Annual Conference at Philmont Training Center Cimarron, New Mexico
Each year, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting conducts the Scouting in the Catholic Church training conference at Philmont Training Center in Cimarron, New Mexico. The Conference brings together religious and Iay participants with varying experience in Scouting and the Catholic faith. The goal of the conference is to help participants understand how Scouting is Catholic youth ministry and how to use the information when talking with Scouters, priests, and youth ministers.
The conference is structured into four daily components. First, we begin each day with a dimension of lay apostolate formation (Leadership, Holiness, Conversion and Worship) taken from the NCCS training program “National Catholic Leadership Development”. Second, we explore relevant sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Third, we present how best to fulfill the mission and deliver programs of the NCCS. Fourth, we consider how these programs and our efforts support the concepts of youth ministry as explained in the USCCB document “Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry.” This is the advanced course within the NCCS training curriculum. As such, participants are provided the opportunity to develop, carry out, and report on a mission project for their own parish or Diocesan/Eparchial Catholic Committee on Scouting using information and insight they have just acquired.
Class sessions are held Monday through Friday. If you would like to bring family members, the Philmont Training Center has programs for every age. You also have time to experience Philmont during the evenings and afternoon on Wednesday. There are fun events to keep you as busy as you like, or you can just relax and enjoy the scenery or the company of the many other Scouting families from across the United States. Please join us!
For information about all the conferences, camps and other events at Philmont Training Center, visit the center’s website. For additional information about the Scouting in the Catholic Church Conference, contact NCCS at (214) 714-6950, leave a message at (972) 580-2114 or email info@nccs-bsa.org. Find a flyer about this year’s conference here!