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Author Archives: Kori Baker

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Give It Away Now: Thirst for Change Update

By | October 7, 2010

I have been deeply moved as email after email has arrived over the last week. Give It Away Now: Thirst for Change has grown beyond our expectations, beyond our hopes and dreams. God is moving and together we are awed at what he has done! As I write this, the Life Teen family has raised over $63,000. Our goal was $50,000, enough to build 4 wells at $12,500 a piece. We thought 4 wells was ambitious. We are now at 5 wells with no signs of slowing down!

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Give It Away Now: Thirst for Change

By | August 20, 2010

In September 2008, Life Teen hosted the first global Life Night. As one family we donated more than 450,000 pounds of clothing to charity. In September 2009, we moved from clothing to food and were able to donate more than 200,000 food items to local food pantries and soup kitchens. This year we are at it again. This time we are joining together to “give drink to the thirsty” (another corporal work of mercy). We are asking all our Life Teen parishes to do the same Life Night and Edge Night on the same night – September 26, 2010. This time we are collecting change (and bills) to help bring clean drinking water to villages in Africa.

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Introducing Come Adore

By | February 2, 2010

I remember the first time our Life Teen program had Eucharistic Adoration during a Life Night. Almost all of the teens in the room had not experienced Adoration before. Most of the Core Team wasn’t that familiar with this form of prayer either. All in all, a bunch of newbies. Between our Pastor and myself we did our best to explain (in 5 minutes or less) what Adoration is, what you need to do, and how Jesus is fully and truly present in the Eucharist.

Life Night

Unshakeable Faith: Haiti Earthquake Response Life Night

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In the past few days, we have all been affected by the images and stories coming from Haiti. Undoubtedly, your teens have also been affected. Some ask why. Some are filled with compassion. Some are angry with a God who would let this happen. All wonder what they can do to help.

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Just In Time: “In Focus, A Movie Guide for Catholics”

By | November 18, 2009

Take a deep breath… there is now less than 40 days till Christmas. While we know that this should be a time of joyful anticipation for the celebration of the birth of our Lord, the reality is this countdown inspires just as much trepidation as jubilation. And for those of us in ministry (whether that ministry happens in a youth room, classroom, or living room), there is another factor to add into the mix: how to maintain consistency and depth in your programming without burning out the teens

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NCYC 2009 in Kansas City. Look for Life Teen!

By | November 5, 2009

We are packing boxes of goodies and resources, planning talks and arranging a whole slew of logistical details. What are we doing? We are getting ready for NCYC 2009! If you are one of the 21,000 people expected at this year’s National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), stop by the Life Teen booth (#614-619) in the exhibit hall and say hi! We’d love to chat with you, hear how your ministry is going and pray with you. Come by and see all the goodies our store has for you as well! Randy Raus,

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Official Results of “Give It Away Now” (We did it again!)

By | October 26, 2009

On September 27, 2009, the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul, thousands of teens, Core Members, youth ministers, and parish families participated in the 2nd annual Give It Away Now project. This year we tackled the corporal work of mercy “feed the hungry” with a food drive and asked the parishes to donate their collected non-perishable food items to local St. Vincent de Paul chapters or other local organizations in need. We set a lofty goal of 400 participating parishes and 200,000 non-perishable

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Introducing Life Teen’s New Book for Parents: “Rocking the Catholic Cradle”

By | October 23, 2009

The joke among the parish staff was that the youth minister’s office has been relocated to the local Starbucks. While I was at the parish more than I was at Starbucks, it was noticeable that I spent time there every week. Not because of some crazed caffeine-addiction, but because it was the place for me to meet with teens, do Confirmation interviews and it was the spot to catch up with parents of the teens in our programs. Armed with my cup of coffee, laptop and Bible, I’d set myself up in

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Initial Results from “Give It Away Now” Food Drive

By | October 5, 2009

Our global Life Teen family has once again united to serve our communities! Parishes from all around the world are currently reporting their food drive totals and sending us pictures from their Give It Away Now – The Can It edition – Global Life Night and canned food drive. Here is a look at what we have heard so far: Total # of parishes reported: 78 Total # of food items: 101,941 Top 3 Parishes:St. Charles, Lima OH–14,978 St. Anne, Youngsville LA–6,300 St. Joseph, Cottleville, MO–6,000 As

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Life Teen Basic & Edge Training Conference in Boston. What is it? Why come?

By | October 1, 2009

Mid-October in Boston… leaves turning in glorious autumn colors, the hope of baseball being played at Fenway, a Life Teen training conference…what are you waiting for? Life Teen’s Basic & Edge Conference, taking place Oct 18-21, 2009 at St. Mary’s in Dedham, MA, is the place to be this fall. Are you in need of a refresher? Are you new to youth ministry or new to the Life Teen model of youth ministry? Did you just open your Life Support box but were unsure how to use the materials? Do