Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of August 7, 2009!
Congratulations to Erin Hemstreet!

Erin Hemstreet will receive a copy of the Ready-to-Go Game Shows (That Teach Serious Stuff): Catholic Teachings and Practices Edition, a $20.95 value.


Our Catholic teachings and practices edition of Ready-to-Go Game Shows is a great way for teens to learn about the history, teachings, and rituals of Catholicism. These games will grab your young people's attention, generate hours of fun, and increase their knowledge of Catholicism. The games, which have been field tested with real teens, are easy to present, use ordinary household materials, and only take a few minutes to set up. Complete instructions are include for these popular games:

• Who Wants to Be a Catholic Millionaire
• Faithful Feud
• Catholic Jeopardy
• Holy, Holy, Holy Squares
• The Church Is Right
• The Real Fortune
• Grace Ball
• Catholic Pictionary

Look Inside: You can find an online sampler of Ready-to-Go Game Shows on the SMP Web catalog. Search for "Ready-to-Go," or use this link to go to the product description, http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3430. Then use the "look inside" button next to the cover image to see the table of contents, the introduction, and part of chapter 1, "Who Wants to Be a Catholic Millionaire?"

Ready-to-Go Game Shows (That Teach Serious Stuff):
Catholic Teachings and Practices Edition
by Michael Theisen
ISBN 978-0-88489-757-6, spiral, 144 pages, $20.95 http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3430

Meet the Author: Michael Theisen
by Brian Singer-Towns

One of Saint Mary's Press' most popular authors is Michael Theisen (pronounced "Tyson"). No, not the boxer, this Michael is the guy you see at all the national youth ministry conferences wearing a headset. Michael is the Director of Membership Services for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. I've asked him to share a few thoughts.

Michael, how did you come by your great sense of humor?
It originated as a defense mechanism: my two older brothers had me beat in the muscle department so I countered with humor. It also made it harder to catch me when they were laughing. Actually I've always loved to laugh and make people laugh. It's a common language and barrier-breaker that's rooted in a process of letting go. When we laugh, we are able to let go for a moment which allows our barriers to fall and emotions to bubble to the surface, which leads to deeper connections with people. After all, one of the reasons I wanted to marry my wife is she laughed so hard at my jokes. I mean, what choice did I have?!?

You've worked really hard to make catechesis engaging for teens. Why is that so important to you?
While laughter and games have a role to play, for me it's just a first step to connecting teens with Jesus Christ and their Catholic identity. I make it a personal challenge to take any topic, any theme and find a way to actively engage teens in it. As a Youth Minister, I've pretty much dedicated my life to helping bring young people to a greater awareness of the presence of God in their life so finding new and creative ways to do that isn't work for me, it's a vocation. There's no greater affirmation for the writing I do than to having someone come up to me at a conference or event and say, "I used such and such and the teens loved it. Are you going to write any more?" Of course, I tell them I never wrote anything called "such and such" and that pretty much ends the conversation.

If you could give one piece of advice to parents on sharing their faith with their teens, what would it be?
Parents need to know that what they believe, what they do, what they don't do . . . MATTERS to teens. As a parent of three teens, I assumed my teens wanted and needed their space, but what they really crave, especially today, is a real and meaningful connection with their parent(s). The research is very clear on this: parents serve as a mirror for faith practices. Our own beliefs, practices, values and choices all have a tremendous impact upon our teens whether we know it or not. In fact, the most important indicator of what a teen's faith will look like in ten years is how their parents' faith looks like now. So please, share your faith, pray together and let your teens know the reason for your joy and hope! (Sorry, I guess that was more than one piece of advice, my bad).

Also Available in the Ready-to-Go Series

Ready-to-Go Game Shows
(That Teach Serious Stuff): Bible Edition

It's the one-million dollar question: How do you get teens excited about learning the Bible? The answer is Ready-to-Go Game Shows: Bible Edition! The games in this book are familiar to teens, quick and easy to set up, and tons of fun to play!

ISBN 978-0-88489-689-0, spiral, 128 pages, $20.95 http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3430

Ready-to-Go Scripture Skits . . .
That Teach Serious Stuff

Ready-to-Go Scripture Skits . . .
That Teach Serious Stuff:
The Sequel

Each of books includes 10 skits with sessions that use an intentional three-act process to help young people explore the Scriptures and apply them to their lives today: grabbing young people's attention through an outrageous and spontaneous Scripture skit, leading them to deeper insightthrough the historical context and meaning of the story's key elements, and helping them apply the story's meaning to their lives.

The skits in these books are perfect for religious education classes, youth groups, campus ministry events, retreats, lock-ins, and intergenerational and family programs. Best of all, the ready-to-go skits are just that: ready-to-go. Few props are used, no lines need to be memorized, and no characters need to be developed.

Ready-to-Go Scripture Skits
ISBN 978-0-88489-819-1, spiral, 104 pages, $20.95 http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3421

Ready-to-Go Scripture Skits: The Sequel
ISBN 978-0-88489-896-2, spiral, 112 pages, $20.95 http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3438