Youth Ministry Blog

By Sarah Buckham.  Sarah is the parish youth ministry coordinator at St. James Parish in Abbotsford.  Read more of her blogs here.

I invite you to view my 2010 Olympic Winter Games Video Blog series on my website here (it's easier to link than to post each video here individually, but I'll link to the most recent one here).

I've been doing daily video blogs leading up to the Olympics and, of course, throughout the Olympics.  Often, I will highlight what's going on around our building and in the Catholic Welcome Centre in particular.  Other times, I'll post footage from wherever I happen to be, whether on the streets of Robson, at an event, or around home.

Enjoy!

Featured Blog:  2010 Winter Olympics Video Blog #14: Taking you Inside the Catholic Hospitality Centre

By Megan Siy.  Megan is the Youth Ministry Coordinator at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Vancouver and is helping to coordinate the volunteers for the Catholic Welcome Centre for 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Anyone that has been around me for the past couple months, knows that I've been a super keener about the 2010 Olympics. I've become an encyclopedia of Olympic info, and I may quite possibly be the reason why the Bay has to re-stock daily. Some have said that they caught their Olympic fever from me.

I love that I get to cheer for our Canadian athletes on our own turf. I'm excited that I actually get to witness the presentation of Canada's first medal (Jennifer Heil "won silver," she didn't "lose gold"). But the biggest blessing is getting to welcome the world to Vancouver! There is no where else that I'd rather be.

Olympic advertising has brought out a lot of clever taglines. One of my personal favourites is the Bay's, "we were made for this." Maybe that's because I've seen it so often on my multiple visits to the Olympic Superstore, but I think it really speaks to our mission as Christians to love and serve God and others: "God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him" (CCC 358).

Today, we opened the doors of 150 Robson to invite visitors or locals, Catholics or not, to experience a little "radical hospitality" from the Archdiocese of Vancouver. I met some of the amazing members of our local Catholic Women's League, who were very happy to hear that I, a non-senior citizen, was a card-carrying member. I photographed some of the smiles and excitement from the young and the old as they posed with (and almost broke) our in-house Olympic torch. I even "saved" a woman's life by letting her use our washroom after closing time.



"Christ has no body on earth but yours,
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out;
Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
And yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."
-- St. Teresa of Avila --

I can't believe that today was only day one, and I can't wait to see what the next two weeks have to offer!

I was blessed with the opportunity to meet 20-year NHL veteran Jeremy Roenick last week. When my cousin Dusty (who is an accomplished hockey player in his own right) called me on Tuesday night asking me if I’d like to meet Jeremy Roenick, I took about 0.8 seconds to say yes! So less than 24 hours later, I was in Jeremy’s hotel room in the Hyatt as part of an informal social gathering.

By the way, for the rest of this blog, I’m going to call Jeremy Roenick by his well-known moniker of “JR”…it’s easier to type and I’m sure he won’t mind. :p

The night started off rather auspiciously for me as I didn’t hear JR ask me what I did for a living (perhaps I was too busy tweeting that I was with JR…haha). But I did hear him say something like “We’ll start with this guy who seems to be ignoring me.”

Having a funny feeling he was speaking about me and to me, I sheepishly looked up and proclaimed: “I would NEVER, EVER intentionally ignore Jeremy Roenick!” This comment was met with a lot of laughter from other people in the room, and I was relieved to see JR smile. More importantly, I was thankful that he didn’t goon me while having an NHL flashback and thinking I was Derian Hatcher or Darcy Tucker.

I told him that I worked for the Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, running an office that does ministry for and with young people. He commended me on doing noble work, and I felt a sense of pride.

Later on in the evening, I made some small talk with JR as I helped him return some chairs to his balcony. I asked him where he lives now (Scottsdale, Arizona) and I mentioned that I’ve been to Arizona numerous times, both for church events and to visit friends (who I met through these church events). This led to another quick discussion about my role as the YMO’s Director and he once again affirmed me for serving in a position that allows me to help others. I couldn’t surmise if JR was a Christian, but regardless he seemed genuinely interested in me and my work.

I then asked him: “Is it okay if I ask you a few hockey questions?”

“Sure.”

My first question was “How do you think the US Hockey Team will do in the Olympics?”

“Probably 4th or 5th,” he said, “behind Canada, Russia and the Czechs.”

“Wow,” I said, surprised, “but I won’t quote you on that.”

“Oh, you can if you want,” JR replied, “I’ve gone on record with my prediction. The forwards are good but they’re too young and too inexperienced. Miller (the goalie) will have to be at his absolute best for them to have a chance.”

“Thanks man…are you surprised at how well the Sedins are doing this year?”

JR answered “Not at all. They are remarkable players…especially Daniel.”

I found that answer interesting, considering Henrik is the one leading the NHL scoring race. I wasn’t sure if he was mixing them up, or if he truly wanted to single out Daniel. At any rate, I was thoroughly enjoying the conversation, and he was certainly living up to his reputation as a great interview (or in this case, conversation). All right…enough of the softies, I thought.

“What’s your take on this whole Burrows-Auger thing?”

JR replied, “I believe Burrows 100 percent. But he probably could have gone about it a different way, either through his coach or GM. But I believe him completely.” As we looked out at the city skyline from his 34th floor balcony, JR said “Auger’s ego is the size of this city.”

This was getting good. “So I’m presuming you’ve played in games where Auger was the referee?”

“For sure,” JR said. “And he’s the biggest BLEEP BLEEP and BLEEP BLEEP around.” (As I’m sure you can guess…he didn’t say the word “BLEEP”…there were other more colourful words in there; words that I would have to go to confession for saying).

I completely lost it and started laughing so hard that I thought I might fall over the railing and onto Burrard Street below. On one hand, JR’s response didn’t surprise me, as he’s known as one of the most outspoken players to ever play the game. On the other hand, it did surprise me a bit, considering our nice conversation about church just moments earlier.

We returned inside still laughing, and then took a couple of pictures: one of us arm in arm, the other featuring JR ready to unload a barrage of punches on me. I left soon afterwards grateful for the chance to meet him.

The next morning, the TEAM 1040 Radio station was going to have JR on as a guest. I emailed the TEAM, telling them that I had met JR the previous night, and I suggested that they ask JR for his opinions on the US Olympic Hockey team and on the Burrows-Auger incident. I also attached a picture of us as evidence (not that they cared).

Sure enough, they asked JR about both things, though it might have had nothing to do with my email…they could have been planning to ask him those types of questions anyway. Upon hearing his radio interview, it was nice knowing that he was indeed shooting straight with me, as his responses were very similar to the ones he gave me the night before.

Except for the swear words. Somehow those didn’t make it on the radio!

By now, my unsuccessful foray into the accounting world is well-documented and well-known. What was initially a source of embarrassment for me is now great speaking-fodder, especially as part of my testimony. I’m not afraid to poke fun at myself and I can take good-natured ribbing from my family and friends about my plight.

Since moving away from the accounting profession over 10 years ago, I have rarely looked back, and I have little regret. I have faith that our great and loving God indeed has His plan for me, and my current tenure in youth ministry is part of this plan. And thankfully, I’ve been able to use many of the skills I learned, especially with respect to budgeting and bookkeeping. I love statistics (especially with respect to sports), and my arithmetic and computations skills are still sharp. In fact, one of my most marketable skills is my proficiency in taking a group bill at a restaurant and figuring out how much each person owes, including tip and tax. Hey wait a sec…maybe that’s the only reason why I get invited out once in a while.

However, once in a while, the accounting gods will put me in my place. Just today, Gerard and I were teaching a course on Team Building at our Youth Ministry Seminars. As part of an ice-breaker, Gerard asked the participants to break off into pairs and he encouraged partnering up with someone they didn’t know already. We had 16 people registered for the course, and by fluke it turned out that 8 of the participants were from the same ministry community (BLD, or Bukas Loob Sa Diyos).

Being the smart guy that I am, I surmised that it would make sense of each of the BLD members paired off with someone who wasn’t from BLD. So after doing a quick and silent head-count to confirm the 16, I proclaimed my suggestion: “Let’s have the BLD members pair up with non-BLD members!”

It was met with a mix of “Ah, that makes sense!” and “We have names you know!” Just kidding…no one said that second phrase…though we quickly and collectively agreed that we would refrain from categorizing people via their ministry or parish for the rest of the session.

Gerard affirmed my suggestion, and his remark of “Clay’s good with numbers because he used to be an accountant,” made just as we leaving the room for a quick break, was met with polite laughter. I was laughing inside, because I focused on the “used to be an accountant” part as opposed to the “Clay’s good with numbers” part.

As everyone started pairing up, I sat back proud of myself and my suggestion. Until, to my dismay and horror, I saw 1 person left without a partner. How could this be? Suddenly, a got a funny feeling in my stomach, and I realized that my accounting skills may had failed me once again. Another quick scan of the room confirmed my worst suspicion: there were actually only 15 people in the room (not counting myself).

As I frantically looked at the attendance sheet, still in denial, Gerard returned the room and asked why I looked so flustered.

“Uh…I miscounted. There are only 15 participants in here.”

“Nice counting there buddy” was G’s pastoral reply.

“I guess that’s par for the course with me” I mumbled under my breath, just as participant number 16 came in the classroom…effectively saving me from further humiliation. Thankfully, the rest of the session went off without a hitch…and without any further counting errors.

I guess I’ll stick to making spreadsheets and sorting out restaurant bills. Anyone wanna go out and eat?

We were pleasantly surprised to learn last week that the YMO website, and in particular our Blog section, is listed on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) list of Recommended Social Media Links.

We are excited to be recognized for our efforts and forays into the blogging world, and humbled to be mentioned in the same breath as social media leaders such as the BC Catholic and Salt & Light.

You can view the entire list here:  CCCB Social Media Links.

Thanks for your support; we will continue writing entertaining and (hopefully) insightful blogs for your reading enjoyment!

This blog was written on December 22, 2009

Last Friday, we held our annual Christmas gathering for the YMO (Youth Ministry Office) at our place and as always, it was a great night of fun, fellowship and food. There were many highlights, including the fabulous Shabu Shabu dinner, watching all of the YMO kids play with each other, and of course, our Nacho Gift Exchange, featuring stealing, wheeling, and dealing. Read that title a couple of times over...you'll get it eventually. :p

As we were nearing the end of the Nacho Gift Exchange, I was positioned in my regular spot at the coffee table right in front of the Christmas tree. Suddenly, I heard a few screams and one voice in particular: that of Faye screaming in her loudest (yet slowest) voice: "LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKK OOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT!" It was reminiscent of a slow-motion action sequence from a John Woo movie: I can vividly recall the look of horror on Faye's face as she struggled to get the two words out.

By the time I figured out that Faye was telling me to "look out", it was too late: the Christmas tree had fallen on top of me, completely enveloping me and immediately making me its biggest ornament. I was sprawled out face-first on my coffee table and was still wondering what had happened as all of the adults quickly removed the tree from my back. Thankfully I wasn't hurt and thankfully the tree didn't hit anyone else. As everyone else returned the tree to its upright position, I recall two people asking me if I was okay, while three people asked if any ornaments broke. Great...more people were concerned about the decorations than they were about me!

To be truthful, it was actually only one person asking if I was okay: the other was my daughter Kayla who started to cry after initially putting on her best brave face. As I thanked her for her concern, someone pointed out that Kayla was likely crying because Daddy had destroyed Christmas, as opposed to being concerned for my health! Thanks a lot guys.

In replacing the ornaments on the tree, we had yet another good laugh: my rather imposing frame had left a distinct imprint in the tree. It took us a few moments to re-shape the artificial branches and fill up the hole left by my body.

In re-tracing the events of the evening, the tree likely fell because I was tinkering with it earlier in the evening when Gail noticed that it was leaning slightly forward. I guess in my efforts to fix it, I actually made it worse (a common theme for me with respect to things around the house). I'm pleased to tell you that since then we have re-enforced the base.

Thus, the tree shouldn't fall again. After all, I wouldn't want it to destroy the ONE gift I have under the tree (as opposed to the kids with their dozens)!

By Krissy Chua, parishioner of St. Paul Parish in Richmond and YMO volunteer-extraordinaire

Sustainability. Noun.
The power or competence to maintain, uphold as valid, keep going, support.

What holds sustainability in your life?
This word, sustainability, seems to be massive in the business world.
Trying to complete my business degree has led me to use this word in every paper and project I've worked on thus far. But what does it really mean in my life?

"The power to keep going. The ability to support one's endeavours."
Sounds like a Gatorade commercial.

Among everything else that keeps me busy and (hopefully) out of trouble these days, I recently had the blessed opportunity to serve once again at the Archdiocesan Youth Event, Spirit Day. It is truly humbling to serve alongside such wonderful teens and young adults who are perfectly willing to stand out in the cold and the rain to direct traffic, get ignored by many of the cars and people that come through, handing out food to over a thousand people--completely satisfied and content of never being able to come close to the actual event itself. As much as I hear that what goes on in the auditorium is amazing, and as much as I know that Matt, APeX and the Stage Team must be greatly moving, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. For myself, at least.

My mom also helped out at Spirit Day this year, in the Auditorium, and was worried that I wasn't able to receive the Spiritual Sustenance I needed because I was unable to hear the talks or experience the event. I replied to her that serving on the Logistics Team was my Spiritual Sustenance, an experience like no other.

This year's Spirit Day theme was "Believe", and I realize more than ever how important this word is to a young person's faith. In a world that throws out nonchalant phrases like "it is what it is", "he's doing his thing", and "sustainability" that don't really offer sufficient explanations for anything, believing is something we all desperately need.

If you didn't believe in the power of being One Body in Christ, of the might of the Church, of the importance of serving food to all these Grade Sevens that you will likely never meet, then all you're doing is dishing out food to strangers, and will probably not find much joy and reward in doing so.

I'm willing to bet that "believe" was thrown around quite a lot in the talks that day. But what isn't as obvious to the eyes and ears is the "believe" that gets thrown around by all the young people that work tirelessly to make such an event happen--believing that being at Spirit Day isn't just for the Grade Sevens. Believing that the young church is truly fully alive and active.

There's this stigma attached to young people, that perhaps we're just troublemakers, that we're not ready, that we will be the church of the future. But as I look around the grounds at Spirit Day, and in my own home parish and community, I can clearly see and believe that we are the church of today. That we readily take up our crosses each and every single day. That we fully believe in our faith, and in our good God.

And this is what sustains me. Being able to be both Martha and Mary in what I do. Taking both the service and the quiet to grow in faith and in love for the Lord. (If you've ever been to Spirit Day, you know there isn't much quiet!) Seeing that we have the opportunity to minister, serve, and love in everything that we do--to be Christ to everyone that we encounter, not just at the event, but before and after it too. Knowing that my faith--my belief--, by His Grace, truly IS enough to maintain, to uphold as valid, to keep me going, to support me, not just in times of good, but also in times of bad.

So now, as Advent comes to a close, and Christmas fast approaches, it's time to ask ourselves:
What sustains you?
What do you believe in?

By Jeremy Keong, Youth Ministry Coordinator of Christ the Redeemer Parish in West Vancouver

Another liturgical year has passed us by, and that means, for those involved in youth ministry, another Spirit Day has come and gone as well. last weekend, the 6th annual Archdiocesan event put on by the Youth Ministry Office entitled "Believe" catered to over 1800 Gr. 7s, for the first time over 2 days and in 2 different locations (the same program was run twice). "Believe", because we believe in the Creed, in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, in the Communion of Saints, in the Forgiveness of Sins, in the Resurrection of the Body, and in life everlasting.

In short: It was simply amazing. I am so blessed to have been given another opportunity to co-lead the 16 person stage team with Oggy. Together, we wrote and performed skits, danced dances, and gave testimonies. But we were just a small part of the day. For 8 hours, the youth rocked out to the incredible music of Matt Maher and Ike Ndolo, laughed at the antics of keynote speakers Apex Ministries, made fools of themselves through games, stuffed their stomaches with food, and celebrated mass.On top of that, they were aided in lifting their hearts up to God through MCs, chaperones, the Logistics Team, stage hands, and the lighting crew and the sound crew. And the Gr. 7s absolutely loved it. On that day, we truly did witness to the Communion of Saints, the Catholic Church - The bride of Jesus Christ.

I've always been so fortunate to have God open my mind and my heart in new ways whenever I undertake a familiar task, and Spirit Day 2009 was no different. More than ever, I realized this year that only by asking for the help of what was probably in excess of 100 volunteers was the YMO able to even contemplate pulling off such a beautiful, rewarding, amazing event. Only by getting shifts off work, travelling to all corners of the lower mainland, waking up early and staying up late were we able to properly witness to our faith. And this time more than ever, I reaized that all this requires a substantial amount of sacrifice. So much, that within our own separate teams at Spirit Day, we don't even get to see the event as a whole. Only the Gr. 7s do.

Well, "duh", right? Well, no. In being involved in an event this size, sometimes you fail to see just how huge it really is. And I finally came to a fuller understanding on Saturday night, after the first day had finished. The YMO had put the team leaders up in a hotel, and Oggy and I were hanging out with Krissy and Megan, the leaders of the Logistics Team. At some point, I asked them, "So what did you think of our dance?" And they simply said, "Oh. We never saw it. We've been doing this for 4 or 5 years, and we've barely ever seen any of the program. No Matt Maher, no Apex, no Stage team skits."

And that completely caught me off guard. I was convinced that the majority of Spirit Day happened inside that auditorium when the youth were clapping and singing and cheering, and that everyone got to see it. And that attests to how much I've misunderstood the event, and how much everyone misses. The stage team gives their testimonies, performs their skits, and then hangs out in the back room being as quiet as they can. The Spirit team mingle with the youth during the sessions and plays games with them, but don't get to see what else is going on. The Logistics team prepares the food, directs traffic in the parking lot, directs traffic during break, cleans up, and most of the time never even sees the event inside the auditorium. Some people are so busy running around and making sure all these groups are doing their job that they never get a breather for the whole 8 hours of the event. All involved sacrificed so much of our time, just so the Gr. 7s can get something out of the day.

Not surprisingly, this all echoes the Gospel. "He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me'" (Mark 8:34). Christ asks us daily to self sacrifice. And in agreeing to volunteer for Spirit Day, all of us deny ourselves. There is a huge part of me that wants to sit in the auditorium and listen to Matt play and Apex minister from a good point of view, not hiding behind a curtain. I would love to play games with the Gr. 7s and the Spirit Team, and I would love to help the Logistics Team prepare food, and serve it to the eager young people. And I'm sure many involved also have some of that same longing. But we can't. None of us involved can ever do everything at Spirit Day. But we can all do something.

It's beautiful, really. If you look at it with a micro mind, you see so many factions of people, so many different sections doing their own thing. But if you look at it with a macro mind, you see a beautiful body, all pointing towards the same goal - Heaven. And that's the way it's always been in the world of the Church. We have so many different orders of priests, of brothers and sisters, of lay people in different professions...and we can never take part in all of it. But we believe and have faith that all members of the Body of Christ are doing their part to point people towards their eternal home.

And throughout the world, and on a smaller scale at Spirit Day, we are doing just that. Thinking about Spirit Day, I now feel so much smaller, but only because I can see just how HUGE this body, connected by love, really is. And it is wonderful. We profess in the creed that Jesus died, paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and then rose so that we could truly live. We die to ourselves in order rise again and bring glory to God. Christ made a sacrifice, and now we do the same. And that is our belief.

 As most PVR-owners know, there's a limited amount of space on the machines (as great as they are).  So depending on how much you record, you may have to constantly monitor the available space and delete shows as necessary. 
 
As I eagerly anticipate the next new episode of Glee (my new favourite show, as well documented through my tweets on Twitter), I've been watching older episodes that I've saved, often being forced to erase other shows just so I can keep the Glee episode with "Bust a Move" in it.
 
Canucks games?  Gone.  BC Lions games?  Gonzo.  Gail's Grey's Anatomy?  Actually...I don't touch these...because if I erase them before Gail watches them...somebody gonna get hurt a-real bad!!!  And I think you know who!
 
You can tell a lot about a person by what they stand for.  By who they associate with.  By what they do with their money.  And even by what they eat...
 
But can you surmise anything about a person or family by examining what's on their PVR?  I'll let you be the judge as I list our pre-programmed "Series Recordings":
 
Kayla
-Sesame Street
-Hi 5
 
Jacob
-Franklin
-Dog Eat Dog
-Adrenaline Project
 
Sean
-Suite Life on Deck (this show is on about 27 times a day)...also, I know Sean's list looks rather short, but he watches virtually everything that I do...for better or for worse haha
 
Gail
-Amazing Race
-Grey's Anatomy
-Hell's Kitchen
-Survivor (with Clay)
 
Clay
-Glee
-Survivor (with Gail)
-The Ultimate Fighter
-Celebrity Apprentice (when it's on)
-24 (when it's on)
-WWE Monday Night Raw...yes...sad but true
 
So there you have it...our complete list of shows.  No wonder we have to keep erasing episodes!!!
 

Here's an article I wrote for Celebrate!, the "Pastoral Magazine with a Liturgical Heart" published six times a year by Novalis. Hopefully, they will publish it in their next issue. Enjoy!


The Sacrament of Reconciliation.

For many teens, it’s an answer to the question “What about the Catholic faith do you appreciate?”

It’s also an answer for many teens to the question “What part of our faith do you not understand or practice?”

Therein lies the beauty and complexity of the Sacrament of Reconciliation; teens can easily name it as one of the seven, yet many of them don’t frequent it regularly for various reasons: i.e. they find it intimidating, they’re not sure what to confess, or they don’t understand why they need to go to a priest instead of directly to God for forgiveness.

In Vancouver, BC, the archdiocesan Youth Ministry Office (YMO) has been holding youth reconciliation events for the past ten years in order to make the sacrament more accessible and less intimidating for youth. The event, called FREEDOM, began in 1999 and has since grown into one of the YMO’s biggest and most powerful events. Since its infancy, FREEDOM has seen close to 5,000 youth and young adult participants gather to experience the healing power of Christ.

Msgr. Mark Hagemoen, Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Services, created the vision for the inaugural FREEDOM event in 1999 as the then-Director of the YMO. “FREEDOM was inspired by the Year of Forgiveness for the universal Catholic Church as we were preparing for the Jubilee Year. And because it was held on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, it was a perfect opportunity for the young people of the archdiocese to gather together and give thanks to God for His love and forgiveness.” (The YMO has since moved FREEDOM to the spring so it falls within the season of Lent.)

At the event, teens are prepared for confession through a dynamic program including skits, music, prayer, testimonies, teachings, and examination of conscience. The Archbishop of Vancouver is almost always present, along with over two dozen priests.

FREEDOM encourages youth to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and not to be afraid of it. Raymond, a youth from St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond, says: "FREEDOM is a really significant event for me. The leaders and program set the perfect mood to prepare me for reconciliation and make me comfortable to confess my sins.”

FREEDOM’s popularity has spread throughout North America, with a few dioceses modeling their reconciliation services after the event.

FREEDOM incorporates many elements into its seamless four-hour long program. Like any reconciliation event for youth, its aim is to create an environment where youth are encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Irrespective of the scope and size of the event (diocesan, school, parish, or retreat), here are seven principles in planning an effective reconciliation event for youth:

1. Make the Sacrament non-intimidating (without watering it down). Confession scares many teens (and adults too!). Thus, it’s vital to create a loving and affirming atmosphere and make it a place of trust. For some young people, it’s an issue of ignorance…they simply don’t understand the theology behind the sacrament. Ensure that there is some catechesis for them, and don’t be afraid to have some fun with it. This can be accomplished through light-hearted skits and presentations.

2. Create a prayerful environment. To provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere, you can do many things with the environment that will help set the proper tone. Simple decorations, plants, candles, and music (more on music below) will help foster a warm setting, one that will hopefully encourage the youth to receive the sacrament.

3. Pay attention to how the confession stations are set up. Explain to the participants that they will have the option of going to confession anonymously or sitting face-to-face with the priest. Each confession station could have three chairs: one for the priest, one facing the priest, and one at a right-angle to the priest (off one of his shoulders). While the priest will obviously remain stationary, teens will have the choice of two chairs to sit in, depending on their comfort level.

4. Music is key. Pick appropriate songs and pick a worship leader who understands the flow of what you are trying to accomplish. We begin FREEDOM with 30 minutes of worship music, and then have the worship team provide “background music” throughout the confession time. We have them lead another 20-30 minutes of music at the end of the event before the participants leave.

5. Give options for after confession. Plan a few things for teens to do once they’ve gone to confession and completed their penance. We’ve invited prayer teams to pray with participants throughout the evening. As well, we provide light refreshments in another part of the church for some quiet social time. These provide some nice alternatives to those who don’t choose to stay to pray with the music ministry. It’s important to recognize that some teens may not even receive the sacrament, so there needs to be activities for them.

6. End in celebration. The send-off is just as important as the gathering time. Once the majority of participants have gone to confession, consider having a youth or young adult share a testimony about the freedom they experienced from receiving the Sacrament. Then, have the music ministry end with a few songs of praise and celebration so the youth go home happy!

7. Invite plenty of priests. From a practical standpoint, the more priests that are present, the less time it will take for all participants to go to confession. It is a tremendous witness to the young people to see so many priests coming and supporting them by administering the Sacrament. Do your best to secure RSVPs from the priests, so you know how many confession stations to prepare, give or take a few.

FREEDOM’s impact is not limited to teens and young adults: it affects the participating priests as well. Father James Hughes of St. Ann’s Parish in Abbotsford is a FREEDOM mainstay, and cites the event’s importance and relevance as a main reason for being involved: “It is such an inspirational event. It truly brings joy and fulfillment in my priesthood to be part of such a gathering.”

The bottom line is that youth reconciliation events are an excellent way for youth to reconcile themselves with God, with themselves, and with each other.

After a long and very busy day first at the YMO and then St. Francis Xavier Parish setting up for tomorrow's Congress, I called home as I made my way into Richmond just before 10pm.

"I'm craving Japanese food" I blurted out, to whomever picked up the phone on the other side.

"Daddy...can I come with you?" came the answer.

By process of elimination, I knew it was Sean: Gail doesn't call me "Daddy", Kayla can't speak that well yet (although she will soon), and Jake was asleep already (after all...it was after 8pm).

"Sure," I replied, "be ready in 20 minutes."

I got home in 20 minutes flat, put on my Canucks' sweatshirt, said a quick hello and good night to Gail and Kayla (Jake was indeed sleeping already), and loaded Sean into the van as we made our way to Aji Taro for some late night Japanese food.

We enjoyed a really nice meal as we each shared about our respective days at school/work and what we were looking forward to on the weekend. As we ate and chatted, I noticed out of the corner of my eye the people at a nearby table staring at us. At first, I thought they were looking "past us" to the bar/cashier but I knew they were staring when Sean said he noticed it too.

Finally, I gave a friendly-enough glance back, catching the dad by surprise (it was a dad and his son and one of the dad's friends).

"Are you Japanese?" was the first question he asked me in response to my return glance.

"Uh...yeah...half" I answered.

"What about him?" he asked while pointing at Sean.

Hmmm....I could be really sarcastic here...but that probably wouldn't be fair given that the stranger had no way of knowing whether or not Sean was my son.

"My son is only a quarter Japanese, as my wife is Chinese."

"Oh...he looks Japanese because of his eyes. He is really cute. My son wanted to meet him but is too shy."

And thus started a nice 3 minute conversation between the 3 of them and the 2 of us. Turns out that the other kid was also 8 years-old and in grade 3, but at an elementary school in Surrey. I learned that the 3 of them were Vietnamese, from Surrey, and Japanese food-lovers. Turns out they weren't bad people after all...haha.

Or maybe not. After they paid their bill and left, Sean said to me: "Those guys were scary."

We soon finished our meal, our conversation slowing to a near stand-still as I asked for the bill. I figured that Sean was extremely tired, still feeling the effects of the 5am wake up call the day before for the field trip to Victoria.

We got into the car and I said to Sean: "You didn't eat that much tonight. Were you already full? Or are you tired?"

Sean replied, "I wasn't really that hungry."

I asked back, "So why did you come with me."

"Because I wanted to spend time with you."

My heart overflowed with joy and I flashed a big smile. "Thanks Sean...that means a lot to me. Thank you."

His next statement revealed his true motive:

"But most of all, I didn't want to have to go to bed yet."

Still overflowing with joy, I was now laughing out loud as we made our way home, thankful for some quality food and more importantly, some quality time.