Reflections on NCYC

Five of our Senior High youth along with the 225 other youth from our Diocese and 17,000 Catholic Youth from the United States attended the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Columbus, Ohio last week. During the three-day conference they heard powerful keynotes; attended workshops on leadership, faith, social justice, music, stress and dating to name a few; celebrated their faith with others, and shared the Eucharist together! This is an invaluable experience for our youth and we appreciate the prayers and support of the Epiphany Community.

They have shared the following reflections:

When I went to NCYC in Ohio the best part was the concerts. The songs were really good. I would have to say that the theme song with the best. It was called Discover the Way. Another part I liked was to hear the three main speakers. The stories they told were quite touching. Each speaker had a different message that they sent out to call of us. The session groups were also good. The ones I attended were Stress and Game Over. Both of those sessions have helped me since then. I definitely think I have changed since NCYC. It really helped me discover the way and how to stay in the right direction. I'm so happy that I went, and hope sometime I could attend NCYC again. Thank you.

Matt Welding

NCYC was an awesome experience that would be fun for all ages. There were special guests that were there and some of them had miracles happen to them and they are using their gifts that God gave them to preach how great our God is. One of the guests in particular was this man that had no arms. I cant remember his name but in spite of having a set back with his life he is able to play the guitar with his feet. Not only does it sound just like a pro but he can tune it with his feet as well. This was a miracle indeed, he then called his brother up to preach and one thing he said about his life was he wished his brother could play with him. So he found out what his brother said and went and got a Frisbee wedged between his chin and ask his brother to play. To make a long story short his brother found out he could throw a Frisbee with him and they did a demonstration of this in front of everybody it was amazing he caught it between his chin and through it with his feet. NCYC was the best place I've ever been to.

Michael Gruber

One thing I have always struggled with about my faith is sharing it with my friends. I have made some amazing friends at Epiphany alone, but what about my other friends who aren’t as church inclined as I am. Whenever I tried to explain the amazing feelings I had after a retreat, they would sometimes tilt their heads with confusion. "How could just two days affect you so much?" they'd ask. Well, I could never quite explain it. I soon started to keep my church friends and regular friends separate. They seemed like two different worlds that just didn’t match up. However, while at NCYC, I watched thousands of young Catholics all singing, dancing, and praying as one. We were all so enthusiastic about our faith, and there was no need to hold back for any inhibitions we may have had. I realized that it is not necessary to keep my two worlds separate, for they are really not that different.

Jenna Chapman