Capstone+Essay+Amy+B

Amy Barber Queen of Peace Catholic Community 10900 SW 24th Ave Gainesville FL 32607 352-332-6279 Cell 352-275-1770

SITM 2011

Looking for a way to have the two worlds you live in meet? I am not a digital native...but an early adopter. I have learned this term means I am a little older than a digital native, but have been along for the growth of the digital continent and quick to learn and use the new technologies. So when I saw a flyer for SITM 2011, I was intrigued. I was familiar with most of the platforms presented, but not the methods of blending them with Religion or Catechists.

The call of Pope John Paul says how will "YOU" share the gospel on in the digital world? How could these two worlds meet?

As the new youth minister for our middle school youth group, I looked at how the middle school programs was run in the past. ( Style a la 1970) and how my students actually live and interact as a group of wonderful and smart Millennials. They were bored and didn't like coming to meetings. How could we -the Church-meet them where they are? Through classes taught by Sr. Caroline and Claudia, I learned how to blend technology in to the program.. There are encyclicals and letters from the Holy Fathers inviting the faithful to use all vehicles available to spread the Good News.

The way the classes are run reflect the methods we can in turn use in our ministries. Through a combination of face time, webinars and social media we formed a wonderful, faithful and supportive community. I feel blessed to have a forum for all my questions and thoughts. A safe place is created with your classmates to brainstorm and experiment, ask for advice and see guidance and input. I sincerely hope that my class stays together by using our Facebook Group. I greatly value the opinions and advice from this peer group, I continue to seek input from this knowledgeable group.

My capstone project started with idea of teaching my students about the Universal aspect of the Catholic Church, using the Mass as the example. What we ended up with was far more than I ever could hope for through the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This program gave me fresh eyes to see ways to share a very special story in a way my students can best understand. The story of Salvation, the story of Jesus, and a story of how God loves them so very much. I have learned new ways to share these important stories using different kinds of technology. The students can create, share, grow and minister to each other in ways they are comfortable. The more they can live their faith now in this, their tween years, the easier it will be for then to stay and be active church members.

My greatest prayer is that the young people I work with can merge the two worlds they live in into one where they are proud of their Catholic Heritage and live it daily.