By Marcy Stenstrom
The heavy thumping of the bass could be lightly heard outside the Rothschild Pavilion Saturday May 9th. Inside was a sea of teenagers but the atmosphere wasn’t one of rage or angst.
Approximately 180 kids donned a yellow “Catholic Crusaders” or a red “Live 4 Him” t-shirt and excitedly jumped and tossed around beach balls while dancing to the Catholic Twin Cities band “Sonar”. With arms linked and happy faces, the first annual “Live 4 Him” youth rally had begun.
“Sonar” played at various intervals throughout the day, interjecting heavy Christian themed tunes with a big sound from only two guitarists, a bass player, and a drummer. Holly Hlava, St. Therese parish member and high school student, said that she “liked the band” best and was most surprised by their modern rock sound despite its Christian themes.
“Catholic Crusaders”, a group of teens dedicated to living the Word of Christ, helped organize and demonstrate some of the entertainment. They led several quirky competitive games in which you had a chance to win gift certificates to area businesses. Plus the group performed a short emotional drama on stage entitled “Christ Saves Us All”. Mark Zieglmeier, a Newman senior, Catholic Crusaders volunteer, and St. Therese parish member said that this rally left him with a “feeling I never thought I would get to. It makes me appreciate what God gives us.” Mark said that this experience will affect his future when he goes off to college. “Now I’ll join a Catholic group or activity on campus and attend Mass even though most people don’t. I had good friends pull me into this; I had good support.”
Two acclaimed motivational speakers each gave an hour inspirational talk about trials in their lives and the faith that pulled them through it. Tammy Borden spoke about the pressures of body image and self-esteem. We all look for “secret formulas” to mask how others make us feel when the true secret is honesty, learning more about our faith, and surrendering to God. Rich Curran from Appleton, gave a boisterous talk about using our gifts and giving back to God. Hlava said Curran had “lots of good energy” and friend Sarah Stepanik, St. Therese parish member and high school student, appreciated Curran’s point that “God doesn’t give you anything that you can’t handle”. Curran used a demonstrative analogy to break the ice by blindfolding three teen volunteers and presented each of them with a gift and the freewill to accept or refuse it. Based on what “God” said and the reaction of the audience, each one had to make a decision. In the end, the last gift was an unexpected surprise. The point was that if we listen to only God instead of worldly influences, He will always lead us to what is truthful and best for us.
Even with an itinerary, the day was loose. At any point you could wander from a speaker to attend upstairs private confession with a priest, talk to various business or organizational representatives and pick up a variety of freebies, hang out at the snack bar, or sit and converse with friends. Some of the representatives, like the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity from Manitowoc, WI had
handcrafted clay pendant necklaces for anyone who stopped by. Another religious order had a rosary beading station where you could sit down and make and take your own rosary. The rally was completed with Mass at 4pm officiated by Fr. Joe Hirsch along with Fr. Jerzy from St. Florian’s and Fr. Gerry from Holy Name. “Sonar” also provided the music for Mass under the same roof.
The sound of unity and kids choosing Christ filled the Pavilion. Everyone left feeling full of hope to go out and “Live 4 Him”. For a fulfilling experience of your own, mark your calendars for the 2nd annual Catholic youth rally on May 10th, 2010. Stepanik sounded like she would come next year and had a message for other teens, “If you’re serious about your relationship with God or even if you’re unsure, you should come.”