Board Chair Letter
By Rev. Thomas A. Dunne S.D.B., Archdiocese of Boston
At
its April meeting, the board of directors reviewed the evaluations from
the 2005 NFCYM Annual Membership Meeting in Savannah, Georgia. While the
number of evaluation forms returned was smaller than expected (given its
easy availability on the I-net), an analysis of the evaluations was helpful
in assessing the effectiveness of our gathering, identifying the needs
of our members, and .
The following items have come to light through a careful reading of these evaluations:
- In planning for future membership meetings, we have to keep in mind the mission of our organization and the goals for our yearly gatherings. Our youth ministry community is extremely diverse in terms of its needs and expectations for these meetings, its models of church and ministry, and its background and professional formation. A number of the recommendations from the attendees, remind me of cable news programs that feature segments such as “Point/Counterpoint.” I seriously doubt whether any four-day meeting will be effective in fulfilling the needs, expectations, and dreams of all Catholic youth ministry leaders attending an NFCYM membership meeting. As an organization, however, we have the duty to keep steadfast to the nature and mission of our enterprise and the goals for the annual membership meetings.
- The nature of our organization and the characteristics of our
membership demand that our membership meetings place a high priority
on welcoming, including, informing, and serving our colleagues in Catholic
youth ministry. In many respects, our meetings have to be planned in
a way that mirrors purposes and goals of our discernment process: to
build a consensus among the Catholic youth ministry leaders in our
country by encouraging communication, ownership, and commitment to
a hope-filled future. From the evaluations we received, it is clear
that for the 2006 Portland gathering we will have to work on several
areas of consensus building and process for our meeting. This includes:
- Accompanying first-time attendees throughout the gathering
- Updating the assembly on information needed for effective participation in the sessions
- Bringing the process of the meetings in line with a more culturally and linguistically diverse membership
- Making major presentations more in line with adult styles of learning; promoting interaction, and networking among the members.
- The evaluations of the Savannah meeting make it clear that general sessions must remain faithful to their purpose in the overall gathering. They cannot become catchall vehicles for matters that can be more effectively handled through other forms of communication. These general sessions have to be streamlined with a sharp focus on those issues that have to be taken up by the entire body. Pacing has to be considered an important factor in determining the effectiveness of these general sessions.
- Important topics for the life of the membership have to be given a priority in terms of placement on the schedule and time allotted. Evidently, the time allotted to the Strategic Plan at our 2005 membership meeting was inadequate from the perspective of many evaluation forms. We would hope to plan that phase of the 2006 NFCYM Annual Membership Meeting in a more effective manner.
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