Teens thrilled by youth event

When 16-year-old Melissa Jeffers went back to Shaker High School after four days at the National Catholic Youth Conference, she felt the nagging desire to say "peace be with you" to everyone she encountered.

"At NCYC, everyone was one big family -- equal. But at school, it's all about popularity and cliques," explained the teen from St. Pius X parish in Loudonville. "At NCYC, everyone would talk to each other. And that's the point of going -- meeting the people, and finding your faith."

More than 300 teens from the Albany Diocese attended this year's gathering, which was held at the Reliant Center in Houston earlier this month.

Teen time

During four jam-packed days, 23,000 Catholic teenagers from across the country played and prayed...worshipped at Mass and danced in the aisles at concerts...did service projects and hopped through obstacle courses...traded stories with teens from other states and built community among their friends from the dioceses across the nation.

Albany teens welcomed NCYC's energy-charged atmosphere. Evening prayer services, for example, found youths holding glowsticks rather than candles.

They also chanted slogans -- one of Melissa's favorites was "God is good/all the time/all the time/God is good" -- on the way to attend educational sessions. Teens' intense love of music meant that they did much of their worship through song, which was much appreciated by Brendan Blake, 15, of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany.

"There was always music," gushed the oldies fan. "Always. It just had a way of inspiring everyone there."

Faith in front

For teens who sometimes feel that faith doesn't play a role in everyday life in school or at home, or who may stifle their expression of religion due to societal pressures, the supercharged, faith-sharing environment can be cathartic and affirming, according to 17-year-old Genevieve Trigg, a member of St. Peter's Church in Stillwater.

"Especially among your peers, you may be hesitant to demonstrate your faith and how you feel about it," she told The Evangelist. "But at NCYC, no one was afraid to show their love for God. Everyone got into it and was together as one."

At NCYC, teens treated each other differently than they did at school, added Melissa. "If you had something against somebody else, then you were the one that was out of place," she explained.

Our Lady of Mercy in Colonie parishioner Kerry Flanigan, 16, loved being able to talk to other teens who had the same questions about faith and religion that she did.

"You were surrounded by kids that you could feel comfortable talking about the normal stuff -- and the deepest religious issues -- that came up," she explained. "Going to school these days, you don't often get a chance to talk to other kids about your faith."

Sex and chastity

Among the more recognizable speakers at the conference was Matt Smith, a cast-member of MTV's "Real World New Orleans," who made headlines after announcing on-air that he wouldn't have sex until he was married.

His session, which dealt with sex, chastity, abstinence and related issues, attracted more than 15,000 youth -- and not just because he was famous, according to Brendan.

"I found myself in it," he said. "He talked about the normal pressures people, and guys, go through in their life about sex. It was a journey through life, basically."

Kerry, who also attended Smith's session, believes one of the largest reasons so many teens were interested was "it's obviously something facing our age group, and a lot of kids have questions about that."

Topics galore

Brendan next attended a session on the Holy Spirit, and Kerry went off to a class called "Bells, Kneelers and Incense," which explained to teens why certain prayers are said in the Mass and "why Catholics do what we do," she said.

One of the highlights of Melissa's weekend was hearing the story of 20-year-old Craig Kielburger, who at 12 founded the worldwide anti-child labor movement, "Free the Children." It has since aided thousands of children in dozens of countries, been honored by the United Nations, and become supported by a number of influential world and religious leaders.

"You think, that's impossible," she said. "But he made it possible."

Kerry said: "He makes you believe that you could actually make a difference, and you don't feel as hopeless."

Touching moment

Genevieve was touched by the testimony of Bud Welch, the father of a girl killed in the Oklahoma City bombings. He spoke about the death penalty and the reason he opposed it for the bomber, Timothy McVeigh.

"I never was against the death penalty before," she explained. "I was pretty indifferent about it, and, in some cases, agreed. But he said something about how it was hate killing hate -- and that definitely made me think about what I believed. That's a totally different way of looking at it."

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard was in Houston for the entire event and emceed a session called "Your Place at the Table," which expanded upon materials presented at the Youth Congress on Social Justice that ran concurrently with the Conference.

"I think he has a lot of energy. He definitely loves the youth and likes to be involved with us," said Genevieve. "He told us that it's overwhelming to look at conquering world poverty; but in doing the little things with a lot of love, you can make a big difference. That was very encouraging."

Special experience

The experience wasn't at all what some of Marjorie Smith's friends were expecting.

"A lot of people were telling me they expected something a lot more serious -- praying, Mass all the time," said Marjorie, 17, who attends Immaculate Conception Church in Glenville and wants to become a special educator. "You need an open mind at NCYC. You can't be stuck in your old ways, sitting in the back of the church and humming along. You have to get up in front and sing."

Melissa wasn't sure what she expected before she boarded the plane for Houston. "I thought it would be a lot about hymns and prayers, but it was basically one huge concert," she said.

Kerry, who plays piano at Our Lady of Mercy's 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, said, "Teens often don't feel like they can express themselves. But being around other teens, and adults who took the time and interest to organize this trip for us, made us interested in enjoying Mass and our religion."

Alive faith

For Marjorie, who serves on her parish council, the conference served as a reminder that the faith of teens is a faith that is vibrant and alive.

"If you don't get the youth involved now, what are they supposed to do -- start magically going to church at 25?" she said. "Don't ignore us."

Melissa agreed: "It's important for adults to know that teens like to experience and talk about faith as much as they do. I think it's a wonderful thing all around. There are things that bring healing to people. For me, it's music, and now -- Church!"

(Brendan Blake and Melissa Jeffers, Albany's delegates to the Youth Press Corps, were able to attend press conferences with the keynote speakers, asked questions, took photos, and made notes for articles they would write for local publications and newsletters.)

Conference had fun, games and trade items

Bayou Village was a sprawling activities and service haven for teens to hang out at when they weren't involved with sessions or speakers.

There, teens ran through an inflatable obstacle course, played sand volleyball while learning about the religious life at "Vocations Beach" with representatives from more than 30 congregations, made "Hope Bags" for the homeless in the youths' home cities, chatted, listened to music at "God Rock Cafe," and swapped trade items.

The delegation from the Albany Diocese brought with them foam Statue of Liberty hats, "I Love New York" pins and t-shirts, which they traded for hot items worn by delegates from other states. According to Genevieve, there was a high demand for the sailor hats worn by Maryland delegates. To get hers, she had to trade a New York t-shirt and "a lot of other stuff." Kerry came away with some Western swag from a Texan delegate -- a cowboy hat and cow bandanna. (KD)

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