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Youth Ministry Conference set July 24–26 in Williamsburg

More than 850 participants are expected at the diocese-sponsored Youth Ministry Conference scheduled Friday to Sunday, July 24–26 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

The event will succeed the former diocesan Youth Convention which previously was held each July at Lynchburg College.

“We’ve renamed it because we want to be more reflective of the activities of the event,” said Michael School, diocesan director of Youth Ministry.

“There will be a number of changes from the old format based on feedback from participants of the previous Youth Convention,” he added.

Mr. School is excited about the number of parishes already signed up for the July event. So far 75 parishes have said they will send teens to the conference. He pointed out that last year’s Youth Convention had a few more than 400 participants from 39 parishes.

“The increase is attributed to the feedback,” he said. “We will be keeping the best of what we had and are adding some new elements.”

He reported that the new location of Williamsburg is meant to draw more people from the eastern part of the diocese. But he pointed out that the number of participants from the west has increased.

“We have two buses from the western part of the diocese,” Mr. School said. “One is coming from Bristol and Abingdon with a stop in Roanoke. The other will be coming from Danville and Lynchburg.

Teenagers and chaperones will be staying in the dormitories of William and Mary and sessions will be held in the academic buildings.

Cooper Ray, director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, will be the keynote speaker and will be featured in three sessions.

Mr. School described Cooper Ray as a high energy person who uses stories, humor and audience participation in his presentations to reinforce the message of God’s love for Catholic youth.

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo will preside at Mass Saturday morning. Father Michael Renninger, director of the Office of Vocations, will celebrate Mass on Sunday.

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