 |
Plans underway for event in the Erie Diocese…
Want to get in on the excitement of participating in World Youth Day? Traveling “Down Under” not necessarily on your agenda? Not to worry, the Young People Who Care Center (YPWC) in Frenchville is offering both a week-long and a weekend event here in the Erie Diocese in conjunction with World Youth Day.
“We are very excited about the idea,” says Sr. Suzanne Thibault, C.A., who coordinates youth programming at YPWC, located about 18 miles from Clearfield. Parishes throughout the diocese are invited to send a group of high school students to one or both components of the week in Frenchville: up to 48 students age 16 and older and 12 chaperones can be accommodated for a week-long service-oriented experience beginning July 13. These students will then serve as leaders for the 2-day World Youth Day Home event at YPWC open to students age 14 and older, July 19 and 20.
 |
Friday and Saturday will have the feel of a high school rally, with Fr. Ted Marconi, pastor of St. Leo Parish in Ridgway, as emcee and the keynote address by Fr. James DiLuzio of New York, NY. Fr. DiLuzio is known for his dynamic and engaging presentations on Scripture, particularly the Gospel of Luke.
During the 2-day event, Pope Benedict’s addresses to the youth gathered in Australia will be shown to participants in Frenchville by tape delay. The center will also provide opportunities for reconciliation, adoration, Stations of the Cross, Sunday Mass celebrated by Bishop Trautman and more, in addition to what Sr. Suzanne describes as plenty of opportunity for community-building, fun activities.
The home event is the brainchild of Sr. Therese Dush, C.A., founder of YPWC, who has been working on plans with Sr. Suzanne, Fr. Ted and Msgr. Charles Kaza, vicar of the Eastern Vicariate. To further encourage participation in World Youth Day, the center is inviting all diocesan organizations such as Serra Clubs, Cursillo and parish-based prayer groups to offer prayer and sacrifice for the success of the event both in the diocese and in Australia.
…as well as for travel to Australia
The Erie Diocese will be well represented at World Youth Day in Australia, as approximately 30 teens, young adults and chaperones travel to Sydney to interact with youth from around the world in July. “This is not a vacation, it’s a pilgrimage,” says Dan Meola, who has been instrumental in organizing about a third of participants, mostly from the Erie area. Calling themselves the “Erie Doves,” they have now joined forces with a larger group from the Grove City area as well as people from DuBois and Franklin. All are looking forward to the adventure.
|
Planning has not been without obstacles. Due to the high demand, airfare to Australia near World Youth Day dates are twice and three times the regular price. Through a combination of prayer, sacrifice and hard work, the group was able to secure flights for a somewhat reasonable cost, but the two-week trip will cost approximately $2500 per person, a considerable financial commitment. To that end, members of the Erie Doves have put creativity and energy into fundraising, selling DVDs, holding car washes and bake sales.
Logistics aside, participants from the Erie Diocese are taking the opportunity very seriously, meeting once a month to share a meal, pray together and get to know one another. As part of their pilgrimage, they are asking people to forward prayer intentions to the group. The group will pray for those intentions regularly, and also bring them to World Youth Day, offering the Our Father during the Mass celebrated with Pope Benedict XVI on behalf of all the intentions.
“World Youth Day gives you the chance to see the beauty of the universal church,” says Meola, who went to World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. He calls that trip one of two events that changed his faith life, the other being participation in TEC (To Encounter Christ). “I felt like I caught a glimpse of heaven in Toronto,” Meola says. “We had people from 150 countries raising candles together, united in prayer. Only God could bring us together in that way.” World Youth Day is being organized around a theme based on Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.”
Those interested in helping to defray expenses for those traveling to World Youth Day, or learning more about the group’s fundraising activities, can visit www.LakeErieDoves.com. Prayer intentions can also be submitted through the same Web site.
