WITH THOUSANDS flocking to Christ Cathedral campus for the second I AM Eucharistic Congress, this year at the event for the first time, middle school students had their own festivities aimed at their unique needs.
Themed “Anchored in Christ’s Love,” the organized outreach conference for seventh- and eighth graders took place on Oct. 17, the first day of the Diocese of Orange’s I AM: A Beacon of Hope Congress. It featured worship with the Matt Franklin Band, testimonials by high schoolers, a guest speaker, Mass with Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen and the opportunity to participate in Adoration for the first time.
HOLY FAMILY STUDENTS GATHER FOR A GROUP PHOTO DURING THE “ANCHORED IN CHRIST’S LOVE” OUTREACH CONFERENCE FOR SEVENTH- AND EIGHTH GRADERS THAT TOOK PLACE ON OCT. 17. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“I think we really want them to walk away with being proud of being Catholic, knowing that there are others like them, hearing high school students sharing testimonies, seeing that music can be fun and exciting,” said organizer Armando Cervantes, director of the diocese’s Office of Youth & Young Adults.
STUDENTS PLAY ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS AT THE START OF THE CONFERENCE.
Four Catholic schools — St. Catherine’s Academy in Anaheim, Holy Family in Orange and St. Columban and Christ Cathedral Academy in Garden Grove — participated. The hope is that students will better understand “that it’s a personal relationship with Christ, that they can meet Him on their terms right now, and that He’s relevant in their life today,” said Dr. Brad Snyder, Ed.D., associate superintendent of Educational Programs for Orange County Catholic Schools.
Unlike the main I AM Congress, this one started in a uniquely middle school way: They got a little silly. The Freed Theater echoed with chants of “rock, paper, scissors, shoot” as students paired up to battle it out with their hands. As the game dwindled down to just two champions, cheers rocked the house.
“If you’re going to teach middle schoolers, the one thing you have to have is engagement, and once you have engagement, then you can get your message across,” Snyder said.
The message was delivered by professional Catholic speaker Maggie Craig, who has a master’s degree in theology and bachelor’s degree in catechetics. Craig took the youth back to the basics of Catholicism: Jesus was a living person, and historical evidence backs it up; He is fully human and fully God; He performed miracles and was crucified on the cross for humanity’s sins; and He loves all no matter what.
“He’s the God of love, not like the affection you have for your favorite sports team, or your favorite band or your favorite food, but like deep, pure, self-sacrificing love,” Craig told the students. “That’s the kind of love God has for the world, but also for you, specifically. And He is offering you His love — not once, thousands of years ago in history, but every day.”
BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN CELEBRATED MASS ON OCT. 17.
Craig shared how when she was in middle school basketball was the most important thing in her life. She had done it for so long and was so good at it that she forgot the basics and made mistakes. Craig’s talk was a good reminder not to get “cocky” and remember her Catholic foundation, said St. Columban eighth-grader Riley Nguyen, 14.
“It helped me a lot, because right now in religion class we are getting into more complexity with the Bible,” Nguyen said. “It just made me realize again how God died for us and saved us from our sins and gave up His whole life for us.”
The music too was another aspect Nguyen said she really connected with.
The Matt Franklin Band, which features Matt Franklin, the youth ministry coordinator at San Francisco Solano parish in Rancho Santa Margarita, sang worship songs with a guitarist, bassist and drummer.
Franklin also served as the emcee.
“The music really makes a difference,” Snyder said. “It’s something they can get into, something they can worship with. It’s different than your regular church music. It engages the soul of the middle schoolers.”
St. Columban eighth-grader Sarah Nguyen, 13, said she wanted to attend the conference to get a break from the stress of school and focus on God. She said she came hoping to learn more about God, learn different ways to worship and hear from others. Sarah said she found the testimonial of Servite High School senior Jakob Flores to be especially inspiring; she felt connected to his struggles.
Flores, who grew up in a Catholic family, said he was just going through the motions of being Catholic until his father got sick and was hospitalized. Then he got mad at God. When his mother was later hospitalized during pregnancy, he struggled until his aunt encouraged him to carry his Rosary and talk to God. His life started turning around and Flores said he realized why he was struggling so much.
“That’s when I was like, ‘OK, God is real’ and I realized that the only reason I was sad was because I’d rejected God. Because I told God, ‘I don’t want you,’” Flores told the students. “Even though I experienced a lot worse things after that, I was still happy because I had God’s love with me.”