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Every now and then a program comes
along that is exactly right for the times. recently I
participated in such a program, the Catholic HEART
Workcamp.
For a week, 300 teens from 11 states
gathered in Nashville, TN for hard work, joyful prayer and
happy silliness. I traveled with 23 teens from our parish
and nine adult chaperones. It was one of the best weeks
I've ever had, period.
Catholic HEART Workcamp gather teens
from across the country. They sleep on the floor of
classrooms, pray and play in the gym and pack lunches for
each other in the cafeteria. During the day they fan out
across the sponsoring city to do hard work for those in
need.
The teens come at their own expense, paying
$250.00 plus transportation through fund-raisers or out of
their own pockets.
Our teens built a rock wall behind
eight new houses for Habitat for Humanity. They cleaned
out the yard of a home for the mentally disabled, moved
the possessions of a woman burned out of her apartment,
sorted food at a food bank, washed dishes, organized
clothing, picked up litter, and painted houses.
They prayed together after
breakfast and on the way to the job site and after lunch,
usually sitting under a tree at the job sites. They had
evening programs, beginning and ending with prayer.
The evening programs were high
energy, with the kind of loud, pulsating music young
people love. but the words and the message were straight
from the Gospel. There were skits, hymn singing, mime,
contests, witness talks and Masses. One evening we had
nine priests in to hear confessions. It took several
hours. When I read the schedule I thought, "Oh they are
going to hate this". I was wrong. They loved it!
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I heard comments like, "This camp changed my life". One
boy from our group said, "I was losing my faith before I
came, but I think I got it back at this camp.
The leaders of the Catholic HEART Workcamp have figured
out the teen-age mind. Everything was done in their idiom
of T-shirts, baggy clothes, boy meets girl contests and
dance, dance, dance.
One continuing appearance throughout the week was the
night between good and evil symbolized by a counselor
dressed like a professional wrestler, big belt and all.
the last night one counselor, a young woman, came out in a
giant sumo wrestler's padded suit and took on the evil
one. She literally crushed him. the kids were in
hysterics. but the message got across.
The workcamps were started seven years ago in Orlando, FL,
by a couple, Lisa and Steve Walker. In the first year
only 100 young people participated. This summer more than
4,000 participated with Catholic HEART Workcamp in 14
cities.
We saw the first fruits of the week almost
immediately. On the bus coming back from Nashville,
traffic on the interstate came to a stop behind an
accident. One of our young men came to the front of the
bus and suggested we say a rosary. Later, when we were
delayed by rain, the teens started singing hymns they
learned that week.
When the bus arrived back at the church parking
lot, our driver refused a tip. He said he was impressed
with the faith of the youth. he did not want money but he
did want a bible.
Score
one for our teens and the Catholic HEART Workcamp. |
