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Happening ... in the Local Church
 NET
member Nick Petrillo, left, visits with Ian Blessinger and Dori
Lauderbaugh, both of St. Patrick, Kokomo. (Photo by Hilary Schafer) |
By Hilary Schafer
The
Catholic Moment
KOKOMO — This year, St. Patrick Church offered something new for youth attending its annual Christ the King retreat: National Evangelization Ministries, or NET.
NET consists of young adult Catholics who give nine months to an apostolic lifestyle, traveling the country to bring the light of the Gospel to students from fifth to 12th grade.
NET was founded by Mark Berchem in 1981, as “just a small group of guys, and has now expanded,” said NET team member Brian Stoyell-Mulholland.
Today, NET conducts approximately 1,000 retreats annually.
“Really, our purpose is to teach the youth of America how Jesus is part of our everyday life and how the Catholic Church is vital to strengthening our relationship with him,” Stoyell-Mulholland said.
NET team members range in age from 18 to 28, and come from many states and backgrounds.
Stoyell-Mulholland, a recent high school graduate, said he thought NET would condition him to surrender his life to Christ. He said he is constantly uplifted by the thirst and enthusiasm of young adults for Christ’s message. His favorite part of the Nov. 21-22 retreat in Kokomo was the “prayer ministry time,” in which team leaders stepped back and gave youth time to pray on their own.
“This is really where you see hearts turn fully to Christ,” he said.
Katie Beiter practiced nursing for four years before deciding to apply to NET ministries.
“There is a real need for the youth to understand how much God loves them,” she said, “but at the same time, the kids inspire us as well by showing us their faith.
“We’re growing, we’re learning to love everyone above all,” she said. “It’s a chance to put yourself out there and say ‘God, here I am, do what you want.’”
Kelli Conlon, family life coordinator at St. Patrick Parish, said that NET is a great way for young men and women to discern their vocations. Father Christopher Shocklee, associate pastor at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and St. Lawrence Parish, Lafayette, was involved in NET before entering the seminary.
“He stopped in after Mass ... and met the team and said a prayer with them,” Conlon said. “I also recently took a group trip to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and I met one sister whose membership in NET influenced her religious vocation. You are in community with these 12 people, living out of a suitcase, going where God wants you to go ... It can be truly valuable in discerning a religious vocation.”
NET retreats are planned and executed by team members, and include drama, singing, testimonies, prayer and fellowship.
On Nov. 21, the kids were sent off to dinner, singing an enthusiastic blessing to the tune of Disney’s “A Whole New World.” Then they returned to a short meditation by team member Kim Juncewski on the struggles of the spiritual life, through a comparison in the natural world to the life of a butterfly that emerges from a cocoon after much labor.
“Sometimes we wonder why we have to struggle so much,” Juncewski said, “but often those struggles are essential for us becoming who Christ wants us to be.”
On Nov. 22, the solemnity of Christ the King, retreat attendees joined the parish in a traditional procession through the streets with the Blessed Sacrament.
“We try to open hearts and minds to the Blessed Sacrament, and every year it just grows and grows,” Conlon said.
Over the weekend, NET team members struck a balance between fun and spirituality.
Joanne Werling, a St. Patrick parishioner whose granddaughter attended the retreat, liked what she saw.
“They have loved it,” she said. “They have been so attentive, and very involved. The NET team has related so well to all the kids and they have been so caught up in all the activities.”
Danielle Schultz, a parishioner of St. Patrick, said she enjoyed the weekend, too.
“I really loved one talk explaining how Christ’s arms are extended on the cross, as a bridge between us and him,” she said.
Sixty-three students attended, making it one of the largest retreats in recent history, according to Conlon, who invited the NET team and organized the visit.
“At the last breakout session, they talked a lot about good friendships, and what we can do to protect our individual dignity through how we dress, talk, and what friends we have,” Conlon said. “They’re learning about their faith, and I have not heard one complaint of someone being bored or tired or wanting to go home. In my experience of youth ministry, that just doesn’t happen!”