EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Stepping outside Saint Katharine Drexel Parish’s auditorium after a game of ladder toss, 17-year-old Nick Downs took a moment to reflect on the laughter, music, dancing and smell of cotton candy going on inside.
“I’m glad my pastor told me about this,” said Downs, an altar server at Saint Simon Stock Parish, Berlin. “I’m meeting people my age, sharing the faith and spreading it.”
Photo Gallery: Dream On Youth Festival
Downs traveled about 40 minutes July 19 to attend Saint Katharine Drexel’s first Dream on Youth Festival. Organized by youth for youth, the festival brought nearly 200 people together for a night of games, fellowship, food, witness talks, and even the chance to pie a member of the parish leadership team.
“It was a chance for youth to feel the presence of God in their lives” while among their peers, priests and fellow faithful, said Father Renante “Ren” Orain, AM, parish parochial vicar. He is also chaplain of the Catholic Campus Ministry at nearby Stockton University, and as thus, took a few pies to the face to join in the fun.
Jonna Gacayan, a parish youth ministry alumni, bought a $2 pie to launch at Father Orain. “I’ve known Father Ren a long time, and he’s always been someone I could joke around with,” said the Stockton University rising senior.
Calling herself in awe of the youth’s dedication these past nine months in planning the event, Millet LoCosale, parish youth minister, also acknowledged the adult faithful who helped, allowing the youth to “dream by giving them the space and resources to make it happen.”
The festival included games such as Jenga, spikeball, cornhole and foam axe throwing; a photo booth with props and costumes; face painting; faith testimonies from parish and diocesan laity and clergy; a DJ and mix of dance music, and a live young adult band, Jam.FM, comprising alumni of Saint Katharine Drexel’s youth ministry.
Representatives from the local Catholic Campus Ministries of Stockton University, Galloway Township, and Rowan University, Glassboro, were also present to meet with youth, and answer questions about the college experience.
LoCosale said she was pleased to see how the youth grew while planning the event, particularly in their flexibility and ability to pivot from some of their initial ideas, such as moving the festival from outdoors to indoors in case of bad weather.
“By acknowledging [the need to] compromise to make it happen, the youth showed a lot of maturity,” she said.
One of the young organizers, 18 year-old Thomas Pham, acknowledged that “learning how to coordinate this wasn’t easy. It meant a lot of effort.” But in the end, “I know this has strengthened our youth ministry. The effort, dedication, and learning and growing together has been an enriching experience for us all.”
“In our youth group, we try to always spread the message of Jesus to youth in a place that is open, entertaining, fun and welcoming – and this festival is definitely our biggest effort to accomplish that,” he continued.
Another pie recipient, parish pastor Father Joselito Ramos, AM, praised the youth for “doing their best to make the event happen to bring their friends to Church. The youth are the now of the Church, and we need to encourage them to participate more.”
In a recent episode of the Talking Catholic podcast, the young Church of Saint Katharine Drexel Parish shared how they conceived and prepared for the Dream On Youth Festival. Listen to it now at talking.catholicstarherald.org/podcast/dream-on-youth-festival.
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