News

July 2, 2010

Bright light of faith

Rally encourages Catholic teens

By Sherry Long slong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS TWP. – Hundreds of teenagers from Central, Eastern and Northeastern Pennsylvania participated in Light the Fire 2010 Summer Youth Rally during a daylong Catholic event held at Misericordia University.

The fourth annual rally coordinated by staff and volunteers from area churches – St. Jude’s, Our Lady of the Snows/St. Benedict, St. John Bosco/Good Shepherd churches – originally started out as a local youth event held under a tent at St. Jude Parish in Mountain Top to help teenagers in grades 7-12 grow in their Catholic faith, Father Brian Van Fossen said.

Youth from the Scranton, Harrisburg and Allentown dioceses attended concerts with performances by gospel recording artists, Full Armor and two workshops from a multitude of choices.

Organizers relied on a simple two verse scripture in 2 Timothy to provide direction for the rally.

“For this reason I remind you to stir into the flame the gift of God. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control,” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 states.

The teenagers need to realize there is no shame in announcing they are Catholic and love God, Van Fossen said. He hoped this rally would instill that in them and help them become leaders in their own communities.

Keynote speaker, artist and comic Jesse Manibusan, who considers himself a Catholic lay evangelist, interacted with the students leading them in singing and dancing during his hour-long program. He told them of how he shared God’s love without ever mentioning Christ’s name regarding an overseas trip he made to visit U.S. soldiers recovering in a hospital. He encouraged the students to do the same.

“Love, generosity, courage, humility, compassion, honesty – that’s what transforms us. We must defend the unconditional dignity of children, women, gays, immigrants and people suffering from poverty. Let the Holy Spirit light the fire of your faith to know what it truly means to be Catholic,” Manibusan said.

Bishop Joseph Bambera has expressed his desire to strongly support youth and educational events.

He said the rally’s success shows there is a future and hope within the Catholic Church.

“We hear so much about problems in the Catholic Church and the challenges we face, one of which is keeping our youth connected to their faith. That can be disheartening at times, but then you witness an event like this, with hundreds of young people coming together to proclaim their faith in a very public way. This is such a positive sign, and it’s very encouraging to me and everyone involved in Church ministry,” Bambera said.

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