Diocese of Salt Lake youth to attend regional conference

Intermountain Catholic

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Saint Mary's youth group babysits children to give couples a night off to enjoy one another. The group played games and watched a movie. Courtesy photos/Lisa Mendez

SALT LAKE CITY — Youth from the Diocese of Salt Lake City will attend the Steubenville San Diego Youth Conference at San Diego State University July 29-30. Approximately 5,000 youth from the western states are expected to attend.

Youth in 9th through 12th grades will attend from Saint Mary and Holy Family parishes in Ogden, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale, Saint Elizabeth Parish in Richfield, Saint Jude Mission in Ephraim, Christ the King Parish in Cedar City and Saint George Parish in St. George. They have been holding fund-raisers and preparing for this event for the past year.

Father Gustavo Vidal, pastor of St. Mary, attended four years ago as pastor of St. George Parish. "It was an amazing experience," he said. "They have different speakers on topics such as celibacy, sexuality and being free from drugs. They also have classes for the adults, perpetual adoration, reconciliation and Masses. The young people from Steubenville University give the talks the kids can relate to about their own experiences. Probably the most important thing for them is that there are so many young Catholic kids, because in Utah we are surrounded by Mormons. They come back excited about their faith and have an experience with the Lord."

St. Mary youth minister Lisa Mendez said they have chartered a bus and have designed T-shirts that tie in with this year’s theme, "Rooted." She hopes the youth come back ready to take on leadership roles in teen ministry so they can do more for the parish and interact with other ministries. They have raised funds by showing "Harry Potter" movies, hosting a spaghetti dinner, babysitting and selling about 500 holy bears.

Holy Family youth have also raised funds by babysitting and selling holy bears. They also hosted a Valentine’s day dinner for couples, held a potato bar, bake sales and car washes, did yard work and sold jewelry. The Holy Family Knights of Columbus matched 25 cents for every dollar they earned.

"We have 22 kids and five adults who are going," said Mika Newberry, Holy Family youth minister, who has been to the conference five times with her husband, Tony, also a youth minister. "This will be our second year going with Holy Family and every time we learn something new and see the kids totally transform from not being sure about God to crying during adoration. It’s amazing to see them transform and come back with a conviction for their faith."

The group from Saint Elizabeth Parish and Saint Jude Mission will charter the bus with Holy Family.

Monica Candia, St. Jude youth coordinator, said her group has been raising funds by selling homemade Mexican food and baked goods and holding soccer and volley ball tournaments. "We have had a lot of support from the community," she said. "This will be a new learning experience for us, but I hope the kids come back with a deeper faith."

Paul and Susan Sepe, Christ the King youth ministers, chaperoned a group from the Las Vegas Diocese about six years ago. "This conference is extremely powerful," said Susan Sepe. "The speakers give talks on subjects relative to the peer pressures the teens have to endure and what they are experiencing in today’s world. We experienced our youth being totally revitalized and filled with the Holy Spirit when they returned. They come back on fire for God and for spreading his message. It makes them feel their faith can play such an important role in their lives. Our program was dormant until last year and we thought it would help if we could get the kids to the conference. We held fund-raisers and have had great support from our parishioners and pastor, so our children are going at no cost to themselves. We owe a debt of gratitude for this opportunity."