All God’s Children> Young Catholics discover church is more tha a place for weekly worship

The sound of adolescent energy filled the Bangor Civic Center and Auditorium on Sunday. These young people had not come to cheer on their favorite teams or to attend the concert of a Top 40 tunesmith. They brought all their swirling emotions and vibrating imaginations here for one purpose – to worship God.

More than 1,000 young Catholics and their parents from around the state gathered for the Junior High Jubilee Celebration, sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. Held once every three years, the event focuses on discussing issues and dispensing inspiration to children ages 11 to 14.

On the stage stood a large wooden cross, draped in a white cloth, illuminated by a spotlight. In the center of the stage sat the handmade altar table, its legs made out of stacked four-by-four wooden blocks. On the edge of every block was printed the name of a parish and town.

The teen-agers stretched their arms above their heads, swaying and singing along with Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.” A few waved tiny red flashlights that resemble matches struck in awe and respect at the end of rock concerts.

Kathy Dyer of the Church of the Holy Rosary in Caribou said the conference “gives the kids a sense of being a part of the larger Church and Catholic community. It gives them a sense that the Church is more than just where they are.”

Barbara Smith, director of the office of catechetics and initiation, organized the event which focused on some of the Jubilee themes of reconciliation and the person of Christ. A workshop for parents was designed to help them understand what it is like to be a Catholic teen-ager in today’s world, 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus.

“We hope that the kids and their parents will take this kind of dynamic event and translate it locally,” said Smith, who estimated 1,200 people from 80 of the state’s 130 parishes attended the program. “One of the things young people learn at an event like this is that there are more Catholic kids in the world than in their own parishes.”

The teens spent much of the day in workshops. Topics included conflict resolution, dealing with stress, Christian music, and learning to see God in everyday life. The Rev. John Skehan, director of the diocesan Office of Parish

Planning, conducted a session called “Ask Father John.” He said after the conference that students asked questions about church doctrine and teachings, the Trinity and careers in the church.

“Their questions were fairly typical of this age group and ran the whole gamut,” said Skehan. “They asked about the referendum questions that were on the [Nov. 7] ballots and where the Church stands on gay rights, homosexuality and physician-assisted suicide. They asked about creation vs. evolution, who is God, what is heaven like, and why priests don’t marry and women are not ordained.”

Skehan said the early teens is also a time when children begin considering career options. Skehan said the young people Sunday were curious about his journey toward the priesthood. Some of their questions may have been prompted by an informational display table in the hall outside the auditorium.

“It’s good for them to experience not just their own parish priests, but other priests as well,” said Skehan. “I saw it as an opportunity to share my story. I was a junior high teacher and it took me a while to discern my vocation. I told the kids that it was a healthy thing to enjoy the struggle as opposed to simply having a quick fix.

“They also asked me about celibacy, and if I feel I have missed anything not being married and having children. I told them that there are many ways they can be involved in the church, including lay leadership and teaching catechism classes.”

For many of the teen-agers, Tony DeBlois’ appearance was the most inspiring part of the weekend. DeBlois, of Waltham, Mass., plays more than a dozen instruments.

The 26-year-old is blind, autistic and has Savant syndrome. He has been playing the piano since he was 2. A made-for-TV movie, “Journey of the Heart,” depicting his life, aired in 1997. DeBlois performed twice unday.

“It’s amazing he can play at all,” said Winona Christnot-Peters, 11, of St. Mary’s in Presque Isle. “He was so inspiring and he played songs I love, like the [theme from] ‘Titanic’ and ‘Hound Dog’ by Elvis. I’m so glad he came here.”

Keynote speaker Mike Carotta of Louisville rarely speaks to teens. Usually, he talks to religious educators. He is the author of one of the most widely used religious programs for adolescents.

“Kids this age have a real emotional hunger,” he said after his presentation Sunday. “The best way to describe their faith is to see it as a blend of emotionality and imagination. We should honor both.”

Corotta said that “imagination has always been a key to the religious experience. Jesus Christ used of images and metaphors all the time. He counted on people using their imaginations to understand his teachings.

“As Catholics, we are a people of religious image that is a natural match with the imaginations of young people,” he continued. “We have water going this way, wine going that way. The sacraments, the symbols of the Mass and the liturgical calendar are full of imagination.”

Carotta said he encourages adults to honor the emotionality young people bring to their faith and pay attention to way kids describe their experience of God. He described Sunday’s event as “unique” because so many parents attended with their teen-agers.

The Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, director of vocations, invoked the words of Pope John Paul II in his homily.

“At the Youth Conference in Rome, the pope told the young people to take Christ with you and make him the center of your life,” said Greenleaf. “The Church needs young people. It needs you and you need the Church. You need Christ in your lives.

The priest pointed out that the stories of Jesus’ childhood and adult life are plentiful, but there are few stories about what he was like as an adolescent. He told the young people attending the conference that that was one of the reasons the adults in the church need them.

“You show us God’s young face,” said Greenleaf. “In your faces we see a young Christ, the one who got lost in the temple, then grew in wisdom and strength.”

Thirteen-year-old Brian Wilbur of Milford attends Holy Family Church in Old Town with his family. He said that he had expected the conference would “be a good time,” but hadn’t expected to learn so much about his religion.

“They told me stuff I’ve never known before,” he said Sunday afternoon. “I’ve never been so into God before, but now I am.”