3 minute read
GATHER - DEANERY YOUTH EVENTS
Laurie Nick, Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry
The Diocesan Office of Youth Ministry brought together 337 youth in the 6th through 12th grades from 18 parishes across the Diocese to attend Gather East, Gather West, and Gather South the last week of September! These three events, one in each of our three deaneries, were huge successes in bringing young people together to GATHER for food, fellowship, faith, and fun!
At each event, national Catholic youth speaker Braden Johnson gave talks on entrusting our lives to God and living out our call to mission. While Braden was in our Diocese, he also spoke to students at all our Catholic schools, parents of middle school and high school students, and Catholic college students. Rachel Ridgeway led our Catholic praise and worship at each event.
One highlight of the events was that the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council led various prayers, skits, icebreakers, and activities. Another highlight of the events was a Holy Hour where many young people encountered Jesus as He was before us in the monstrance. During this Holy Hour, over half the youth at each event received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which could not have been possible without our priests’ dedication to our young people.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone throughout the Diocese of Shreveport who made these Deanery Youth Events possible, especially the youth leaders, adult chaperones, and volunteers who experienced these events with our youth! I was very encouraged to see each deanery come together to make each event possible for our young people. I look forward to seeing everyone at our Diocesan Youth Summit on Saturday, March 2, 2024!
“I had an encounter with Jesus throughout all the Gather events as I felt like He helped me help other people. Before we started each event, I prayed and asked Jesus to help all of us on the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council to inspire and help the people we were speaking with to get closer to Jesus. He helped me talk to everyone with confidence and comfort. I enjoyed many things about the Gather events. The main thing I enjoyed was how many people our team impacted! I believe our team helped people get closer to one another and closer to Jesus! The Holy Hour during all three events was really where I could see the most impact. I saw the long line of young people wanting to confess their sins and this made me so happy not because they have sinned but because they wanted to grow closer to Jesus through experiencing His mercy.”
-Jaqueline Espinoza, Diocesan Youth Advisory Council, Christ the King Catholic Church
• 337 youth attended the events from 18 parishes across the Diocese of Shreveport
• 19 priests attended the events
• Over half the attendees received the Sacrament of Reconciliation
