DIOCESE OF BILOXI – There’s no place like home and, for one weekend in March, home for many diocesan youth will be the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, site of the 33rd Annual Diocesan Youth Celebration.
The theme of this year’s event, to be held March 12-14, is “Welcome Home!”
According to Bragg Moore, Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry, the theme centers on the gospel reading for the 4th Sunday of Lent, which is the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
“It seemed like a practical theme and one that we could develop the entire weekend around,” said Moore.
This will be Bishop Roger Morin’s very first conference in his new home.
“(The bishop) is excited about the event and promises to be there as much as possible,” said Moore. “He, of course, will do the Friday night welcome and roll call and, on Saturday night, he will be presenting both the St. Timothy’s Award, given to Seniors who have shared their talents and gifts working in their parish youth ministry group, as well as the Companion on the Journey Award given to adult Youth Ministers who have tirelessly given of their time in the service to the youth of their parishes.”
Bishop Morin will also be the principal celebrant for the Saturday night Mass.
In a way, this year’s celebration can be dubbed the “Year of the Woman” as all of this year’s presenters are women.
Catholic comedienne Judy McDonald has taken her act all over the world to parishes, conferences and even military bases. She is also a contributor to Lifeteen.com.
Of McDonald, Moore said, “Judy will use her incredible comedic talents to both entertain and inspire her audience.”
For nearly twenty years, Stephanie Clouatre-Davis, Director of the Young Adult Ministry Office in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, has inspired audiences with her brutal honesty and poignant humor.
Clouarte-Davis works every day to destroy the barriers that prevent young men and women from understanding themselves and accepting the true power of God.
“She is the mother of three and a dynamic speaker,” said Moore.
Blessed with an extraordinary voice, ValLimar Jansen is a highly regarded singer, cantor and recording artist. She is also a college professor, a leader of worship and prayer and a workshop presenter at conferences across the United States.
Known especially for her work with gospel, contemporary Christian and gospel-jazz styles, she sings a wide range of music, including spirituals and traditional, organ-based choral music. In 2005 she released her first solo collection, You Gotta Move. Other recent projects include her stirring, gospel-style rendition of Jaime Cortez's classic "Rain Down" on the Live It! two-CD compilation; and lead and background vocals on Clothed in Love, Tom Kendzia's collection of spirituals and gospel-style music for the Liturgy.
Jansen has a long history of singing sacred music, starting from the age of five. She received most of her training in music and performance from Howard University, in Washington, D.C. She holds professional degrees in the arts from California State University, San Bernardino, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She has sung and toured professionally throughout the United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and Japan. She played the role of Beneatha with the Broadway touring cast in the European premier of Raisin. She went on to co-author a one-woman musical about the life of Ethel Waters that received a special commendation from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. .
She has been the cantor for several jazz liturgies and closing liturgies at the Los Angeles Religious
Education Congress. She has served as a cantor, principal vocalist, lector and workshop presenter at the San Jose Jazz Festival, the Sacramento Jazz Festival, NPM conferences, the National Encuentro Conference, the National Jubilee Justice Conference, the Los Angeles Liturgy Conference, the East Coast Conference, and many other major events.
She has collaborated with some of the best-known composers of contemporary worship music, including Joe Camacho, Derek Campbell, Richard Cherie, Jaime Cortez, Gary Daigle, Bobby Fisher, David Haas, Marty Haugen, Bob Hurd, Tom Kendzia, Kenneth Louis, Jesse Manibusan, Donna Peña, Danielle Rose, Lori True, Christopher Walker, Steve Warner and Pamela Warrick-Smith.
This will be Moore’s 23rd youth conference.
“I vividly remember my first one. I was so nervous and wanted it to be a great success,” he said.
“When we opened those doors of the Ballroom at the Royal D’iberville Hotel that evening and I saw the excitement and felt the enthusiasm of our young people it was nearly overwhelming. I still get those same feeling today as we plan and work on Celebration.”
He said organizing the annual event is no easy task.
“It is so much work to get it all in place and we have such wonderful volunteers who are so dedicated to making this year’s Celebration the best ever,” he said.
“Celebration is a three month project for the Office of Youth Ministry as well as for the various parish youth groups. For the groups, it fund raising, making their scrapbooks and table displays, coming up with costume ideas for the opening session on Friday night, working on their parish banner, getting artwork together for their tee-shirts, selling advertisement for the Celebration Book and so much more. It is all done to help those parish youth group get a deeper sense of community and a sense of belonging to more than just their parish but to the Diocese of Biloxi and the larger Church.
“As for the youth ministry offices, it is a time for getting all the paperwork in order for the delegates, background checking adults, working with the coast Convention Center, designing a stage setup, getting music selection to the House Band, coordinating volunteers, planning lunch, security, working with the conference hotel and so much more. The key to the continued success of this annual event is having a great set of volunteers who understand their responsibilities and giving them some what they need to make it work. Of course, prayer helps a bunch as well.
Moore is expecting a crowd of nearly 400 youth and adult chaperones for the three-day celebration.
Middle School Rally
Per tradition, once the celebration for the high school aged children is complete, the focus will be shifted to the junior high students.
“We conclude our weekend with a Middle School Rally on Sunday afternoon. We are expecting two hundred middle school aged youth to be in attendance. Judy MacDonald will stay along as Keynoter for this event,” Moore said.
“Our diocesan Spirit Movers will also be around to present skits and prayer as well as to work as small group leaders for the afternoon. Spirit Movers are a group of teenagers selected from various parishes throughout the diocese. They have an important role for the entire Celebration week. They plan and execute all of the communal prayer services throughout the entire Celebration.”
Registration for the Middle School Rally will begin at 1:30 p.m. and the rally will last from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact the youth office at 228-702-2142.
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