Youth Congress puts emphasis on social justice

Congress was in session over the weekend, discussing some of the most pressing social justice issues in the country.

However, this wasn't a meeting of federal lawmakers; it was the diocesan Youth Congress, a gathering of young people from all over the Albany Diocese with the theme, "Living Justice, Proclaiming Peace."

About 135 young people and adults attended the two-day event at St. Matthew's parish in Voorheesville. Participants heard from speakers on how to live by the principles of Catholic social teachings, talked about how youth can effect change in society and attended a "hunger banquet" at which different groups ate different meals depending on which economic class they were assigned to.

Power of youth

Michelle Stefanik, the new associate director for youth ministry for the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis (OEC), said the congress was "my first real opportunity to rub shoulders and dialogue with the youth of the Diocese. They're fantastic! I see so many bright lights and strong voices."

She called the congress a place where conversations could be held about the power of young people to bring peace and justice into the world.

Though many participants were already active in parish or school service programs, she explained, "we wanted to widen people's scope. Their world is part of the larger world; that's what working for peace and justice is all about."

Adult input

Prior to the congress, the youths were asked to interview two adults they knew about peace and justice, and create a poster about what they discovered. Amanda Burt, a parishioner of St. Vincent's parish in Albany, spoke with a Catholic Charities board member.

"I learned a lot about what Catholic Charities does," Amanda told The Evangelist, noting that she had no idea Catholic Charities sponsors everything from help for domestic violence victims to food pantries. She was pleased to realize that her parish already does social justice work through such things as feeding the poor and having an "Advent tree" to collect donations for Catholic Charities.

A sophomore at Cobleskill/Richmondville High School, Amanda also learned disturbing facts about slumlords in inner-city areas, and found out that even young people can help to bring summer programs to inner-city children and get parishes to sponsor scholarships for needy adults to attend night school.

Justice-walking

Much of the congress focused on the concept of the "two feet of justice": advocacy and service. Eric Peck of St. Luke's parish in Schenectady liked that idea, which was expressed by speakers Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Joe Grant, a social justice activist from Kentucky who works with youth.

Mr. Grant gave a presentation on "j-walking," or justice-walking -- in other words, making social justice part of one's lifestyle. Eric, a freshman at Schenectady High School, approved of his "socially moderate" perspective and is now debating which service program for youth to join.

Laura Seymour, a parishioner of St. John's parish in Valatie, remarked that the event was an opportunity for her to go beyond the boundaries of her school or town. She met many peers from other schools whom she'd previously seen only as rivals in sports against her school, Ichabod Crane in Valatie. She discovered that she had a lot in common with them -- including an interest in working for justice.

Working together

At the congress, the young people participated in an activity called "Not My Problem," during which they tried to pass balls representing problems to one another as more and more balls were thrown into the group. Eventually, all the problems couldn't be "passed off," and chaos resulted.

Laura doesn't want that to happen to her. She now wants to write her senators about such issues as health insurance for all. She was upset by a story told at the gathering about a boy whose uninsured family could not get treatment for his depression; he eventually committed suicide.

"That's something that needs to be changed," she stated. "We do have the power to change things. We can make our voices known."

Global touch

For Alex Wamekendi of St. Luke's parish in Schenectady, the congress was inspirational. Originally from South Africa, the eighth-grader learned a lot about economic problems in the U.S. Now, he wants to help feed the hungry.

That's exactly the kind of impact Ms. Stefanik hoped the congress would have on youth.

"If someone is able to walk out with a better vision -- to see how what they do every day has a larger connection with the world, to step out of their comfort zone and enter into a new experience -- that's what I'm looking for," she remarked. "I look at these [events] as catalysts."

(A national youth congress is held every other year at the National Catholic Youth Conference, but it's traditional for the Albany Diocese to hold a local congress during the off-years to maintain young people's interest in peace and justice.)

(11/11/04)