Ten years later, spiritual impact of CLI lingers for duo

Ten years ago, Brian Evers lent Jessica Reed a sweatshirt during a particularly cold night at the Christian Leadership Institute for teens, held at Pyramid Life Center in Paradox.

While she gave the sweatshirt back, they still have something in common a decade later: They are in their mid-twenties, still involved in Church activities and still count CLI as one of the most formative faith experiences of their teenage years.

CLI, a week-long workshop sponsored by the Albany diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, trains young Catholics to take leadership roles in the Church.

'Best experience'

Ms. Reed, who now works as a manager at a publishing company, calls CLI one of the "best experiences I had at that time and up until this day."

As a teenager at Blessed Sacrament parish in Albany, she was involved in "a ton of activities" in the youth group and was an altar server. Her mother, Rosemarie Reed, the parish's youth minister, encouraged her to attend CLI.

The most important things she learned at CLI, she said, were about her own capabilities and her relationship with God.

"CLI gave me a real foundation," she explained. "I've been going to church all my life, and my family is very spiritual. But CLI helped me find myself, and it reinforced what I had been taught since I was born. The friendships I made, the connections I made with myself and God -- those memories are unforgettable."

Practical use

In college, Ms. Reed applied the leadership skills she learned at CLI to a job as a resident assistant in a dormitory.

After college, she became a manager and found herself putting CLI skills into practice in the work-a-day world.

"I've had to balance between being a manager and being a peer, because I came up through the ranks and was once at their same level," she said. "Through CLI, you learn how to deal with people on your own level as well as understanding that each and every one of you is a leader."

Mentoring

Ms. Reed, who is getting married at Blessed Sacrament in October, currently serves as an Eucharistic minister and a catechist at the parish.

She and her fiance also chaperon lock-ins and youth events for the current youth group.

"I like to think of myself as a mentor, somebody that they can look to that went through all these experiences," she said. "I have the understanding of where they are and where they're coming from -- and where they can go."

Perspective

Mr. Evers, who has served as the youth minister at St. Pius X parish in Loudonville for four years, said that being a CLI graduate gives him a unique perspective.

In his home parish of Our Lady of Victory in Troy, the youth minister, Margaret Leathem, suggested he attend CLI.

"Ever since, I haven't really stopped being involved in youth ministry," he noted.

Okay to believe

One of the things that struck Mr. Evers as he arrived at CLI was the realization that "it's okay to believe in God and faith; faith can be something that is fun and important."

Experiencing the Christian community of CLI has had a positive influence on his own ministry to today's teens.

"The most important thing is the community formed there, and that's what we are supposed to model," he explained. "It's easy to do it up there, but it's harder to do that in the world. That's what has kept me in this ministry: trying to foster that feeling, that community. It's a community that cares for each other, where it's okay to be open about faith, where we don't have to hide who we are and wear masks."

Role models

Through CLI, Mr. Evers met a number of adults who helped form him to be the minister he is today and who encouraged him in his faith. He tries to be the same for the youth in his care.

"When you send young people to CLI, you have to incorporate them into parish ministries, and let parishioners know that young people have gifts and that they are the Church of right now," he said. "The adults [at CLI] helped us to see something in ourselves that we didn't see. That's really the role of a youth minister, teacher, coach or any person that works with young people."

Mr. Evers hopes teens that go to CLI "can experience an atmosphere of Church that will re-ignite or burn the flame a little bit. We have an awesome faith you can show wherever you go. That's what CLI does. [You get the feeling of] 'I'm not the only person who feels this way, that has this faith, and it's okay to talk about it and okay to use those gifts right now.'"

(9/14/06) [[In-content Ad]]