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Teens invited to youth festival
March 7 event to serve as kickoff for World Youth Day
By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
February 21, 2008
While most local teenagers won’t be able to attend the World Youth Day in Australia this summer, they can all experience a similar faith-filled gathering and sense of community right here in the Valley.
The Office of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization is hosting a youth festival to help tomorrow’s Catholic leaders see the Church as something bigger than their parish.
Organizers anticipate more than 6,000 teens will attend the Southwest Youthfest March 7 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.
“We have to keep them with Christ-minded people,” said Anthony Gleich, youth minister at St. Mary Parish in Chandler. “We’ve got to keep them busy with opportunities to re-affirm with the Holy Spirit because the world can drag that out of them so easily.”
Gleich hopes to fill three buses of teens from St. Mary, St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Benedict parishes to take to the youth festival.
Cecilia Carnicle, a member of the St. Jerome youth group, agrees that the festival is a great opportunity to be with others who are like-minded.
“By staying together, it strengthens us for the future,” Carnicle said.
Musician Sal Soto, a cutting-edge Catholic youth evangelist and one of the event’s guest speakers, will challenge the teens to make standing up for social justice issues part of their future.
Mark Hart, Life Teen’s so-called Bible Geek, will help the youth see how the Holy Spirit leads and empowers them to be that advocate, the theme of both World Youth Day and Southwest Youthfest.
“The sooner they see themselves as part of something bigger, the sooner the rest of the world will tangibly see how active God’s grace really is,” Hart said. “A eucharistic life of service is only possible when abandoned to and guided by the Holy Spirit.”
Bill Marcotte, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization, expects the festival to be one of faith-filled enthusiasm.
“There will be opportunities for them to see how their gifts and talents can be used in building the Kingdom of Christ,” Marcotte added.
The teens will share some of their gifts during Mass, which opens the daylong celebration. Fr. Fred Adamson, vicar general and moderator of the Curia, will offer the Mass with Fr. Billy Kosco, pastor of St. Henry Parish in Buckeye, delivering the homily.
Teens will also have time for confession.
“I have no doubt that, no matter how great a sacrifice may be involved in participating, they will receive much more than they give,” Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said about the teens.
More than 70 choir students from all six Catholic high schools will merge their vocal talents to lead music for the liturgy.
Unity Award winners Jamie Cortez and Matt Maher will hold mini-concerts during Southwest Youthfest. The all-school choir will lend their vocal talents to Cortez’s music during a pre-program concert. Maher and his band will perform after lunch and then again at the end of the day.
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