(EDITOR’S NOTE): Walt Kahnle, Youth Consultant of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, recently attended the first New England Conference on Youth Ministry at Saint Francis College in Biddeford, Maine. He shares his thoughts on the conference with BULLETIN readers.)

By Walt Kahnle

While on a recent vacation trip to upstate New York and to my old hometown of Albany, my wife Pat and son Marty and I took a deliberate and most rewarding sidetrip to Biddeford, Maine.

The trip was rewarding for Marty because he got to hop, skip and jump some ocean waves and it was rewarding for Pat because at long last she got to see the Maine coast and eat some fresh lobster.

It was particularly rewarding for me because I was able to participate in the first New England Conference on Youth Ministry held at Saint Francis College.

I planned this conference into our vacation with the knowledge that such a conference would not be a reality in the Southeast for some time to come. I felt it was time I again touched base with the trends and thinking of the Church in the North, after being her in Georgia for over 10 years. I wanted to pick the brains of those involved in youth ministry to compare with the trends and concerns here in North Georgia.

I was anxious to attend the workshops on “Peer Ministry,” “Parent/Teen Dialogue,” and “New Models in Youth Ministry” and interested too in comparing the teenagers up there with the kids I love and respect so much in our own archdiocese.

I was able to do all these things and more and would like to share my reflections on this experience with you as well as some thought on youth ministry for North Georgia.

To begin with, I thought that I would be the participants at the conference who had come the longest distance. Much to my pleasant surprise, I met and shared insights on youth ministry and programming ideas with diocesan representatives from such far flung places as Seattle, Madison, Natchez, Louisville and Orlando. I was pleased that Atlanta was represented and it was with a sense of pride that I told of the unique and special things going on “down South.”

Since SEARCH is so strong and prevalent up North, it was a particular pleasure to tell them about the excellent SEARCH group we have here. Even though we seem to be a smaller version of what our northern brothers are, we still have a common concern for the religious formation of our youth and an enthusiastic hope in the future.

What particularly impressed me at the conference was the keynote address given by Monsignor Thomas Leonard, director of the youth activities Division of the U.S. Catholic Conference in Washington, D.S. Monsignor Leonard emphasized the need for “collaboration” rather than “competition” in youth ministry programs. He expressed a particular concern over the notorious rivalry existing between CYO and CCD.

As it turned out, this concern became the central focus throughout the weekend. When I would mention that in North Georgia we had little or no CYO activity, the response was most often, “Whew, are you lucky!” It was an expected discovery for me to realize that perhaps not having CYO could well be a blessing in disguise.

The national trend is to incorporate the recreational and service components of CYO and the educational component of CCD under diocesan and parish total youth ministry programs coordinated by special “youth directors.” It was hotly discussed that frequently the CYO and the CCD resist such a merger in fear of losing their identity. But where it has been successfully accomplished as in the diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., the overall result has been quite beneficial and positive.

Such an approach to youth is very much in line with the 1972 Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter, “To Teach As Jesus Did.” In it the bishops called for an integration of “Message – Community Service” in youth ministry. While CCD has tried to take care of the “message” or content element, “community and service” has often been neglected.

I began to see that the Archdiocese of Atlanta has a great potential for providing such a total outreach to its youth. Our problems here are different ones than those in the North. A great concern of mine and of many parents as well as of the teenagers themselves is how to maintain or attain a Roman Catholic Christian identity in an almost totally Protestant environment. Added to this is our lack of money and property as compared to the North.

Just the same I feel that our parish communities afford an ideal setting in which to attain this ideal of the bishops in initiating a total youth ministry program. We have a large core group of young Catholics here that I have found to be highly motivated, concerned capable and idealistic. This is a real asset for the Church in North Georgia.

Alongside our youth there is a large number of highly dedicated, knowledgeable and willing adults who desire this sort of ministry for our youth. These adults being part of the “forward moving” Atlanta area see the value of moving forward in our youth work as well. We here are not so encumbered by a slow-to-change educational system and are more apt to revamp our educational programs within the parish than in the North.

Being part of the minority tends to cluster us and builds strong ties of unity. If a Catholic identity is to be preserved for our youth then the felt need and desire to do whatever is necessary to preserve it can be an unexpected response.

The Protestant communities here have consistently shown themselves to be true brothers in Christ to us. They can be counted upon to assist in many ways in establishing youth ministry programs which they themselves have been engaged in for many years. Many of our parishes possess facilities which lend well to social, recreational, athletic and educational programs.

With laity, clergy and youth pulling together under the leadership of the bishops this ideal might become a reality. We have more to gain and less to lose. We can gain a new generation of actively committed Catholic Christians and we will neither lose a CYO nor a parochial school system.

I came away from Maine renewed and better convinced that we here in North Georgia have a lot going for us. But we must rely on Christ, our youth and ourselves. Our problems are different ones, but I feel we have a very good opportunity to solve them.