By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald

Diocesan Youth Rally 2003 draws over 100 students

LADYSMITH -- Each year on the Saturday following Easter, the Diocese of Superior holds a youth rally that brings young adults throughout the 16 county diocese together to make new friends and enjoy a day of praise and worship with their peers.

The rally, sponsored by the diocesan Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry, took place at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on April 26. Due to a last minute change in venue, this is the second year that the event was held in Ladysmith. Over 100 students and a number of chaperones took part in the day's events.

The guest speaker, Vince Nims, was a familiar face for many of the participants. He has attended several diocesan youth rallies; the most recent was in 2000 when he and Anna Scally spoke at Cathedral of Christ the King. Nims works part time as the director of youth and young adult ministry in the San Jose, Calif. diocese.

He brought energy and excitement to the crowd as he shared his musical talent, personal stories and sense of humor. He sang, played the guitar and led participants in dance and games; he even invited a number of them to sing and dance on stage. Through the fun atmosphere he created, Nims brought an inspiring message to students of God's love for them.

"I want to move kids towards Christ. That's the ultimate goal," said Nims in an interview before the program started. "I try to bring hope, combined with something tangible that they can connect with, something that is filled with Christ. ... And I try to make it fun," he said, calling the event, "not just a keynote (address), but an experience -- a mini-retreat."

Part of his message, Nims continued, is that "We're as ready as we'll never be to embrace God." He explained that people are never ready to meet God, but God will say they are enough. People can't be perfect without God, and all the struggles and difficulties that seem

to pull them away from God are all the more reason for them to embrace God.

During the sessions, Nims told the youth about his lifelong passion for God and baseball. When he was in high school, he was very active in a church youth group and several baseball teams. Having grown up near Dodger Stadium, it was his aspiration to become a professional baseball player, hopefully with the Dodgers.

Unfortunately, Nims did not realize this dream, as he never got the opportunity to play the sport beyond high school. "That dream was gone, and I was heartbroken," he said.

He continued in college as a religious studies major, and after graduating, he worked several years as a youth minister. After he was discovered at World Youth Day in Paris in 1997, Nims began traveling all over the country to share his music, ministry and faith-filled message to teens throughout the nation.

After he'd been doing this for about three years, he received a request to come back home and participate in a jubilee event for the archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2000. He was shocked to discover that the big event would take place at Dodger Stadium.

"I walked into Dodger Stadium as a player, as a guitar player, a player for God," Nims said. "My dream did come true. It was the same dream; it just happened in a different way than I expected. God wanted it to be this way."

Nims explained to the youth that just as God had a plan for him, God also has a plan each of them. "Ask yourself, 'What is God's plan for me?' Will you be able to accept God's plan, even if that means giving up a different plan you had for your life?" Nims asked them.

He also spoke with love about his family -- wife Kim and daughter Veronica, and told stories about the birth of his daughter. "It was love at first sight," he said, explaining that he was speechless and weak in the knees when he first saw Veronica. He said it was a very emotional and spiritual experience to see life come into the world.

He talked about how precious life is and how much he loves his daughter. Nims told the teens that their parents love them just as much as he adores his daughter. Likewise, "God loves you exactly the way you are," he said.

"Don't abandon the things that will give you strength, like family, friends and God," Nims said. He encouraged the teens to be consistent about who they are, to always be the same person, the person God wants them to be.

He also challenged them to grow in their faith and leave the youth rally a different person than when they came. "If you really believe God is in the palm of your hand during the Eucharist, you can't do anything but change," he said.

As he ended his speech, Nims sang a song that he wrote about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He repeated the lyrics again and again: "And it's more than wine, / it's your blood. / And it's more than bread, / it's your body. / When we receive you, Lord, / we are transformed / into your church."

Following his presentation, the youth, chaperones and Our Lady of Sorrows parishioners attended Mass with Bishop Raphael M. Fliss and Fr. John Anderson, concelebrating.

Fliss asked the youth how they obtain their knowledge by posing a question: If they were blindfolded and a water bucket was placed in front of them, how could they tell if the bucket was empty or full?

The three main ways of gaining that knowledge, Fliss suggested, were to reach in the bucket and feel if there is water (experience), throw a coin into the bucket and listen to the sound it makes (reason), and ask a trusted person if there is water in the bucket (believing).

Most often, we gain knowledge by listening to what others have experienced and believing their testimony, he said. "This is even more true about how we acquire our religious knowledge," said the bishop.

"We can't experience the resurrection of the Lord first hand, but we can put our trust in the testimony of others," he said.

Reason, too, leads to the conclusion that Jesus really did rise from the dead, added Fliss. The disciples had denied Jesus earlier, but something happened on Easter that changed them profoundly. Jesus was alive, and they couldn't contain their joy. They ran out to tell everyone and no longer cared about persecution. It is unlikely that the disciples would have lied about something like this, Fliss said.

The bishop then challenged the youth to live out their faith and testify to the Lord by sharing the good news of the resurrection with everyone they can.

Each year, the diocesan youth rally has a service component, and this year's project held a special significance for Ladysmith. One way that the participants demonstrated their faith was by donating various school, art and craft supplies to help the Tender Learning Center. The non-profit day care organization for children from 6 weeks to 12 years old had its building destroyed by the Labor Day 2002 tornado. It is now operating in part of the former Mount Scenario College and has plans to rebuild.

The day's events concluded with a taco supper and dance featuring Nims as the disc jockey.

Nims can be reached by e-mail at mcvince@aol.com or through his Web site www.vincenims.com.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003