss the impact of race and racism on their lives. We will present the film virtually on February 6th, and then have a panel discussion with some of the film’s creators, including YDS Alum Jason Craige Harris ’12 M.A.R.
We have secured the rights for participants to further share the video and use the accompanying educational materials within their ministry contexts. These resources (see below) are limited to registered participants only, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
By attending the RACE To Be Human, you will have access to the following resources:
- Access to the film for use in your church
- An educator program that you can use with your youth
- Short video clips from the film with reflection questions
- Life skills activities to support deeper learning and support positive change
- Discussion guide
- Tip Sheet
- FAQ Video
- Online tools and resources
Register at: Screening of RACE To Be Human
|
|
|---|---|
| Grant Writing for Congregational Leaders with Alison Cunningham ’84 M.Div. Zoom | March 6 | 12 – 1:30 pm Eastern In this workshop, we will cover where to look for grant opportunities, how to write the application that “pops” and what to do once you are awarded the grant. Using both private and government grants as templates, we will break down the specifics so that you leave this workshop with tips to help you secure new funding for your congregation’s mission. Register at: Grant Writing for Congregational Leader |
Tending the Adolescent Soul: Offering Hope in an Age of Despair with Mark Yaconelli You are invited to our in-person workshop with renowned author, Mark Yaconelli. The pandemic, climate change disasters, racism, political vitriol, misogyny, the erosion of rights and mass death is taking an overwhelming toll on American families, churches, and communities. In a retreat-like atmosphere, author, youth worker, and community activist Mark Yaconelli will invite participants to recover the pure medicines of Christian formation: silence, story, and service. Register at: Tending the Adolescent Soul |
|
Internal Welcome and External Witness: LGBTQ Youth Ministry with Deacon Ross Murray Zoom | April 19 | 12 – 1:30 pm Eastern Deacon Ross Murray, author of Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry will speak on LGBTQ+ inclusion in our youth ministries, and how to be specifically welcoming of those who are in the process of discovering their sexual and gender identities.Register at: Internal Welcome and External Witness |
|---|
YDS Summer Study 2023
This renowned program of study returns online June 5-9, 2023. Classes meet daily, are small to allow for maximum engagement, and feature YDS faculty teaching topics in the Bible, theology, or religion. This year’s schedule includes courses on topics of Faith and Reason, Bible Through Art and Artifact, music history, the poetry of T.S. Elliot, Jonathan Edwards sermons, the ethics of love, the Book of Exodus, and the Red(and Blue) Letter Bible.
Summer Study includes a keynote lecture on Tuesday, June 6 with YDS Professor Donyelle McCray on Pauli Murray’s spirituality and preaching.
Participants receive a YDS Certificate of Completion at the end of the course week. For course descriptions, schedule and registration, go to summerstudy.yale.edu.
Registration opens in February. Sign up here to receive an email when registration opens.
YDS Learn, Lead, Inspire Summit 2023
“The Other”: Defining, Defending, Problematizing
Join us on the beautiful Sterling Divinity Quadrangle in New Haven for a week-long educational summit, June 26-30, 2023. This year’s topic will be the intended and unintended consequence of categorizing “otherness,” whether it be around race, gender, ethnicity, ability, or other lines of difference. Participants will have an opportunity to spend a week thinking intensively with peers and friends about this important and timely topic, all the while being guided by faculty from Yale, with opportunities for small group intensive discussions and personally tailored experiences, preparing them to better engage with their communities, their congregations, and their faith.
During this immersive 5-day program, participants will come to campus to live, learn, and work together, utilizing the resources of Yale and the wider New Haven community. We will explore the topic through biblical, theological, ethical, and pastoral lenses in a supportive learning environment that includes Yale faculty and higher education leaders from across the country, including Clifton Granby, Laura Nasrallah, Almeda Wright, Tisa Wenger, and Molly Zahn.
Registration opens in February. Sign up here to receive an email when registration opens.
The Leader’s Way
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale launches The Leader’s Way, a new hybrid learning experience for transforming leaders. Beginning with six days on the Yale campus June 19-24, 2023 and continuing with six months of online learning, The Leader’s Way supports those Episcopal clergy who are poised to be catalysts who inspire their communities to bear witness more effectively to the Gospel. 24 leaders will be chosen to be Fellows in our inaugural 2023 cohort. Generous scholarship funding is available. For more information click here.
If you’d like to help support our mission, you can make a donation here. There is joy to be found in practicing generosity. Your gift will enable us to continue to provide the necessary tools and resources that support life changing ministries.
Connect with Yale Youth Ministry Institute
Connect with the Center for Continuing Education and Yale Bible Study
