(Scroll Down for Highlights and Links)

The 2010 Conference was held in the beautiful Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.

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    Chicago Skyline

    View of Chicago from the North bank of the River. 3 blocks from the Cenacle.

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    Skyline 2

    View of the Chicago skyline from the beach. 4 blocks from the Cenacle.

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    Beautiful Sunrise

    Chicago in May around 5:30 am. 4 blocks from the Cenacle.

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    The Zoo

    Lincoln Park Zoo, (Free Admission) is just 3 blocks from the Cenacle.

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    The Cenacle

    The Cenacle Retreat & Conference Center is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.

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    Parking

    The Cenacle offers plenty of parking for the guests.

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    Garden Space

    Enjoy the private gardens for the exclusive use of the Cenacle guests.

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    Flower Garden

    Find a private space outdoors.

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    Private Space

    Plenty of garden space to contemplate life!

Conference Highlights and Links

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40 Developmental Assets Overview from Search Institute.

The Developmental Assets are 40 common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults.

Click here for more information on
Search Institute.
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Connecting
Enjoying "It Starts in the Heart" music and movement. Getting up and moving to music with actions that have you crossing meridians helps to engage the brain. It helps to bring to to the present moment so conscious choices can be made.

Click here to order the
It Starts in the Heart CD.
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Story As a Roadmap
This workshop explored the power behind our stories of the past year; to honor our own spiritual thread weaving a pattern for new growth and to share the common weave that binds the whole group together. What does your story have to say to you? Where is your road map taking you?

By sharing our stories we get a more complete picture of what is going on.

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Storytelling and the Art of Imagination
It is through the mind that we first create our life experiences. We share our life experiences with others through the use of story. Our lives are then impacted by the stories we tell. This seminar will be a personal exploration of how we can use our imaginations to unlock the mysteries contained within our stories. We will also explore creative ways to help our children use their imaginations to create the lives they long to live. Story comes to life when it is used to illustrate spiritual principle. Drawing from a variety of forms such as Bible metaphysics, fairy tales, movies and folk tales, we will look for ways to use story to inform our lesson planning. Reconnecting and exercising our imaginations helps us to create empowering experiences because we know that we create through the power of our minds and hearts.
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Move Your Soul!
Are you ready to move your soul? Are you ready to experience a new pace of spiritual unfoldment? Are you ready to live spiritual principles every day? Preparing lessons and working with youth can bring your spiritual practice to a new level and inspire you to grow in ways you may never have thought about before. Learn how to feed your own spiritual needs through your commitment to youth ministry. Join us for this exciting workshop and find out how youth ministry can become your spiritual practice and Get Ready to Move Your Soul!
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Godly Play is a Montessori-based approach to religious education. We use it in New Thought as a way of opening up the stories of the Bible in such a way that invites the child’s own understanding to come out and play with the wisdom and mystery inherent in each story. Using manipulatives and  “I wonder” questions, Godly Play is a creative way to unlock the universal truth in the Bible and explore where the stories intersect with our daily living. 

Click here for more information on
Godly Play.

Click here to see a video lesson on
Godly Play Video.
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Trends In YFM
What are the current trends arising in thriving youth and family ministry programs? Compiled through church interviews with youth educators, teen sponsors and ministers, we explored cutting-edge resources, tools, best practices and programs for building and sustaining thriving youth programs.
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Tribes: A New Way of Being Together
Welcome to the 21st century - a time categorized by rapid paced, unprecedented change! On Sunday mornings, we are often looking into the eyes of children who have had their families and whole sense of safety and well being restructured. More than ever, to meet their needs, we require the skills to create and maintain nurturing, safe communities where children:



  • feel included and appreciated by peers and teachers
  • are respected for their different abilities, cultures, gender interests and dreams
  • are actively involved in their own learning
  • have positive expectations from others that they will succeed. 
In our “Tribes” workshop, we will explore these concepts more deeply through discussion, and community building exercises and we will walk away with skills not only to build better communities for our children on Sunday mornings but for the loved ones in our personal lives as well. Others don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.
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Attracting More Families
We will discuss single parent families; young parents with young children, non-traditional families, older parents with families, and more. As we begin to understand what each market segment needs and what they get excited about, and we will look at program and marketing strategies that draw them in.
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Creating a World That Works for All
How are our young people involved in spiritual social action? Ways that our teens are making a difference in the world through peace programs, interfaith service, environmental projects and global projects were explored.

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He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Bring the power of song into your world and share it with others you love. Fill them with joy by giving them movement and music to the words that mean so much. This session engaged the participants through hands-on demonstrations concentrating on using music to enhance our current teachings. So get on your comfy clothes to sing, clap and dance in joyous celebration. This is a Musikgarten program.
Click here for more information on this program.
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Getting the Word Out: Growing & Promoting Your YFM Programs Have you built it but they do not come? Do you have a great program but can’t seem to get enough people involved? Perhaps what’s missing is a solid marketing plan. Yes, that’s right…a marketing plan! Your Youth & Family Ministry program won’t work if no one knows you exist. In this workshop, you will learn three key steps to marketing your program with heart, and develop a clear and effective plan to promote your ministry from the inside out.

GET THE WORD OUT: PROMOTING YOUR YED PROGRAM - This workbook supports New Thought Spiritual Educators who are dedicated to raising the consciousness of the world, one child, one family, one community at a time by helping them create visibility and gain support for their YED programs. This is a resource tool designed to help YED leaders create an inspirational marketing plan to promote their YED programs, both within their congregation and in their local communities.

SPIRITUAL MISSION WORKBOOK - This workbook is designed to help YED Leaders and Teachers identify their program’s core spiritual values while creating a powerful Mission Statement that not only aligns with your program’s core spiritual values, but also serves as your program’s guiding light.
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Putting the Pieces Together
An exploration on how we can take what we have gained this weekend and use it to enhance both our lives and our effectiveness as a teacher and/or leader. Experiences included meditation, journaling and sharing.

The Whole Gang

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Our True Selves!

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