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Happening ... in the Local Church
 |
By Louisa J. Reese
For
The
Catholic Moment
MUNCIE — All college students are invited to attend the next Fellowship of Catholic University Students national conference on Dec. 30, 2009, to Jan. 3, 2010, at the Marriott World Resort Center in Orlando, Fla.
“Those
five days will change your life,” said Jill Pitcher, the FOCUS team director
at Ball State University.
She and three other missionaries brought the fast-growing, national college campus outreach to Ball State in fall 2008. The team works hand-in-hand with campus ministry at St. Francis of Assisi Parish here.
This year’s team, including Pitcher, Mark Joseph, Ross Hornsby and Clare Kummant, leads 17 small-group Bible studies each week on campus.
“Our goal is to bring the students to a deeper love and understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Catholic Church,” Pitcher said.
“Made for More,” the theme of the 2010 FOCUS conference, is based on the idea that so many people today are searching for something to fill the emptiness in their lives.
“We have been created with an infinite God-sized hole in our heart and in our soul,” Pitcher said. “What we try to do is fill that hole with finite things; for college students, perhaps it’s alcohol, sex, power, money, fame.
“So the whole idea is to propose to the students that, yes, they are made for more than this world is offering, that there is more to this life than what they’re experiencing. … To tell them that only in a relationship with Jesus Christ will they find total fulfillment,” she said.
St. Francis of Assisi associate pastor Father Christopher Weldon attended the FOCUS conference in 2008.
“It was so powerful to see all the college students together,” he said.
Pitcher attended her first national conference in 2004, when she was a freshman at the University of Illinois.
“At that time, I was Catholic and going to Mass, but I did not have a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said.
At the conference, she realized for the first time Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and how much he loved her, Pitcher said.
“I asked myself a question, ‘How am I responding to that gift of salvation?’ I realized that the life I was living was not the proper response,” she said. “(In that moment), I knew I had to give my life entirely to Jesus Christ. I was a little afraid. But I looked around and saw 1,500 other college students … wanting to love our Lord as much as they could. So I knew I would not be alone.”
Returning to campus from the conference, Pitcher found much follow-up support from FOCUS missionaries.
She began attending daily Mass, returned to the sacraments and grew in her faith.
Now she is encouraging students to attend the FOCUS 2010 conference.
“It is an opportunity to really get away from the pressures of school (and go) to a place where they are completely surrounded by their Catholic faith,” she said.
There are opportunities for prayer and the sacraments, 24-hour adoration and daily Mass, Pitcher said.
The intellectual formation segment includes talks on topics such as Church teachings on sexuality and life issues and other topics pertinent to college students.
Socially, the event provides an opportunity for fellowship with students from across the United States.
“There will be a lot of fun things,” she said. “A huge New Year’s party, dedicating 2010 to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God; a concert that day and another later, as well as a comedian, and a lot of entertainment.”
According to a press release, speakers confirmed for the conference include Sean Dalton, West Regional Director, FOCUS; Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR; Matthew Kelly, internationally acclaimed speaker and best-selling author; and Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS.
Entertainers include comedian and musician Tim Hawkins, musician and youth minister Matt Maher and recording artist Matthew West.
Ball State students attending the conference plan to leave on a chartered bus from Muncie.
Others in the diocese needing transportation to the conference are welcome to ride the bus departing from Muncie, Pitcher said.
The conference is open to all college students, whether they attend FOCUS or not. The event is geared to college-age and young adults age 24 to 30.
Dec. 11 is the deadline for conference registrations, including hotel rooms.
For commuter and day passes, registrations may be purchased up until the start of the conference.
For more information about the conference or transportation, call Jill Pitcher at 765-288-6180 or visit ballstate@focusonline.org.
To see a full list of speakers, watch a video, register or to learn more details about the conference, visit www.focusconference.org.