Denver Catholic

YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I JULY 30, 2014 BY JULIE FILBY The 17th annual Steubenville of the Rockies youth conference held July 18-20 hosted its largest group ever: welcoming 2,450 teenagers for three days of mu- sic, fun, fellowship and prayer— all focused on engaging young people in the sacraments. "Tonight we're offering con- fession, the sacrament of rec- onciliation," Father John Nepil, parochial vicar from Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora, told the packed room on opening night at the Crowne Plaza Denver In- ternational Airport Convention Center. "That's the last thing that you want to do right now." His talk followed three hours of high-energy praise and wor- ship music from Ben Walther, inspirational talks from youth ministers Steve Angrisano, Chris Mueller and Leah Darrow; and an intense time of eucha- ristic adoration. "You don't want to go get in line and confess the deepest darkest secrets of your life," Fa- ther Nepil continued. "But you should do it, because God can- not work in your soul unless you get the crap out of there, all right? You've got to get it cleaned out and then God can get to work. So just do it, grab your friend and get in that line!" Twenty-five priests sat ready to hear confessions and when the evening wrapped up at midnight, 712 teens had gone to confession. By the end of the weekend, 1,680 confessions were heard—nearly 70 percent of attendees—by a total of 45 priests, over the course of 13 available hours. The Denver conference, a longtime outreach of Francis- can University of Steubenville, Ohio, was one of 20 Steubenville conferences nationwide this summer—and one of five held that weekend reaching a total of 13,300 teens. "Steubenville is very much centered around the sacra- ments of reconciliation and the Eucharist," explained Michelle Peters, director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry for the Denver Archdiocese. "Once kids understand the sacraments, that's when they fall in love and want to be part of the Church and the community. Until they totally understand it, it's just something that they do." During her talk, Darrow re- layed her experience of return- ing to confession after several years away. "There was a period of my life of about 10 years when I was completely unfaithful consis- tently," she said. "I made bad choice, after bad choice, after bad choice." Those bad choices, generally around relationships, she said, started in high school, carried over to college and continued after she auditioned for the real- ity TV series "America's Next Top Model" and was living in New York. Needing to hit the re-set button in her life, she headed to confession. "I found myself in one of those confession lines like I hope you find yourself in this weekend," she said. But once in the confes- sional, she lost her nerve. "I don't want to be here," she began when the priest slid the screen, then she broke down. "I don't know how to tell you the things that I've done." He responded with compassion. "Try it this way: give God your biggest sin first," he suggested. "I gave God my biggest sin," she said and from there, she was able to give it all to him. "Give him everything," she ad- vised the teens, "because God is mercy and his mercy is for you." Matraca Bartel, 14, attending with her youth group from St. James the Just in Ogden, Utah, was moved by Darrow's testimony. "I liked how she confessed to all of us," Bartel said. "She wasn't just talking … she really got into it and told us everything." Laney Moreno, 16, also from the St. James', agreed. "I really liked her, and I really liked how she liked herself," she said. "She confessed everything she'd done, but she was OK about it. She wasn't sad about it." Priests participating at Steu- benville appreciated the focus on reconciliation as well, according to Deacon Don Schaefer from Holy Name Parish in Englewood, who has coordinated priests for sacraments and liturgies for Steubenville of the Rockies for 10 years. "Some priests tell me they hear more confessions (at Steuben- ville) than they hear the rest of the year combined at their par- ish," he said. "They love it." The weekend continued with more keynote talks, breakout sessions, entertainment by Pop- ple, a two-man acoustic rock ministry; two Masses, each with 20-plus celebrants; and vocation altar calls that drew an estimat- ed 450 young men and women considering priesthood or reli- gious life. Next year's Steuben- ville of the Rockies is set for June 19-21, 2015. For updates, visit steubenvilleoftherockies.com. Attendance, confessions climb mile-high at Steubenville event PHOTO BY JASON TAYLOR PHOTO BY ROBERT LINN/DCR FATHER Jim Crisman, director of Priestly Vocations for the Denver Archdiocese, and other priests at the Steubenville of the Rockies closing Mass at Crowne Plaza DIA Convention Center July 20 bless young men who responded to a voca- tions call for the priesthood. BY THE NUMBERS Steubenville of the Rockies 2014 Attendees: 2,450 Confessions heard: 1,680 Priests hearing confessions: 45 Makeshift confessionals: 25 Hours available for confession: 13 Estimated vocational calls: 450 During a recent mission trip to Rwanda, Africa, Jenn Pritchard, 21, could feel the death as she stood in Nyamata Catholic Church outside the capital of Kigali. The church had filled with peo- ple in early April 1994 as extrem- ist members of the Hutu tribe terrorized the country slaugh- tering minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. They hoped the church would be a safe haven from the death squads wander- ing the country armed with ma- chetes and grenades. However, no place proved to be safe during the 90-day killing spree that ulti- mately took the lives of 1 million Rwandans. From April 14-19, 1994, 10,000 men, women and children were murdered in and around Nyamata Church. "Standing in the middle of that church made it so real," said Pritchard, a senior at Colorado State University involved with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). "You could feel it ... there was so much death there." From 1,000 tears to 1,000 smiles Colorado students see healing in Rwanda 20 years after genocide PHOTO PROVIDED A STUDENT-MISSIONARY from Colorado State University with Rwandan children during a mission trip to the African country. See Rwanda, Page 7

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