Youth ministry leaders, youth, and parents participate in the Dec. 22, 2020 “ODYChristmas Party.” (ODY stands for Owensboro Diocese Youth.) | COURTESY OF CHARLIE HARDESTY
Christmas 2020 events show youth that despite challenging times, ‘Christ is alive!’
BY CHARLIE HARDESTY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Editor’s note: As 2020 came to a close, youth ministry leaders from all over western Kentucky collaborated to provide several memorable Christmas-themed opportunities for young people. As Charlie Hardesty explains below, their efforts were met with great success.
ODYChristmas Party
What happens when youth ministry leaders of the Diocese of Owensboro have had enough of the pandemic and need a reason to celebrate? They organize the biggest Christmas Party the diocese has ever seen. On Tuesday night, Dec. 22, every middle school and high school youth in the diocese was invited to a time of fellowship, fun and games, prizes, and reflection, all done virtually over Zoom. The effort was a collaboration of several of the parish youth ministries and Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp & Retreat Center.
The idea originated with Allison Steen-Baker, the youth minister at Holy Spirit Parish in Bowling Green, and several of her youth who thought, “Wouldn’t it be neat to get all the youth of the diocese together over Zoom?”
Steen-Baker reflected: “I think that it was such a great opportunity to come together as a diocese to celebrate our young people and let them know that the Church cares about them. This year has required creativity, new paths, and collaboration in youth ministry more than ever and I think that this effort was a great culmination event for the year of 2020.”
Crissy Stevenson, the youth minister at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro, shared that “the ODYChristmas Party was not ‘just another Zoom meeting!’ It provided an opportunity for youth to gather for a time to be silly and participate in a high-energy, game marathon to celebrate the season (something I think we could all have used at the time). It was great to share some laughs, see smiles and faces that weren’t hidden by masks, and to be able to check in with our youth over the holidays in a very relaxed setting. Our youth said they had a good time and were grateful for the opportunity.”
By the end of the night, we had been joined by more than 75 young people, given out more than $300 in prizes, had representatives of more than 20 of our parishes, played 8 games, had a blast with 2 Gasper River emcees, heard from 1 bishop who expressed his love and care for the young people, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Gasper River Christmas Camp
“Christ is Alive!” was the theme of this year’s virtual Christmas Camp offered by Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp & Retreat Center. Youth from across the diocese gathered for three nights, Dec. 28-20, for games, talks, small group discussions, and Adoration. The staff at Gasper knew their normal Christmas Camp would be greatly missed and they hoped this virtual experience would offer some sense of the annual experience. A great number of young people responded to the invitation of the virtual camp and the staff made it a huge success.
Ben Warrell, director at Gasper River, shared that “because of COVID restrictions, we were not allowed to have our annual Christmas/New Year’s Camp at Gasper River. We wanted to have something to offer our campers who so greatly look forward to this camp each year. We had three nights of Zoom meetings with games, prayer, large groups, small groups and Adoration. There were almost 40 people on each night and we focused on Jesus is alive and how the Church loves and needs young people to be alive in their faith. There was great feedback from the campers and the team about what a great time they had. Nothing beats meeting in person but when you can’t, you just have to make the best of what you can do!”
Registrations for camp this summer are currently open and the camp staff is working very hard to offer a safe in-person experience. Please visit gasperriverretreatcenter.org for information regarding camps, registration, and information regarding guidelines and restrictions in place for this summer.
Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp is currently also accepting applications for summer staff. Please see their website for information regarding available summer positions.
Charlie Hardesty is the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Owensboro. To learn more, visit owensborodiocese.org/youth-ministry.
Originally printed in the February 2021 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
