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Rally inspires youth to Just Be...By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
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| Workshops call
teens to be servant and witness
The two workshops that all high school youth participated in focused on ways they could become closer to Jesus. Just be - A Witness for Christ was led by Gineal Shrunk, a student at UNI and member of St. Mary Church in Spirit Lake. "God cannot love you anymore or any less than he does right now," she stressed. "Some of you may be thinking that I can have my fun on the weekend or skip Mass and it doesn't matter - wrong." While God loves everyone, Shrunk said it's not about how much God loves his people, it's about how much they love God. "To have a relationship with God, it has to be two ways and it's our choice whether we respond to God," she said. Other students from Spirit Lake also spoke of the impact of their faith in their lives. Danielle Durbala spoke of how the pressure got to her during her freshman year of high school. She was involved in four sports, band, drama, choir and more. "As much as I wanted those things to define me, nothing could tell me who I was," she said. "I felt empty inside." Eventually, she started cutting herself. "You get to a point where you feel empty that pain is a comfort," said Durbala. "I felt so low that God couldn't even love me." Her emptiness was filled through the youth group and the youth minister who reached out to her. Through time and participation in church and youth group she came to realize that God loved her. "Without knowing God's love and figuring out what role he had for me, I was never going to figure out who I truly was," said Durbala. Justin McCarthy, a seminarian of the diocese, spoke a few minutes about the importance of vocations to the priesthood here in the diocese and everywhere. He asked the young men in the crowd to consider the idea of priesthood. "God calls everyone to a certain state in life and if God is calling you and you don't follow it, it's because you didn't pick up the phone," he said. "In your lives as you grow in faith, pick up the phone and listen to God." Another student from Spirit Lake, Sarah Ericson, told the students of a struggle she had between participating in some youth projects and visiting her grandfather. She had wanted to go on a service trip to Mexico and then to a youth conference in Steubenville, but for some reason she felt called to go to Arizona to see her grandfather. About a year later her grandfather died and then she knew why she felt called by God to make that decision. Just be - A Servant of Christ was presented by Richard Seivert, a teacher at Gehlen High School in Le Mars. "Many years ago one girl in our high school came to me and said, 'Mr. Seivert, I need to do something special - please find something for me.' And that became a trip to Honduras for her," he explained. A short time later, nine other seniors from Gehlen made the trip and so came the birth of Mission Honduras. They have made 18 trips to the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere. "From that one girl, I learned there is power in all of you," said Seivert, who noted that they all have the power to serve and make a difference. The workshop included a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted some of the work and experiences of the mission trips. Mission Honduras now organizes three trips per year. Another project that Gehlen has become involved in is Kids Against Hunger. Students, staff and community volunteers pay money to pack meals for the less fortunate. Gehlen has participated in that for two years, Spalding and others joined in the effort last year and participation in that project is growing. He said Kids Against Hunger is an easy project and he'd love to see it explode to the point where millions of meals are coming out of northwest Iowa. "I think there is a servant in all of us and it is just waiting to come out," said Seivert. |
for high school students stressed the importance
of youth just being themselves because God loves them the way they are. The
rally was held Oct. 28 at the Clay County Events Center in Spencer.
Mike Patin, the keynote speaker from New Orleans, centered his message on the 
rally's theme - Just Be. The high-energy speaker used humor and personal stories
to connect with the audience.
He spoke of the busy lives of teenagers and pressures that come from parents or schoolwork.
"Sometimes pressure 
comes from friends," said Patin. "I hope
you have friends, good friends. Friends that make you want to be better - not
just go along with everything you do."
In an attempt to be accepted by others, he said sometimes "we twist parts of who we really are."
Others have pressures with the opposite sex, noted the speaker.
"You may not believe this, but I was not the chick-magnet that you see standing before you today," said Patin. "Back in high school, I used to get dressed up to call a girl on the phone." He would practice what he would say before calling a girl but the words would come out something like something from the Exorcist.
There's nothing wrong with being attracted to someone but when they have to lie or go too far to get someone's attention that is what can create problems.
"If you start lying about who you are or twisting who you are to please someone else, you have gone too far," said Patin.
He cautioned the students of making quick judgments such as "you've got piercings and dark makeup - you must be on drugs. You're tall - you must be a good basketball player."
"When we take a second look, we realize there is more there," added Patin.
Looking through the eyes of faith and realizing that 'God is here now,' the faithful can see things in a new way.
He encouraged youth to use the PLUS philosophy - prayer, learn, unity and service - when they are determining how to just be.
"Everybody wants you to be somebody, it's in your hands," said Patin.
Prior to the keynote, Bishop R. Walker Nickless celebrated Mass. Father Tom Hart, pastor at parishes in Fonda and Varina, concelebrated and Father Brent Lingle, associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Spencer served as the masters of ceremony.
During the homily, the bishop spoke about the significance of the Mass and said it came from a word that means thanksgiving.
"We have a lot of things to be thankful for in the diocese," said Bishop Nickless. "First of all, I want to thank the Lord at this Mass for all of you. You are the youth of the diocese, so that means that you play a very important part of the faith and we want to share that with everyone in the diocese."
He told the students that everyday they had the opportunity to witness the faith and live it out where their family and friends could see them.
The bishop said they also thanked God for the gift of life - from natural conception until natural death and he thanked the Lord for the gift of faith, family and friends.
In keeping with his tradition, the bishop asked questions of young people to help explain the Scripture readings. He called on two of the servers, Justin McCarty and Aaron Pohlen, who are seminarians of the diocese.
The first reading focused on God listening to the prayers of the people.
Luke's Gospel centered on the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee. The bishop had the two seminarians proclaim how the tax collector and Pharisee would address God. Although the Pharisee did most things right, he was very proud and everything was all about him. The tax collector approached God as a sinner, in a humble way.
Through the Gospel, the bishop said it sent a message "about ourselves - to be honest with who you are." The tax collector asked for mercy and forgiveness. The Pharisee was so busy talking about himself that he didn't have time to listen to God.
The bishop called upon the lector of the second reading, Pedro Ruiz of Sioux City to help explain the reading that urged the faithful to finish the race and keep the faith.
"It is difficult to witness your faith in a world that doesn't believe in the values that you believe in," said Bishop Nickless. "It is difficult to do the right thing when everyone else is doing the wrong thing." The second reading, he noted, acknowledged that it is not easy to be Christian but they must keep the faith and ask for God's guidance.
As the liturgy drew to a close, Jessica La Fleur Malm, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Sioux City announced the recipients of the Youth Ministry Awards, which were presented by Bishop Nickless.
"The Youth Ministry Awards were created to affirm and recognize individuals who support youth ministry efforts in the Diocese of Sioux City," noted La Fleur.
Andrea Jensen of Pocahontas was the youth recipient. Presently a student at Morningside College in Sioux City, she has been involved in Camp CAYOCA, Search, Discover, Totus Tuus and service work.
The adult recipient was Ric Hanson of Alton. He has served at Camp CAYOCA, worked with confirmation prep in his parish at St. Mary's in Alton and as director of the Saint Francis Service Project Group at Spalding Catholic School in Granville.
La Fleur said there were almost 900 students at the rally from 44 parish and/or high school groups.
"I feel it went really well," she said. "We were in a new facility this year and the space worked out great. We have a few kinks to figure out for next year but I have faith that it will continue to grow from here."
The director of youth ministry said she was impressed with the strong messages of the keynote speaker as well as workshop presenters.
Paige Framke of Onawa acknowledged that she didn't really want to attend the rally because she didn't know what to expect.
"But now that I am here, it's been really fun," she said. "I thought it would be something like church."
Another youth from Mapleton, Chase Collins, found the keynote speaker to be entertaining.
"I've learned a lot about my faith and it's fun being around all of the other Catholics from other parishes and towns," he said. "Overall, I think the rally was a big success this year."
After the keynote address rally-goers attended two workshops.
The rally concluded with a pizza party and a concert by the Christian rock band Remedy Drive.
