Turn: collaborative effort for youth event

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
The upcoming Turn regional youth conference is the result of collaborative efforts of faith formation directors the southeast area of the diocese – Ascension Parish of Boone, Our Lady of the Plains Parish of Lake City and St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson. The conference is slated for March 1 at St. John Church in Ogden, geared for middle and high school students.
 
For the past two years the Ascension Parish faith formation staff organized the conference and opened it up to all diocesan youth in grades 7-12.
 
“We had about 60-70 kids each year,” explained Megan Ulrich, religious education director for Ascension Parish. “But this year after seeing the collaboration with the Called conference up in the northwest part of the diocese, we decided to reach out and ask for more diocesan help. With that and bringing some other DREs from the area on board, we were hoping that would give us more diversity of students, not just from our parish.”
 
Ulrich noted Kelley Grothus, another director of religious education and Lizzie Kenkel, youth ministry coordinator at Ascension helped plan the 2023 and 2024 events.
 
Sandra Hildreth, faith formation director of Our Lady of the Plains Parish, said she was searching for a way to expose her students to Catholics outside of their parish when the idea of collaboration came up. She said she was hoping to “expand their experiences within the faith.”
 
“That led Megan and I in a conversation of ‘This would be great – let’s step on board and do this together,’” Hildreth recalled.
 
The two invited their counterpart from Greene County to join the effort to offer a youth conference in that area of the diocese.
 
“Because Boone County is our neighboring county, I thought it would be great to be part of this and hopefully be able to get some of our kids to be really invested in this,” said Stephanie Hall, religious education coordinator for St. Joseph Parish.

 The theme for the 2025 Turn youth event is Created in His Own Image, which is carried out in the programming for the day.
 
“Our theme is diversity and unity in the body of Christ and how do we all work together to build up God’s kingdom in our differences. Also, seeing Christ in other people,” Ulrich elaborated on the Turn theme.
 
Sharing tasks and gifts
Danielle Fennessy, diocesan faith formation coordinator, said she has been offering assistance and support to the Turn planning team and is impressed with the collaboration.
 
“The three parishes know their teenagers so well that I follow their lead and collaborate with them in their ideas. It is a joy to collaborate with them,” Fennessey said. “There is a lot of pressure taken off of one person since we are working together, splitting up the tasks and really using our individual strengths while planning. Each person brings in a new perspective and thought process.”
 
The three-county planning effort led to welcoming more priests to be involved along with Ascension Parish pastor Father Tim Johnson. Father Brian Feller of Our Lady of the Plains and Father Ross Caniglia, former Ascension parochial vicar, will be speaking and celebrating sacraments including reconciliation. The planners said the priests have a great rapport with the youth in their parishes.
 
New features
With two years’ experience planning Turn, Ulrich said a planning framework already exists, which allows her teammates to bring new ideas to the youth event.
 
“We’re going to do a small group focus this year. Stephanie came up with a great game related to our theme to put kids into groups to work through and meet up with their groups throughout the day,” the Boone DRE explained.
 
In previous years, Turn offered a main speaker and breakout speakers. For 2025, the organizers will put a different spin on the sessions and speakers.
 
“We might just try out this year having the youth hear more from everyday speakers that aren’t necessarily a professional speaker and our theme lends itself to that,” Ulrich said.
 
Two separate speaker panels will be organized – one speaking about spiritual gifts and the other sharing how they see Christ in others, especially in populations that are often marginalized. The spiritual gifts speakers will include Father Caniglia regarding his musical talents, a Des Moines-based book illustrator and an athlete.
 
Speakers for the second panel will include an executive director of an agency working with underserved communities, a teacher working with students with disabilities and a woman working with a non-profit agency that serves immigrants and refugees.
 
“I hope the kids really enjoy this different way of doing speakers. I think they’ll be more interactive,” Ulrich pointed out. “I’m hoping it empowers them to see how they can serve others and serve Christ in the process. How can I look at God’s children and treat them as such?”
 
Conference participants will be divided into middle and high school groups for the panel discussions and breakout sessions.
 
The conference will also include Mass, adoration, celebration of reconciliation, lunch provided by the Ascension Parish volunteers, three different service projects and games. There is an optional skating party from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. a few blocks away from the conference site.

 “I’d encourage all kids to attend because it’s a great way to hang out with everybody you meet at the conference,” Ulrich stressed. “Even if your kids don’t like skating, there’s foosball, snow cones, a place to hang out. And we will have pizza there for dinner as well.”
 
All diocesan youth in grades 7-12 are invited to the March 1 event. Cost is $30 with registrations due Feb. 14 to guarantee a conference t-shirt. Individuals and groups find registration information here: www.scdiocese.org/turn.
 
For more information on the Turn conference, Ulrich, Hildreth and Hall will be guests on the Feb. 4 episode of the Illuminating Catholics podcast through Lumen Media and the Diocese of Sioux City. Find the episode on most podcast directories or click this link: www.lumenmedia.org/illuminating-catholics-podcast.