New York December 2005
Dec. 2-3 New York
This was our 4th time with the Archdiocese of New York and their 44th Annual Teen Conference. Over 500 teens gathered Friday to Sunday and we kicked of the rally with the Teen Mass. A small choir joined us together with a talented 16 year old violinist. The kids clapped along and participated enthusiastically. Some teens said this was the highlight of their conference, and one lady said she wept throughout.
Saturday morning we had to wake them up with the Evang-a-Ganza, interspersed with some icebreakers and games. Once more SHIP OUT TO SEA was accompanied by a spontaneous sea of cellphones, and by the end of our time, many of the teens were dancing around the stage. Art caught some of the teens' comments on camera and they mostly said they appreciated the visuals. One boy later told me he was touched to make his confession later for the first time in over a year. General reconciliation's followed.
One unusual item in NY - they had MTV long before the rest of the country and so after showing my testimony video, some adults said they remembered it, and one even recalled being at one of my very first US concerts there! Saturday evening they had a concert from Steve Angrisano, who is one of the most popular Catholic youth presenters in the country, and his concert also had many kids up onstage doing the action songs as they had been with us that morning. We had a good time sharing our experiences from many different youth rallies. Toni Kerins, the retiring NY Youth Director, and her husband Tom, said our two events were the best "one two punch" they could have hoped for! Sal
This was our 4th time with the Archdiocese of New York and their 44th Annual Teen Conference. Over 500 teens gathered Friday to Sunday and we kicked of the rally with the Teen Mass. A small choir joined us together with a talented 16 year old violinist. The kids clapped along and participated enthusiastically. Some teens said this was the highlight of their conference, and one lady said she wept throughout.
Saturday morning we had to wake them up with the Evang-a-Ganza, interspersed with some icebreakers and games. Once more SHIP OUT TO SEA was accompanied by a spontaneous sea of cellphones, and by the end of our time, many of the teens were dancing around the stage. Art caught some of the teens' comments on camera and they mostly said they appreciated the visuals. One boy later told me he was touched to make his confession later for the first time in over a year. General reconciliation's followed.
One unusual item in NY - they had MTV long before the rest of the country and so after showing my testimony video, some adults said they remembered it, and one even recalled being at one of my very first US concerts there! Saturday evening they had a concert from Steve Angrisano, who is one of the most popular Catholic youth presenters in the country, and his concert also had many kids up onstage doing the action songs as they had been with us that morning. We had a good time sharing our experiences from many different youth rallies. Toni Kerins, the retiring NY Youth Director, and her husband Tom, said our two events were the best "one two punch" they could have hoped for! Sal
