By Lisa Ormond | FāVS News Reporter
When 70 Catholic middle school students gathered together in mid-October to strengthen their faith at an annual rally held in Coeur d’Alene, it wasn’t just to walk away with a free T-shirt and a chance to eat some good grub on a Saturday afternoon.
It was to encounter Jesus more deeply while having some fun, too, with their peers.
“We kind of see this event as an adrenaline faith booster for our area’s youth,” said Wes Miller, rally coordinator and director of Youth Ministry at St. Pius X in Coeur d’Alene.
For the past two years, Miller has organized this Catholic community event for 6th to 8th graders, and for seven years he’s attended with area youth.
This year’s rally theme was “Rise Up in Hope” based on Jeremiah 29:11. Miller’s first message to his young audience was direct and engaging.
“I opened by acknowledging the difficult times we’re living in — headlines filled with violence, division and uncertainty,” he said. “I told the youth that this is exactly why we need hope and why this verse from Jeremiah is so powerful.”
Students, youth ministers and chaperones drove hours to participate in the rally, coming from Grangeville, Cottonwood, Moscow, Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene parishes.
“I was so excited to go. When I was there, I felt so close to God,” said 6th grader Gabriella Muelhausen. “It was the best experience ever!”
A spiritual shot-in-the-arm
The day was a jam-packed eight hours of activity centered on faith, fellowship and fun. It began with small group breakouts where students learned about key virtues such as fortitude and temperance.
“The message here was that we can always trust God, even when the world feels broken,” said Miller. “He calls us to live rightly, to grow in virtue and to orient our lives toward him.”
Miller said “for a long time” the rally has had a place on the Diocese of Boise’s Northern Deanery calendar — an acknowledgement of its continued value and importance in terms of regional faith development and formation.
“An important takeaway was we are not alone on these little silos in the faith,” Miller said. “There are other kids out there, and we are all part of a larger church body.”
Creating connections
One of the rally’s goals was for students to experience fellowship and a sense of community throughout the day, and plenty of offerings allowed that to happen organically.
After a barbecue hamburger lunch, students joyfully jumped into some playful fun with dodgeball, basketball and more in the gym of Holy Family Catholic School in Coeur d’Alene where the event was held.
Praise and worship time followed aimed at touching students in a deeper, soulful way. This included singing and playing instruments, Eucharistic Adoration and healing prayer groups, concluding with Mass celebration as one church body.
“Personally, I felt like the Holy Spirit was at work in the hearts and minds of the youth who attended,” said Jenny Morrison, Youth Ministry coordinator at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Moscow. Twelve of her parish’s junior high students attended, and the group’s reaction to the day was summed up in one word she said: “Great!”
She then added her own view on what she observed.
“The prayer teams were a powerful experience for several youth and adults, and I think that the message of hope and freedom that being with Jesus brings is paramount for the times we are in,” she said.
Lots of praises
Students clearly enjoyed the day’s variety and had positive feedback about what they encountered.
“The middle school rally was so, so, so, so much fun! I had the best Saturday ever,” said 7th grader Naomi Deuling. “We learned so much about God and prudence. We also played fun games like dodgeball and Pictionary.”
“I loved hanging out with all my friends and doing all the activities, but the best of all was adoration and singing,” 6th grader Eliyyah Chavez said. “I loved how beautiful the adoration was and how everyone got to sing and play an instrument. I had a wonderful experience.”
Powerful priest testimony
The afternoon also featured a captivating speaker, the Rev. Rob Cook of Sandpoint’s St. Joseph Catholic Church, who shared his personal faith testimony with the kids in the school gym. There was complete quiet and a sense of reverential respect as he explained his journey that led him to priesthood.
“I didn’t really understand what the Holy Spirit was at that point,” he started. Cook said he had a “transformational experience” at a Boise retreat when he was about their age.
“It just happened. I knew after this retreat that God was real and that the Holy Spirit was in me,” he said. “My relationship with God had completely changed. Before that moment, I didn’t think it was possible to know him.”
According to Cook, the outcomes of this spiritual moment changed his life’s path forever. “I wanted to do his will though I was afraid. I started to pray, and I started reading the scriptures on my own. I wanted to know more.”
He admitted he initially had some apprehensions in completely surrendering himself to God.
“I told God I will do anything, but I didn’t want to be a priest,” he smiled. “I’ve been a priest now for 22 years, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. God is good — he wants to refine us.”
With his words, he painted a visual for the youth before him for consideration.
“Imagine God is bringing you through fire — what do you want to let go of, be free of?” Cook asked. “He wants to replace those fears with truth, trust and peace into your hearts, your lives.”
Still unfolding
As students gathered their belongings to return to their parishes at the end of the day, Miller was asked what “faith booster” he believed students received.
“They are kids, and they are not going to remember all the details,” Miller said, knowing his audience. “But what I pray for is that the hope the youth experienced here today continues to take root in their hearts And that they clearly see there are good people in the world who are believers and it’s ‘normal’ to be a believer.”
Cook offered his perspective plus a final blessing.
“Pray for that grace to open their hearts and they would know his presence in a real way today, to know how Jesus really loves them,” he said.
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