Teens eager to attend national youth conference

Meeting new people -- 20,000 new people -- is the main thing that excites Allie Putorti about attending the upcoming National Catholic Youth Conference.

"I'm excited about hearing that there's that many people that actually go," said Allie, a 16-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of Hope Church in Whitehall. "I hope to meet a lot of people and learn a lot about the Church."

More than 350 teens from across the Albany Diocese are making preparations for going to the NCYC, which will be held in November in Columbus, Ohio. They will join thousands of young people from across the country for three days of prayer, worship, service, workshops and fellowship.

All together now

Allie decided to go to NCYC after having a positive experience at the Christian Leadership Institute, which the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis runs to train teens in leadership skills.

She wants to recapture the experience of "having an open mind about everything, and people not judging and getting to learn about new people.

"It's fun to get to meet new people and be able to talk to them and tell them things. You feel like family after a few days."

Siblings

Madeleine and Joanna Smith are one of three sets of siblings from Immaculate Conception Church in Glenville who are attending NCYC. It's a Smith family tradition: Two older sisters have been to the national event.

"They said it was really fun and brought them closer to the Church and to their spiritual beliefs," said Madeleine, 14. "They were with a bunch of friends from church, and I thought that was pretty cool."

Madeleine, who plays cello in the church choir and is involved in youth ministry, thinks "it will be cool in the big group, with all those thousands of people all together."

Common feelings

This is not her older sister Joanna's first NCYC, and she has fond memories of "the excitement and the fun that you have, and all the people you get to meet."

She enjoyed the workshops she attended on music and preparing for real love, and liked the speakers, especially musician Steve Angrisano, who will return to NCYC this year.

"When everybody's gathered in the stadium, it's just great to see that many people who are just like you," she explained.

Keynoters

Amy Nardolillo, a 15-year-old parishioner of St. Pius X parish in Loudonville, is also looking forward to speakers and keynotes. Although this is her first time at NCYC, she met Mike Patin, a popular speaker for teens, when he came to last year's diocesan youth rally.

"I really want to see what the keynote speakers have to say, and what changed their life and turned them towards God," she explained. "It's really nice to hear other people's experiences.

"I thought [Mr. Patin] was hilarious and had a lot to say. He gave moments in his life when he actually realized that God was a really big, important part of his life, and he tells us about how he tries to do that for kids."

Fund raising

Conference registration is $180, and the diocesan hotel package costs $400, so teens have to raise funds in order to attend.

Many cover the costs through earnings from their jobs and fundraisers at church, which in the past have included "flamingo flocking" events, parish breakfasts and dinners, raffles, car washes, fashion shows, and passing the hat at Mass.

At St. Pius, Amy said, the teens raised cash through running such events as picnics and dinners, as well as asking for donations from parishioners. In return, the teens are keeping NCYC journals of their experiences and will speak to parishioners when they return.

"Everybody helps us," she said. "We've been working really hard to accomplish this whole trip, and now we're really excited."

(9/6/07)