Twenty-fourth annual youth rally attracts large number of youth

by Bill Casey

On Sunday April 1, 2001 the annual diocesan high school rally was held in Canby at the public high school. What a day to celebrate the faith of hundreds of teenagers in the New Ulm diocese. With nearly 700 9-12th grade youth and their adult leaders in attendance there was a lot of enthusiasm in the school. This was probably the second largest rally in the history of the diocese as well. This was also the twenty-fourth annual rally of youth in the diocese. So with a long history of gatherings like this youth have the opportunity to come together with many others from throughout the diocese and experience the diocesan church.

As one of a number of tasks, the Diocesan Youth Council and youth ministers plan for months to form and shape this event. It becomes their own through this experience. The theme, well thought out by the youth council, "Spread the Faith, Make It Stick" was their plan to reach out this year in faith to evangelize and share the Good News.

The keynote speaker, Steve Angrisano, shared his faith and music. He began by getting youth off of their chairs, to get out and to meet others from around the diocese. He played some of his songs and talked about his faith experiences.

One of his most dramatic experiences was his experience with the students from Columbine High School. Steve lives in Colorado and some of the students that were in the school shooting were from his church. Many teens he knows were deeply affected by this whole experience.

Steve talked about the stories of faith that have emerged. He said that there were many things that were never told in the news about what really happened. There were many miracles that were not reported. Steve provided many good reflections on faith as a Catholic in our church today. This is not the first time that Steve was in the New Ulm diocese. He was in Montevideo a number of years ago for another large gathering of teens.

The parish volunteers from St. Peter’s in Canby were at every corner taking care of details. The support for this event was overwhelming by the local youth and adults. As some people will remember, the diocese had to cancel the fall event for the Junior High because of a snowstorm. So with all of the practice and enthusiasm, volunteers from all over the diocese that work so hard to pull everything together did a great job.

The Diocesan Youth Council started months ago planning for the next youth rally. Normally they don’t start the process so early, but because of the next year’s rally being the twenty-fifth anniversary of youth rallies in the diocese they wanted to do something more significant.

Twenty-five years of hosting high school faith events like the rally is very significant as dioceses go. The long history has seen a lot of growth over the years. We continue to view youth as a great priority in the New Ulm diocese and look at how they can continue to make a difference and contribute to the Catholic church today. Spreading our faith, as the theme clearly stated, really needs to be a daily part of life, and with encouragement and support the youth of the New Ulm diocese can really make a difference.

During the rally day youth were reminded that they could apply for a position on the Diocesan Youth Council. Applications will be available until June. There is a minimum one-year commit-ment to serving the youth of the diocese. If they are in 10th grade they can serve for up to three years. Some members over the years have returned as young adult advisors after they have graduated from high school. The youth council works hard during the rally to make each aspect of the day go as well as possible. They are a committed group.

In the drawing at the end of the day, the parish of Granite Falls won a nice boom box for their youth group and many others won prizes. Each person is given a memento during the day to take home to remember the day.

Bill Casey is director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of New Ulm.