NCYC 2009 - Christ Reigns
Five teens from All Saints Life Teen are attending the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Kansas City, MO. Many THANKS go out to their parishioners, families and friends for all the support and encouragement. We are truely blessed!
Want to know more about NCYC? Check out the website: http://ncyc.nfcym.org/
LIVE Updates:
Check back daily for updates on their trip via this blog and YouTube ...
Videos
Pre-Trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suKg2NC1gIw
NW Region Mass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtPf3bjGHrM
Prayer B4 Flight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YsmXAm-Uyc
Fun in the Reign Forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG-METYyy8U
Jamming in the Reign Forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psYdNjknGZo
More Jamming in the Reign Forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDClV-Tf3hU
Father Tony's musical intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs_dnurRI1s
11/18 Journey to Kansas City, MO for NCYC:
Greetings from Kansas City!!! We arrived safely after an uneventful, sleep-filled flight along with five other parishes from our Archdiocese. Our teens have already befriended a group from Salem, OR. Checked into our hotel and met up with the rest of the ArchDPdx group, sharing a pizza dinner…adults being served first so we would get food. After receiving our credential and instructions we searched the local grocery store for breakfast food for the week. Just finished our nightly prayer group and as the adults would love to go to sleep our teens have befriended another group, this one from Rochester, NY and are playing Apples to Apples in the lobby. God willing, lights out at midnight.
If you would like to send prayer intentions for our group or teens specifically, please text “prayer” and the intention to 95495 and they will be posted to www.twitter.com/ncycprayerwall
11/19 The first day at NCYC, Whew, what a day!:
11/19 The first day at NCYC, Whew, what a day!:
We had a nice leisurely morning (our first and last!) and slept in. After breakfast we walked around downtown Kansas City, to scope out the convention center and arena, and plot our routes from place to place to make sure we always get good seats. We had lunch at the fabulous Chef Burger (sweet potato fries, yum!) and then hit the “Reign Forest”, a giant convention hall packed with vendors, information booths, activities, arts and crafts, climbing structures, snacks, and TONS of people. Our first stop was the Spirit and Song booth, where we saw our good friend Robert Feduccia (head of Spirit and Song) and the fantastic Ike Ndolo, one of our favorite musicians. We also met Jesse Manibusan, another great Spirit and Song artist (more on him later). Monica and Claire paid a visit to the Life Teen booth to say hi to our friends over there, while the girls spread out far and wide – they bought t-shirts and purity rings, drew sketches with pastels, scoped out vendors and activities to hit up later, and made TONS of new friends. After we had covered what felt like five hundred square miles of convention floor and knew the location of every awesome t-shirt to be found, we headed back to the hotel for a 15-minute siesta before Regional Liturgy.
The Regional Liturgies are a chance for groups to have Mass with other people in their geographic area. We’re Region 12 and shared Mass with the dioceses of Helena, MT, and Cheyenne, WY, as well as our buddies from the Archdiocese of Portland. Then we grabbed a quick dinner before the REAL craziness began – our first general session. No one but Monica has ever been here before and the rest of us had no idea what to expect. The chaos began before we even entered the building . . . we hung out for almost an hour in the middle of a crowd of thousands waiting to get into the arena. It was a little chilly, and we were standing for a long time, but the kids didn’t complain. They sang songs and cheers, tossed balloons and Frisbees back and forth in the air, traded hats with each other (each diocese group has a special funny hat. Ours are umbrella hats. Those things will take your eye out if you’re not careful). Claire and Rachel traded immediately (technically before they were supposed to) for a foam tiara shaped like a lightning bold that says “ELECTRIFY YOUR LIFE WITH CHRIST”, and a light-up neon headband with Mickey Mouse ears. We sang songs to pass the time – we started with youth ministry classics like “Let the River Flow”, but the one that really got the crowd to join in was Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Then, FINALLY, after an hour of waiting outside and a crazy mob scene at the entrance metal detectors and a sprint up the escalators to the arena floor . . . there we were.
It’s not possible to accurately convey what it looks like, and how it feels, to be in a stadium with 21,000 teenagers all doing the same hand motions to the same song. You look around and it’s like the whole room is moving. It was incredible. The first warm-up band, Jacob and Matthew, got everyone on their feet clapping. John Angotti, the second musician, did the same. The crowd was electric. Then we met our MC, the awesome Steve Angrisano, who led us in an energetic medley of songs all the kids knew, complete with shouted call-and-responses, hand gestures, and lots of jokes. (Just so you all know for when we get back: when we say “GOD IS GOOD” you say “ALL THE TIME!” “GOD IS GOOD!” “ALL THE TIME!” Yeah, you’re gonna hear that a lot.) There was an overflow room in the convention center for about 2000 people who wouldn’t fit in the arena, and Jesse Manibusan hosted them. Steve and Jesse are two of Spirit and Song’s most popular artists and you most definitely know at least a handful of their songs if you’ve ever been to the Life Teen Mass. They are hilarious and did a lot of back-and-forth tosses on the video screen, and then switched places (and shirts!) for the very end. In between we heard musical performances from Joia Farmer, the artist who composed this year’s theme song, and a great teen choir who performed a musical version of the Prodigal Son story that we all decided was straight out of Glee.
One of the most moving moments of the whole session was when one of the Kansas City bishops came onstage to read a letter from the Secretary of State at the Vatican, expressing the love and support of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for all of us gathered there today. It was so powerful to know that the Pope is praying for us – how many times in your life do you get to say that???
Another highlight came in Jesse’s closing talk (after he switched places with Steve and joined us in the arena), where he quoted a certain priest whose catchphrase, when asked what time it is, is “you are loved.” As in, “Claire, what time is it right now as you’re writing this blog post in your hotel room?” “It’s 12:15 and you are loved!” In a room of 21,000 people, where dozens and dozens of bishops and hundreds of priests were present (but none from Portland), we all felt a big rush of hometown pride to have Portland’s own Father John Amsberry, well-known to and beloved by all our kids, quoted and referenced by Jesse, who says he’s one of his all-time favorite priests. And now 21,000 people are going to go back to their own home parishes quoting Father John’s “You are loved” slogan. Archdiocese of Portland REPRESENT!
Off to bed. Tomorrow is a looooong day. Like an “up at 6, go go go until midnight, Starbucks as many times throughout the day as possible” kind of day.
Hope you’re enjoying the blog of our adventures. You can watch all the sessions online at mycatholicvoice.com.
11-20, Friday @ NCYC:
Our first full day at NCYC was a crazy adventure indeed! After only a handful of hours of sleep, we all woke up at 6 to make sure we were caffeinated, fed, dressed in our pink All Saints Life Teen shirts, and lined up with the rest of the Oregon group outside the arena for the opening general session. During the warm-up music (featuring Who Do You Say I Am) the NCYC staff projected questions like "How does God reign in your life?" on the Jumbo-Tron and the teens could text them answers, which they then put up for everyone to see. Gracie got one up there, which was pretty exciting. We also got spotted on the Jumbo-Tron camera several times, which made the kids really happy! The music and speakers were great; we heard from Brian Johnson and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who we decided would make an amazing comedy duo. We had Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is incredibly powerful in the presence of 21,000 people! It was great to just take some quiet time to reflect and be in the presence of Jesus. Most of our teens had been to Adoration before, but NEVER like this. The most amazing part was that afterwards, the entire group processed from the arena to the convention center down the streets of Kansas City . The police had closed down the streets for us. About 2/3 of the way to the convention center, the road is slightly elevated, so we could look down and see the packed mob of people in front of us and behind us, stretching five blocks and jammed shoulder to shoulder, with more pouring out of the arena every minute. It was spectacular. (We took tons of pictures!) It really gives you a sense of just how big our church is. It was a really special moment.
At the convention center we snuck in around the back and sprinted to the ballroom for our first session. It was full, but because we're a small group (and Jesus loves us) they let us in to sit on the floor. Good thing, too, because this was one NONE of us wanted to miss - Mark Hart, the Life Teen "Bible Geek" (and Monica's ultimate celebrity crush). All Saints LOVES Mark Hart. We read his book every year in Confirmation and use lots of his Scripture resources, videos and podcasts. He's hilarious, engaging, and challenging. We definitely did not want our kids to miss the chance to see him, and luckily - in exchange for piling in on the floor - we got front-row seats! He called up volunteers for the icebreaker and one of the three (out of a room of 4,000!) was our very own Rachel Sanders, who incorrectly listed "Dancer" as one of the seven dwarves and "Mary Magdalene" as one of the twelve apostles. Mark thought she was really funny, and she won a prize (his new book "Sword of the Spirit" about the writings of Paul) for accurately naming the six main characters from "High School Musical." She was hilarious and we were all really proud! (And we're borrowing that book when she's done.)
After ditching the next session in favor of a real meal and a chance to catch up with each other, we headed out for our next sessions. Ely and Megan went to see speaker Mike Patin talk about the relationship between faith and sports, while Monica and Claire took Ariel, Gracie and Rachel to see Monica's favorite speaker from the last conference, the hilarious Father Tony from New Orleans. His talk was titled "Don't Be Stupid!" Through songs, jokes, funny anecdotes about his bossy Southern mama, and a straight-talking attitude, Father Tony taught us the difference between ignorance and stupidity: "Ignorance is when you don't know. Stupid is when you know it's wrong but you still do it." He cracked all of us up and we were sad Ely and Megan didn't get a chance to see him enter with both a censer AND a parade of hip-hop dancers.
After a hasty grocery-store dinner (well, not "hasty," since there were probably a thousand teens in that grocery store), we ran like the wind to line up for good seats for the evening session, which we all knew would be our favorite: Jason and Crystalina Evert talking about chastity and relationships . . . with music provided by Matt Maher!!!!! For those of you who don't know who Matt is, WE LOVE HIM. I really cannot say this enough. The teens love him. The band loves him. Monica and Claire REALLY REALLY love him. His music is beautiful and compelling and awesome, and he and his band put on a fantastic show. Many of us have seen them live several times and everyone has their own personal favorite song. Matt is the #1 Catholic rock musician in the country right now, and his latest CD "Alive Again" has been at the top of the Christian music charts for weeks and weeks. He played several songs from that CD and the crowd went WILD. We've heard lots of screaming and yelling and cheering from that auditorium of over 20,000 people, but NONE of it prepared us for the way the crowd was electrified for Matt and his band. They couldn't stay long - they're on tour with Michael W. Smith right now so they're only at the conference for one day - but we were so glad the kids got to see one of our all-time favorite musicians lead the crowd in worship, especially those seeing him live for the first time. Monica saved us seats right up at the front, so we had a fantastic view of the whole thing.
Jason and Crystalina Evert were the keynote speakers for tonight's session. They are a married couple who travel around the country as speakers and writers on the topic of chastity and healthy Catholic sexuality. They spoke frankly and openly to the teens about their own stories. To the teen girls, they spoke forcefully about respecting your body and holding out for a man who will love you like Christ does, not pressure you into making choices that are contrary to God's plan for you. To the teen boys, they spoke with powerful frankness about resisting temptation and how to be a man of Christ. This was the teens' favorite session by far - our kids, judging by the emotional and honest conversations we had back at the hotel, and everyone else too, judging by the thunderous applause and cheers. The highlight was Crystalina's "Dump Him" list, which provoked an impromptu call and response from the crowd. "Does he disrespect your body as a temple of Christ?" "DUMP HIM!" shouted a mob of boys from high up in the rafters of the arena, a cheer soon taken up by the whole room.
In fact, to give you a little snapshot of this experience, let me include a short list of things which have elicited deafening, Springsteen-concert-esque cheers from the crowd:
--the concept of virginity
--dads
--the clergy
--little kids onstage
--a musical skit about the Prodigal Son
--people seeing themselves on the Jumbo-Tron
--any mention of Oreo cookies
--anytime an "Amen" is required
--any mention of Kansas City
--the Pope
Now it's time to shut down the laptops and go to bed. Tomorrow is another 6 a.m. - to - midnight day.
11-21, Last day @ NCYC:
Hello blog readers! We are EXHAUSTED so this is going to be really short.
Well, you're going to have to watch the videos of our morning session to get the full effect - the session was kicked off by Righteous B, a Catholic rapper, and singer/keyboard player/"Fresh Prince" theme song rapper/hip-hop dancer Kelly Pease. If I told you there was an honest-to-goodness mosh pit at 8 in the morning, with crowdsurfing and everything, you would not believe me. So just check back here for the videos so you can see it yourself. It was AMAZING. A couple of the girls loved it so much they went to a workshop with Righteous B talking about finding your calling through music. The keynote speakers for the session were teens talking about their callings and their faith, including a young man who was cured of an inoperable brain tumor, and three girls who raised tens of thousands of dollars to build a school in Africa . It was a really powerful witness of what the young church can do.
After the opening session, we all went to a workshop together. Joia Farmer, the speaker, is one of our personal favorites. She composed the NCYC theme song "Christ Reigns", and several of us also heard her speak at Steubenville Northwest this summer. Her topic was "Modest Is Hottest", and she led an open, honest discussion (beginning with a fashion show!) on modesty of dress for both teen girls AND guys, as well as how to use the way you dress and present yourself to tell the world who you really are - a child of God - instead of simply attracting negative attention. She was frank, funny, and really hit home with the teens. She also had a guy there - youth ministry guru Gene Montracelli, who co-runs Apex Ministries with Joia's husband Brad Farmer - to give the male perspective on modest dress, particularly in how it affects dating and relationships.
After Joia's talk everyone went their own way for awhile. The next track of workshops all dealt with discernment, vocations, and callings - i.e. "what's next"? Megan and Ely went to Righteous B's music workshop, Gracie and Rachel went to a workshop on life after high school, and Ariel went with Monica to a workshop on developing leadership skills. Claire hit up the huge Catholic marketplace to go shopping. (This should surprise no one.) After the workshops there were some social activities, and most of the group went to the teen dance or went shopping for jewelry and t-shirts before meeting back up at the hotel. We tried and gave up on about six different dinner options, but lines for every restaurant in walking distance were out the door and around the block, so we ended up buying hot dogs from a street vendor who told us we were the nicest group he'd ever seen at the convention center and Kansas City was thrilled to have us, before telling us all "God bless" as he handed us our hot dogs. Jesus is everywhere!
Closing session was very emotional for a lot of the teens - we had music and prayer time before the amazing Mass - dozens of bishops, nearly 250 priests, and lest we forget, all 21,000 of us! (Considering the chaos, Communion was a downright miracle - the whole stadium was in and out in like 20 minutes!) It was really powerful and an experience we won't soon forget.
We're off to bed (we have an early flight tomorrow) but look for more videos and updates soon! Thanks for your prayers and support!
11-20, Friday @ NCYC:
Our first full day at NCYC was a crazy adventure indeed! After only a handful of hours of sleep, we all woke up at 6 to make sure we were caffeinated, fed, dressed in our pink All Saints Life Teen shirts, and lined up with the rest of the Oregon group outside the arena for the opening general session. During the warm-up music (featuring Who Do You Say I Am) the NCYC staff projected questions like "How does God reign in your life?" on the Jumbo-Tron and the teens could text them answers, which they then put up for everyone to see. Gracie got one up there, which was pretty exciting. We also got spotted on the Jumbo-Tron camera several times, which made the kids really happy! The music and speakers were great; we heard from Brian Johnson and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who we decided would make an amazing comedy duo. We had Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is incredibly powerful in the presence of 21,000 people! It was great to just take some quiet time to reflect and be in the presence of Jesus. Most of our teens had been to Adoration before, but NEVER like this. The most amazing part was that afterwards, the entire group processed from the arena to the convention center down the streets of Kansas City . The police had closed down the streets for us. About 2/3 of the way to the convention center, the road is slightly elevated, so we could look down and see the packed mob of people in front of us and behind us, stretching five blocks and jammed shoulder to shoulder, with more pouring out of the arena every minute. It was spectacular. (We took tons of pictures!) It really gives you a sense of just how big our church is. It was a really special moment.
At the convention center we snuck in around the back and sprinted to the ballroom for our first session. It was full, but because we're a small group (and Jesus loves us) they let us in to sit on the floor. Good thing, too, because this was one NONE of us wanted to miss - Mark Hart, the Life Teen "Bible Geek" (and Monica's ultimate celebrity crush). All Saints LOVES Mark Hart. We read his book every year in Confirmation and use lots of his Scripture resources, videos and podcasts. He's hilarious, engaging, and challenging. We definitely did not want our kids to miss the chance to see him, and luckily - in exchange for piling in on the floor - we got front-row seats! He called up volunteers for the icebreaker and one of the three (out of a room of 4,000!) was our very own Rachel Sanders, who incorrectly listed "Dancer" as one of the seven dwarves and "Mary Magdalene" as one of the twelve apostles. Mark thought she was really funny, and she won a prize (his new book "Sword of the Spirit" about the writings of Paul) for accurately naming the six main characters from "High School Musical." She was hilarious and we were all really proud! (And we're borrowing that book when she's done.)
After ditching the next session in favor of a real meal and a chance to catch up with each other, we headed out for our next sessions. Ely and Megan went to see speaker Mike Patin talk about the relationship between faith and sports, while Monica and Claire took Ariel, Gracie and Rachel to see Monica's favorite speaker from the last conference, the hilarious Father Tony from New Orleans. His talk was titled "Don't Be Stupid!" Through songs, jokes, funny anecdotes about his bossy Southern mama, and a straight-talking attitude, Father Tony taught us the difference between ignorance and stupidity: "Ignorance is when you don't know. Stupid is when you know it's wrong but you still do it." He cracked all of us up and we were sad Ely and Megan didn't get a chance to see him enter with both a censer AND a parade of hip-hop dancers.
After a hasty grocery-store dinner (well, not "hasty," since there were probably a thousand teens in that grocery store), we ran like the wind to line up for good seats for the evening session, which we all knew would be our favorite: Jason and Crystalina Evert talking about chastity and relationships . . . with music provided by Matt Maher!!!!! For those of you who don't know who Matt is, WE LOVE HIM. I really cannot say this enough. The teens love him. The band loves him. Monica and Claire REALLY REALLY love him. His music is beautiful and compelling and awesome, and he and his band put on a fantastic show. Many of us have seen them live several times and everyone has their own personal favorite song. Matt is the #1 Catholic rock musician in the country right now, and his latest CD "Alive Again" has been at the top of the Christian music charts for weeks and weeks. He played several songs from that CD and the crowd went WILD. We've heard lots of screaming and yelling and cheering from that auditorium of over 20,000 people, but NONE of it prepared us for the way the crowd was electrified for Matt and his band. They couldn't stay long - they're on tour with Michael W. Smith right now so they're only at the conference for one day - but we were so glad the kids got to see one of our all-time favorite musicians lead the crowd in worship, especially those seeing him live for the first time. Monica saved us seats right up at the front, so we had a fantastic view of the whole thing.
Jason and Crystalina Evert were the keynote speakers for tonight's session. They are a married couple who travel around the country as speakers and writers on the topic of chastity and healthy Catholic sexuality. They spoke frankly and openly to the teens about their own stories. To the teen girls, they spoke forcefully about respecting your body and holding out for a man who will love you like Christ does, not pressure you into making choices that are contrary to God's plan for you. To the teen boys, they spoke with powerful frankness about resisting temptation and how to be a man of Christ. This was the teens' favorite session by far - our kids, judging by the emotional and honest conversations we had back at the hotel, and everyone else too, judging by the thunderous applause and cheers. The highlight was Crystalina's "Dump Him" list, which provoked an impromptu call and response from the crowd. "Does he disrespect your body as a temple of Christ?" "DUMP HIM!" shouted a mob of boys from high up in the rafters of the arena, a cheer soon taken up by the whole room.
In fact, to give you a little snapshot of this experience, let me include a short list of things which have elicited deafening, Springsteen-concert-esque cheers from the crowd:
--the concept of virginity
--dads
--the clergy
--little kids onstage
--a musical skit about the Prodigal Son
--people seeing themselves on the Jumbo-Tron
--any mention of Oreo cookies
--anytime an "Amen" is required
--any mention of Kansas City
--the Pope
Now it's time to shut down the laptops and go to bed. Tomorrow is another 6 a.m. - to - midnight day.
11-21, Last day @ NCYC:
Hello blog readers! We are EXHAUSTED so this is going to be really short.
Well, you're going to have to watch the videos of our morning session to get the full effect - the session was kicked off by Righteous B, a Catholic rapper, and singer/keyboard player/"Fresh Prince" theme song rapper/hip-hop dancer Kelly Pease. If I told you there was an honest-to-goodness mosh pit at 8 in the morning, with crowdsurfing and everything, you would not believe me. So just check back here for the videos so you can see it yourself. It was AMAZING. A couple of the girls loved it so much they went to a workshop with Righteous B talking about finding your calling through music. The keynote speakers for the session were teens talking about their callings and their faith, including a young man who was cured of an inoperable brain tumor, and three girls who raised tens of thousands of dollars to build a school in Africa . It was a really powerful witness of what the young church can do.
After the opening session, we all went to a workshop together. Joia Farmer, the speaker, is one of our personal favorites. She composed the NCYC theme song "Christ Reigns", and several of us also heard her speak at Steubenville Northwest this summer. Her topic was "Modest Is Hottest", and she led an open, honest discussion (beginning with a fashion show!) on modesty of dress for both teen girls AND guys, as well as how to use the way you dress and present yourself to tell the world who you really are - a child of God - instead of simply attracting negative attention. She was frank, funny, and really hit home with the teens. She also had a guy there - youth ministry guru Gene Montracelli, who co-runs Apex Ministries with Joia's husband Brad Farmer - to give the male perspective on modest dress, particularly in how it affects dating and relationships.
After Joia's talk everyone went their own way for awhile. The next track of workshops all dealt with discernment, vocations, and callings - i.e. "what's next"? Megan and Ely went to Righteous B's music workshop, Gracie and Rachel went to a workshop on life after high school, and Ariel went with Monica to a workshop on developing leadership skills. Claire hit up the huge Catholic marketplace to go shopping. (This should surprise no one.) After the workshops there were some social activities, and most of the group went to the teen dance or went shopping for jewelry and t-shirts before meeting back up at the hotel. We tried and gave up on about six different dinner options, but lines for every restaurant in walking distance were out the door and around the block, so we ended up buying hot dogs from a street vendor who told us we were the nicest group he'd ever seen at the convention center and Kansas City was thrilled to have us, before telling us all "God bless" as he handed us our hot dogs. Jesus is everywhere!
Closing session was very emotional for a lot of the teens - we had music and prayer time before the amazing Mass - dozens of bishops, nearly 250 priests, and lest we forget, all 21,000 of us! (Considering the chaos, Communion was a downright miracle - the whole stadium was in and out in like 20 minutes!) It was really powerful and an experience we won't soon forget.
We're off to bed (we have an early flight tomorrow) but look for more videos and updates soon! Thanks for your prayers and support!