November 20, 2009
OYAYA
Thousands are screaming, waving their hands in the air, and singing. What a sight!
BY STEVE DABROWSKI (Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry)
As you read this, I am in Kansas City with youth and young adults representing the Diocese of Evansville at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). You have no mental image for what I’m experiencing. “Sure,” you might say, “I’ve been to concerts and games before; I know what a roaring crowd is like.”
You haven’t a clue.
These members of the young Church are neither here for a concert nor to cheer Peyton on to another win. Instead, they are cheering because they are winning themselves, and the songs they sing are anthems of victory that will not fade. Concerts and sporting events have no impact on eternity; this week does, and it stands as a sign of contradiction.
Few pass up tickets to heralded concerts or undefeated teams vying for a Super Bowl berth. But, what possesses a young person to spend $450 to ride on a cramped bus for seven hours to participate in Mass, listen to lectures, or attend concerts by people few of their friends have ever heard? I’m sitting with 60 young people from our diocese who have done just that because their faith is a central part of who they are.
Before anyone makes a false judgment, these aren’t outcasts. These are normal high school students and young adults. Normal except for the fact that what they believe informs who they are . . . and how they act. And you want to know something? They aren’t alone. I’m looking at nearly 25,000 others with the same values . . . and thank God for them!
That being said, I am also saddened. Of the 69 parishes in our diocese, only 13 are represented here at NCYC. Eighty-one percent of our parishes are full of young people who are missing out on this opportunity. If your parish isn’t represented here, call your youth minister and ask why not. Don’t believe answers like, “It was too expensive,” or “NCYC isn’t that good.”
First, the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYAYA) offered scholarships to NCYC, and the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry did, too.
Second, I can produce a list of young people, youth experts, priests and bishops, including our own, who will attest to the value of NCYC.
There really are no good reasons for youth not to be here. But, rather than focusing on the negative, I have an even better idea: Start planning for the next NCYC today. In 2011, this awesome Catholic event will be in Indianapolis — just a few hours away! Call your pastor, youth minister or DRE, and tell them you want your young people to be a vibrant part of the Church in the United States.
Look, I need to stop typing. The singing and the activity all around me is just too distracting, and . . . inspiring. And I wonder what these young people will do when they get back to the diocese?
We haven’t a clue!
And I can’t wait!