CYC convention enters 30th year

“Rise Up From the Rock” is the theme of the 30th annual CYC diocesan youth convention, scheduled for March 9-11 at Carroll College in Helena. Youth and adult leaders have been working with the Catholic Formation Services staff since last fall to produce another opportunity in the long-standing tradition of youth ministry in the Diocese of Helena.
Promotional materials for this year’s event were recently sent to youth ministers in the parishes and Catholic high schools of the diocese.
Among the event’s attractions are keynote presentations by Steve Herrera, nationally known musician from Albuquerque, N.M., and a presenter at previous CYC conventions in the late 1990s. A wide range of breakout opportunities exploring the key components of youth ministry, produced and presented by parish or city-wide youth groups from each of the five vicariates of the diocese, will complement Herrera’s presentations.
Bishop George Leo Thomas will welcome participants on Friday night of the convention weekend, and celebrate Mass with them at the Cathedral of St. Helena on Saturday evening, at the end of which he will also present the national “For God and Youth” awards to selected adult youth ministers. Opportunities for youth group-led prayer services and creative talent offerings will intertwine with a festive banquet and dance to fill out the schedule.
The convention theme is drawn from the scriptural readings appointed to be read at Mass on the Third Sunday of Lent this year, and portrayed in the logo developed by a youth leadership team in mid-November. Those same youth will come together again in February to plan their own immediate roles in the convention, which include serving as emcees and stage animators, and choreographing the opening and closing ceremonies.
As in recent years, David Casey, Helena-area musician and long-time convention associate, is composing a convention theme song and, with the house band, will add to the musical energy generated by Herrera.
Parish youth ministers are responsible for registering their participants online. For more information, visit the CYC Convention link at the diocesan website www.diocesehelena.org, or contact Catholic Formation Services at 1-800-584-8914 or 442-5820.

Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 15, 2007.