Youth Leadership Weekend

I am grateful to Matthew Boerke and Michael Ramirez who gathered youth leaders from parishes around the diocese this past weekend for a Youth Leadership Training Weekend. The event took place at Utah State University in Logan and was supported by several of our adult youth ministers from different parishes.  Among the activities were a prayer labyrinth, a presentation on the Sacraments and Scripture, and a trip to an organic farm. One focus of the weekend was on how local actions affect others elsewhere, particularly in terms of sustainability and care of the environment. The youth visited a farmer’s market and purchased items to fix dinner. They also prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and celebrated the Sacrament of Penance and Mass at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish. The event ended with the youth writing letters of advocacy to someone in power. I was pleased to offer a brief segment on immigration and I was impressed with the quality of the questions the youth posed.  It is vital that we continue to form our youth in the faith and I am profoundly grateful to Matt and Mike for their great work!