Middle and high school youth CALLED to Nov. 2 conference

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

With the knowledge that Jesus calls each of us by name – as conveyed in Isaiah 43:1 – Called Youth Conference organizers hope that middle and high school students of the Diocese of Sioux City feel inspired to attend.

Delores Huemiller, diocesan faith formation coordinator, said the conference will be held Nov. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Joseph Church in Granville. The conference will offer a balance of learning, praying, service and fun.

Faith and fun
“It will be a great day,” she said. “As adults, we want to go to conferences to rejuvenate our faith and we want that for our kids, too. It’s not just about preparing for confirmation; it’s about learning about our faith and having fun while doing it.”

Called, which was offered for the first time last year, is once again a collaborative effort involving several catechetical leaders from the region as well as the Diocese of Sioux City. Last year’s Called Conference drew 250 students from numerous parishes around the diocese.

Diane Rainbolt, one of the conference organizers who is the director of religious education for the churches in Alton, Granville and Hospers, said they were “blown away” by the number attending last year especially that more than half were high schoolers.

“It’s a great opportunity to grow in their faith, have fun and live their faith,” she said.

Highlights
Called will offer youth from 7th to 12^th grade inspiring talks, Mass with Bishop John E. Keehner, a service project, eucharistic adoration, confession, games and more.

Held on All Souls Day, Huemiller said, “They will go to and pray in the cemetery for the repose of the souls with either Father (Zach) Jones or Father (Travis) Crotty after they talk about indulgences. A lot of people do not know much about indulgences.”

The priests will explain what a plenary indulgence is and how to gain an indulgence for the souls in purgatory during the octave of Holy Souls, Nov. 1 to 8.

Keynote speaker for the event is Braden Johnson, who gives talks at adult and youth conferences/rallies, parishes, schools as well as Newman Center events throughout the country. In addition to being a Catholic speaker, he is a social media content creator. Learn more at createtheculture.com.

“When I spoke with him, he struck me as having a heart for communicating to the youth in a special way,” said Huemiller. “God has a plan for them right now – not some day in the future but right now God is calling them to holiness, to a vocation.”

Johnson will share his personal story with youth, informing the conference-goers about how he had been gBraden Johnsonoing about life as usual when he was struck by the love of God.

Christy Funk, another Called organizer from St. Andrew Parish in Sibley, said the speaker is a great fit for this conference as Johnson is a young Catholic man sharing his faith.

“He is vibrant and from what I have seen of his talks, he can reach kids in sharing God’s word and love,” she said.

Huemiller pointed out that the speaker will give one talk to the entire group and then a second talk will be delivered separately to the middle schoolers and high schoolers.

“I think it’s important that our kids hear from Catholic young adults who are excited and vibrant about the faith,” added Rainbolt.  “In particular I think our young men need to hear that from other young men. They need those role models. Braden has talked at a lot of different Catholic venues and we’re excited to have him.”

The organizers also expressed this will be a great opportunity for youth of the diocese to meet the new bishop.

“I am really excited that Bishop Keehner will be offering Mass. My hope is that he will spend more time with the youth, not only for them to get to know him, but that he can learn about our youth,” said Funk.

Rainbolt said she is thankful the bishop is taking the time to attend the conference. She added it is important for the youth to recognize and know who the bishop is as his presence and the presence of other priests could help spark priestly vocations.

For the service project at Called, Huemiller noted that various youth groups have been gathering food. The food will be brought to the conference where conference-goers will put together bags of groceries for a Thanksgiving meal such as mashed potatoes, cranberries, green beans, dessert – minus the turkey.

“They will take it back to their parishes where they can deliver it a local food kitchen or food pantry,” she said.

Fellowship
In addition to hearing a dynamic speaker and participating in sacraments, all of theFather Zach Jones speaks to students at the 2024 Called Youth Conference. organizers stressed the benefit of fellowship among peers.

“I think it is important for our youth to be with other Catholic youth to make connections,” added Funk. “Called Youth Conference offers a wide variety of interactions for the youth and talented speakers.”

Rainbolt said the conference provides a wonderful opportunity for the young people to see that they are not alone in living their Catholic faith.

“There are a lot of Catholic kids out there and they do not have to feel like they are the only one.” Through Called, she added, “I hope they grow in the love of their faith and their Lord.”

Looking back at last year’s conference, Rainbolt said she believes the Holy Spirit is moving the youth.

For people interested in attending, Huemiller suggest they contact their parish DRE or youth minister to find out if their parish has a group attending. If your parish does not have a group attending, individuals may attend but they would have to do so with an adult chaperone.

The cost to attend the conference is $20 including lunch for youth participants and $5 for chaperones. Learn more at scdiocese.org/called. Registrations are encouraged by Oct. 17.

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