Hard as Nails Ministries hosting event

There’s a lot of passion coming to Albany. 

On Saturday, April 13, the Diocese will host the first Passion Conference at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville. The event is organized and sponsored by Hard as Nails Ministries, a non-profit organization striving to bring the Word of God to teens and young adults across the country. 

Isabella Schmitz, missionary captain for Hard as Nails, said the conference is the organization’s way of reaching out and engaging the youth in upstate New York. 

“This event is a day to come together … and to see you’re not alone,” Schmitz said. 

Since its inception in 2002, Hard as Nails has been traveling around the country, visiting schools, retreats, conferences and college campuses. They talk to students about their struggles and connect them to a faith that wants to offer support.

Schmitz said the organization has been working on this conference for the past two years. Normally, Hard as Nails is the guest, now the organization will get to play host: “We’re very excited about it,” she said. 

The conference has 200 people registered to attend, but is expecting up to 300 with potential walk-ins. A number of school groups from the Albany Diocese are signed up, including La Salle Institute in Troy and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady. 

While the conference’s target audience is in the 13-to-24 year-old range, guests of all ages are invited: “It’s not just for the youth,” said Schmitz. 

The all-day event will run from 10 a.m - 5 p.m.; tickets costs $45 per person which includes lunch. The conference will also provide music, games (including foam swords for “jousting”), a performance by the Hard as Nails missionaries, a Eucharistic procession, Mass and group activities. Guest speakers include Hard as Nails co-founder Justin Fatica and Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., the founding editor of Magnificat.

The “passion” comes from when the missionaries guide small groups — or “passion groups” — through three discussion questions: What is the greatest challenging facing you right now; what are you grateful for; and what prayers do you need right now?

Schmitz has discussed these questions with teens in the past and has seen its powerful impact, specifically when discussing gratitude: “We lose sight of the power of gratitude, and that it brings a lot of hope to people,” she said.

After they leave, Schmitz hopes that attendees see that they’re not alone in their struggles and that God loves them for exactly who they are. 

“This is a day of coming together and knowing that you’re amazing.”

Payments for the Passion Conference can be made to the Hard as Nails Missionaries office at: P.O. Box 15191 Syracuse, N.Y. 13215, or by calling 201-822-4871. Registration for the event can be found at: https://hanm.org/