Diocesan youth gather in Boone for CLI
Institute helps develop leadership skills

By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
August 7, 2003

BOONE - Youth from the four dioceses in Iowa recently gathered at the Des Moines YMCA Camp in Boone for the Christian Leadership Institute (CLI) - a week-long training event designed to teach young people the skills necessary for effective leadership with other youth and adults in a parish or school youth ministry setting.

Broken up into two weeks, this year's CLI was held July 20-25 and Aug. 3-8.

According to Dr. Stephan Davis, director of youth/intergenerational ministry for the Sioux City Diocese, he and Father Tim Johnson, pastor of St. Mary Church in Remsen, accompanied seven youth from the diocese to the first week of CLI. Six more diocesan youth participated in the second session.

"From around the state there were 53 youth at the first week," said Davis, who noted that approximately 60 participants were expected for the second week. "There are usually two workshops every day going over some element of leadership - having to do with group dynamics, communication skills, Christian leadership principals, the importance of community building, consensus seeking and then we have one on prayer."

The institute, which is open to young people ages 15 to 18 who are preparing to enter at least their sophomore year in high school, offers an opportunity for leadership development through an intense period of learning and community living. The program is an in-depth experience of skills development in the areas of organization, communication and motivation, as well as personal growth, which enables each young person to discover his or her own leadership style.

The CLI process involves prayer and worship - including daily evening Masses, which are planned in small groups by the youth - as well as recreation and social time.

Chad Driscoll, a parishioner at Nativity of Our Lord Church in Sioux City, attended the first session this year. The Heelan High School senior said he heard a lot of great things about CLI, and he was just going with an open mind to see what it was all about.

"I ended up coming back with a ton of ideas of different stuff I can use within my parish, youth group or with my different organizations at Heelan," Driscoll said. "A lot of it is based on your leadership skills, and it really helped me. I felt I was a pretty good leader, but this helped me even more because it broke down and explained the different steps - the importance of having a facilitator, having someone who works on the agenda and having someone who keeps you on task but also has fun while you do it.

"I'm involved with a lot of different organizations at Heelan - some of them I'm on the leader team. Sometimes I will just say, 'Okay this is real simple. I can just take this home and do it.' However, I won't have enough time to do all that with all my other activities. So I think it will help me realize that you need everyone's help for a project to really work great."

Two years ago, Jeremy Irlbeck, a 2003 graduate of Carroll Kuemper High School, attended CLI as a participant and then went back the following year to work as an Assistant Program Coordinator (APC).

"CLI was an awesome experience. I always tell people that it was the best week of my life," said Irlbeck, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Dedham. "It made me more comfortable with taking a leadership role. It helped me understand ways to accomplish certain tasks, and it taught me different styles of leadership and how to communicate effectively."

Davis said that participating in CLI is one of the requirements for being on the diocesan Core group for youth ministry. Andrea Jenson, a parishioner at Resurrection of Our Lord Church in Pocahontas, took part in CLI last year and is now a member of the Core group.

"I guess I just came home and realized how much that I could do to make a difference - even just by setting a good example," she said. "By using the different leadership styles, I could help lead groups, and I decided to take on teaching CCD, Sunday school class with a friend for little kids. It was just inspiration to get me to start being more of a leader."

Those who would like more information about CLI can contact the Office of Youth Ministry at (712) 233-7528.

"Probably the most important thing for them is being with other youth from around the state," Davis said. "The bonding experiences they probably would say are the highlights. A lot of them said that this was a life-changing experience for them and that they'll never be the same again.

"They feel now that they are empowered to be leaders in their own communities and their own parishes. From the youth that I have talked to personally, I have never heard anyone say anything but wonderful things about CLI. They have a wonderful time there, and it's something that really affects them afterwards for quite awhile."