July 1, 2009

Youths have their faith ignited at Guppy Fest

 By John Gleason

More than 500 youths representing parishes across Denver and Colorado Springs took part in the 16th annual Guppy Fest at St. Thomas More Church, June 19. 

There, young people got to know others from different parishes, participate in prayer and worship, heard speakers on a variety of topics, attended Mass and were treated to a concert by recording artist Matt Maher, who also delivered the keynote address.

David Tschumper, event coordinator and director of youth ministry at the Centennial church said planners packed a lot of fun and information into the day.

“First, we talked about our theme, ‘For Your Glory,’ which we took from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians,” Tschumper said.  “It is also the title of one of Matt’s songs.  That led to a discussion about St. Paul and the sacrifices he went though in his ministry; being shipwrecked and thrown in jail.  No matter what happened to him, he kept on going for the glory of God.”

In addition to Maher’s keynote, other presentations were conducted by Father Jim Crisman, director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Denver, and Adrian and Aubrey Quintero from Church of the Risen Christ who spoke about marriage as a vocation.

Fourteen-year-old Haley Henderson told the Denver Catholic Register she couldn’t put her finger on one part of the day that stood out—every event, every session brought something new, something to consider, she said.

“I was at the marriage break-out session and as I listened and heard how marriage is both a struggle and a joy, when they called it a vocation, I was surprised,” she said.  “I mean you don’t have to wear a habit or be a priest to answer a call.  I never thought of that.”

Nathan Quintana, 14, from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Thornton, was attending his first Guppy Fest at the invitation of a friend.  He said the sessions had given him a lot to think about.

“I’ve heard about spreading the word through technology; that God is an active part of our computer society,” he said.  “But I think the one statement that I remember is when Father Crisman was speaking about hearing God’s call, and how you have to listen with your heart as much as your head.”

Quintana added that one of the reasons he came to the event was the chance to hear Matt Maher.

“I’ve heard some of his songs, they sound pretty cool,” he said.

Born in Newfoundland, Canada, Maher moved to Arizona in 1995 when his parents divorced.  He told the students that even though he had a Bible by his bed, he had stopped going to church when he entered high school.

“I wasn’t a practicing anything,” he said. “My relationship with God wasn’t strong.  I believed God was real, but didn’t know how much he loved me.”

Maher drew laughter from the crowd when, during a time shortly after his parents divorced and he was trying to figure things out, he poured over the book of Genesis, looking for references to dinosaurs.

“For a time when it came to attending Mass, I was what you’d call a CEO Catholic,” he said.  “That stands for ‘Christmas and Easter Only.’”

Maher did start going to Mass again, which allowed him to come face-to-face with his faith.  At his new parish, he was asked by the youth minister to help with music.  Saying that the experience was like a light going off inside him, Maher returned to his love of songwriting.

“The first rule in songwriting is: write what you know,” he said.  “And that’s what I did; I wrote songs for God.  I mean what’s the point of believing in something if all (your faith) does is sit on the sidelines?” He added that once you’re open to God, the change will affect the rest of your life and all aspects of it.

Tschumper was excited to have Maher as speaker and entertainer and hoped that the event would be a day of grace for the youth and would encourage them to live out their Catholic faith in a real and tangible way.

“You look at these kids and hope they experience some goodness and good news in their life,” he said.