Carroll youth rally draws 1,500

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
Posted Oct. 31, 2002

CARROLL - About 1,500 high school students from across the Diocese of Sioux City gathered at Kuemper High School on Oct. 27 for the diocesan youth rally where the youth prayed, sang and professed that they are believers.

"I'm a Believer" was the theme of this year's rally. Keynote speaker Jesse Manibusan of Grapevine, Texas, told the youth that they were going to act, pray, play and display together. He told them they had to be vigilant Catholics.

He asked them, "Who are you?" to which the crowd shouted, "I'm a believer."

Manibusan, who has presented a keynote for the National Catholic Youth Conference, used a Christianized version of the song "I'm a believer" to build enthusiasm. Playing his guitar, he incorporated song and stories throughout his presentation.

"I'm a believer, too," he said. "None of us are perfect, but we are believers in Jesus Christ sent by God the Father to give us life and change our lives."

Manibusan said that being Catholic was a great privilege and at the same time it was a great responsibility. As a result of baptism, he added, they are called to draw people to Christ. By baptism, they were chosen by God.

His model of faith and action was Mary, the Blessed Mother, who said "yes Lord" under extremely difficult circumstances. She was willing to follow God's plan, noted Manibusan, even though she probably had devised a plan of her own.

He told the crowd that they can't be a believer without being willing to follow and act on it. Believing, Manibusan stressed, took action and that included following at times.

If they claimed to be Catholic, he said, "Follow Jesus."

The speaker asked them to reflect on this question: "What are things you need to change in your life to be a better believer?"

In opening comments, Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo welcomed participants to the rally. He made special mention of the Hispanic youth group from Cathedral in Sioux City as this was the group's first time to take part in the rally. The bishop pointed out that Hispanics now make up 20 percent of the Catholic population in the diocese.

After the keynote address, the students were divided into two groups. One group went to Mass while the other attended two workshops. Then they switched.

Bishop DiNardo celebrated both Masses and gave the homily. He reinforced the message of the keynote speaker, saying that believing meant showing the faith through action.

"For the last 20 years," said the bishop, "our young people in this diocese have come together on this Sunday to sing, pray, have fun, to listen to God's word and celebrate God's divine mystery."

He told them that they had the ability to be Jesus to others in the world - they only had to give God what they had and he would do the rest.

Allison Rasmussen of St. Mary's High School in Storm Lake directed a youth choir for the liturgies. Michael Willis, director of the Office of Worship for the diocese, helped in planning many aspects of the liturgy. Youth wove an altar cloth for the celebration.

Youth had the option to attend any two of 20 workshops. Topics of the workshops ranged from forming a youth group to recognizing Christian messages in contemporary music and to the importance of forgiveness. Rally-goers also had the opportunity to take part in the sacrament of reconciliation as several priests of the diocese were on hand for private confession.

"Because this was my first youth rally, I can not compare it with previous rallies," noted Dr. Stephan Davis, diocesan director of youth and intergenerational ministry. "According to many comments made to me throughout the day, the youth rally was a resounding success."

Kristin Langel, a sophomore from Gehlen High School in Le Mars, said the keynote speaker was great. Manibusan helped them build enthusiasm for the faith as they were having fun.

"I thought it was interesting that we could be with friends and have fun while we were doing something religious," said Matt Stauter, a junior who is a parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Fonda.

Davis expressed gratitude to Kuemper High School's youth core group and adult volunteers, headed by Beth Bruner. He said Bruner did an amazing job in organizing the event and making sure that nothing was overlooked.

"The diocesan Core Group for Youth Ministry, comprised of 10 young people and a few adults, was instrumental in planning the youth rally, leading the opening ceremonies, presenting workshops and helping wherever they were needed," he said. Davis also extended gratitude to the chancery's Judy Forrest along with Jenny and Mark Petty who ensured that the registrations of participants and workshop presenters went smoothly.

Jennifer Knobbe, a student at Kuemper High School, was pleased to play a special role in this year's rally. She designed a logo based on the theme I'm a Believer that was used for T-shirts and on promotional brochures and materials.

She said it was pretty cool that everyone knows she designed the logo.

Prior to the keynote presentation, Bishop DiNardo honored recipients of the Bishop Lawrence D. Soens Youth Ministry Awards.

This year there were two youth recipients and four adult recipients. Youth recipients were Chad Driscoll and Katie Lehmann, both of Sioux City. Adult recipients were Father Tim Johnson of Remsen, Peg Raney of Jefferson, Randy Ricklefs of Spirit Lake and Julie Staley of Charter Oak.

These individuals were recognized for their contributions to youth ministry in the areas of service, community building, faith formation, leadership and worship.

The rally closed with a pizza party and dance. Joe Swick was the D.J. for the dance and provided sound for the keynote presentation.