Catholic youth: Record number of teens take part in annual conference Alaska youth challenged by ancient faith Record number of teens attend AK Catholic Youth Conference

CatholicAnchor.org

At a time when sociologists find traditional forms of faith weakening among U.S. young people and increasing numbers claiming no religion, an estimated 350 Alaskan teens descended on Anchorage for four days of intense Catholic immersion.

The 14th annual Alaska Catholic Youth Conference in Anchorage took place June 2-5 at Lumen Christi High School with a record 258 registered attendees, 140 adult volunteers, 25 presenters and dozens more who participated to varying degrees.

Daily liturgies, rock concerts, community service projects, mountain hiking with priests and religious sisters, a question and answer session with Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and an ice cream social with Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and Juneau Bishop Edward Burns were all part of a busy week for youth gathered from all three Alaska dioceses.

The goal was to expose teens to “the vast richness and traditions of our faith” and to help them “encounter the world each day with Christ as their guide,” observed organizer Theresa Austin. “We wanted to help them embrace prayer, community and the sacraments.”

This year’s theme was “Put On Christ,” a phrase borrowed from Pope Francis’ message at the 2013 World Youth Day in Brazil, where hundreds of thousands of youth continued the tradition of celebrating a periodic global youth rally with the sitting pope.

In Anchorage, organizers were intent on ensuring that ACYC address pressing challenges facing Alaska’s youth. To this end workshops highlighted the challenges of technology, authentic friendship and living a chaste life in a hyper-sexualized culture. Providing answers to growing forms of atheism and religious doubt was also a top priority.

The lineup of speakers included young, energetic nuns and monks, along with dynamic lay speakers who tackled everything from sexual purity and keeping one’s faith in college, to proofs for the existence of God and the point of going to confession.

“Our mission this year was to empower the youth who attended ACYC to be the continuing presence of Jesus for the great state of Alaska,” Austin said.

HANGING WITH PRIESTS & RELIGIOUS SISTERS

One of the more popular parts of ACYC is the chance for teens to hang out with young sisters and priests from religious orders.

This year featured four religious women and two Franciscan friars.

Two members of the Sisters of Life attended, wearing full-length white and blue habits as they mingled with teens and spoke freely about their decision to forgo marriage and children for a celibate life with their fellow sisters in service of Christ and his church.

The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, otherwise known as the “Nashville Dominicans” with their black and white habits, once again sent two sisters to the conference.

These women spoke of the power of prayer, authentic femininity, how to be a pro-life witness and what it’s like to be a religious sister in the modern world.

Two men from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal wore long grey robes, rough rope belts and oversized rosaries. These bearded, shaved headed friars urged youth to reject those elements of the popular culture that would weaken their faith and distract them from the adventure of following Christ.

The friars joked and hiked mountains with the youth, but also heard confessions, offered spiritual advice and challenged young men to embrace a Catholic understanding of masculinity and to remain open to the fact that God might call them to the priesthood.

In one talk, Franciscan Father Daniel Oberreuter encouraged teens to become comfortable with confession.

Like many of the talks, Father Oberreuter’s aimed to cut past cliché notions of Catholicism and inspire youth to encounter Christ personally.

When one teen asked “How sorry do you have to be when you go to confession,” he responded: “All you need is a little something, God doesn’t need much to begin working on us.”

When explaining the sacraments of the church, which some teens view as formulaic rituals, Father Oberreuter described them as “personal encounters with Jesus” and “symbols of a reality that we can’t even see.’

ALASKANS SPEAK UP

In addition to the national speakers a number of Alaskans, many of them veteran youth workers, presented during the conference.

These speakers called teens to embrace a personal relationship with God and to become “the saints of tomorrow.”

Popular Catholic blogger and Wasilla resident Tiffany Borges warned youth about the dangers of uncritically embracing digital technology and orienting their whole lives around social media. Borges, whose writings appear on various national blogs, spoke also about how youth can combat “deadly sins” by growing in “lively virtue.”

The power of music — both to inspire virtue but also vice — and the need for times of silence to hear God’s voice were covered in other workshops.

Sexual purity was highlighted in a series of talks on dating and growing into responsible manhood and womanhood.

In other workshops, women from the Project Rachel post-abortion outreach engaged teens with ideas on how to encourage their peers to embrace a pro-life ethic.

Among other talks, several local priests spoke with teens about how to prepare one’s heart and mind for Mass, ways of dealing with suffering and how to navigate often confusing bioethical and moral conundrums.

In all there were more than 70 workshops over four days.

Reflecting on the conference shortly after its conclusion, co-organizer Bob McMorrow said the ultimate goal of ACYC hasn’t changed after 14 years.

“Christ and his Gospel are the same yesterday, today and forever,” he told the Catholic Anchor. “Our job is to give the young people the authentic, undiluted truths of the Catholic faith. The Holy Spirit does the rest.”