Tobia Wiedemer. In the summer of 2009 a group of about 200 military catholic youth from all over Europe gathered in Schönstatt for the European Catholic Youth Conference, better known as ECYC. They loved being in such an amazing place of grace and learning so much about their own faith that it was decided Schönstatt should be the place for any conferences to come.
From the 13.8.2010 to the 16.8.2010 the team of the Franciscan University of Steubenville was invited by Club Beyond to come to Germany and bring their LEAD program.
Franciscan LEAD is a dynamic Catholic leadership opportunity for teens that are ready to step up to the next level of leadership. This program, in the spirit of St. Francis, will teach participants the principles of Leadership, Evangelization, And Discipleship.
Even though according to their website (www.franciscan.edu) the conference was aimed at Catholics, it was made ecumenical, so that protestant teens were more than welcome to join. About 250 catholic and protestant military youth from the age of 14 to 18 stationed all over Europe came with their leaders in order to learn more about becoming excellent Christian leaders themselves in the near future.
The three speakers, John Beaulieu, Kristina McClintock and Robert Aborn fascinated the young adults with their stories, talks and jokes. Every day focused on a different bible verse and the talks went along with the theme.
We love because He first loved us
Day 1, Friday had 1 John 4:19 as a guideline: We love because He first loved us.
The youth got to hear about the father’s great love for each and everyone of them and instead of saying: ‘I love you’ to the ever-loving, ever-caring God, one should be saying: ‘I love you, TOO’ because God does love first.
Everybody loved being able to discuss everything they heard in small groups, usually all teens from one community with their leader.
Deepening a relationship with God
Saturday focused on 1 Peter 3:15: Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence. In the morning, prayer was the main point of discussion. Since the Army loves abbreviations the guideline was ARRR, Acknowledge (acknowledge what is going on in your heart), Relate (share what’s going on in your heart and mind with God), Receive (time to listen and receive whatever God desires to give you in response) and the last part Respond (time to respond to what you have just received). After ARRRing the teens were asked to share their experience of praying in that form for the first time. By the end of the conference, the teenagers who had responded ‘I feel like I’m talking to myself.’ or similar, said it was a great experience and in the end they really felt God’s presence and his voice inside them.
Passing sisters, tourists and priests were surprised at the fact that there were so many teens everywhere in such deep discussions with God.
The day continued with talks about the Battle we fight to keep up our faith and purity which is being attacked by so many things and people in today’s society.
The afternoon’s activity was to write your own witness. What is your story? One of the most powerful ways of Evangelization is to witness to others why you yourself believe. The teens spread out across the Mount Schönstatt and spend some time figuring out why they believed and what lead them to realizing God’s grace.
The day ended with the opportunity for Catholics to go to Confession and Protestants to pray with a chaplain. Almost all 250 participants and their leaders took this opportunity to seek God’s forgiveness and to be able to start all over with a clean heart.
Time to share The Word
Romans 12:2: Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect, was Sunday’s bible point. After mass or a prayer and worship service, there was more ARRRing to be done, this time with a focus on scripture (Luke 18:35-43). But in order to evangelize one must be able to not only have a relationship with God for oneself in prayer but also be able to pray with other believers. For some of the youth this was an old concept but for some it was really hard to find the right words or even the right position to pray with somebody else.
On Sunday everybody got to share their witness with the people in their small group. Some courageous ones came on stage, grabbed the microphone and shared their amazing stories with everyone. In the evening ‘Transforming the World’ was the object. It was about Vision and Mission and Inreach and Outreach. After an inspiring talk everybody split up into their community groups and talked about ways they could evangelize in their communities, schools and families.
Go out and change the World
Monday was guided by Philippians 4:6-7: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It was the last day and everybody was sad that it was almost over. After a bit more time to ARRR, the speakers gave a few last tips on how to keep the amazing spirit of the conference alive when everyone is back in their own worlds. Last every leader washed the feet of the teens in their group to emphasize the discipleship of the youth as Jesus did with his disciples at the Last Supper.
Before leaving Schönstatt after this life-changing experience most groups paid Mother Mary a visit in the Original Shrine and went to one of the shops. This Conference not only filled the notebooks but also the heart with power, wisdom and courage to go out and change the world.
Thank you for the article! It’s an excellent summary of what happened in the conference. It was a time of grace! How wonderful that Schoenstatt could offer a home to so many young people searching to deepen their love for God!