BY BETTY SCHOENBAECHLER

Special To The Bulletin

MARIETTA--Retreats, missionary work, peer acceptance, attending Mass: For the youth involved with the Life Teen program at the Church of St. Ann, these are very much a part of their living faith.

Because it is centered on the Eucharist, Life Teen has come to represent a place where teenagers can find love and acceptance for who they are at this stage in their lives.

Chris Benzinger, who heads the Life Teen ministry at St. Ann’s, joined the staff last October when Youth Director Randy Raus was named to the National Life Teen organization. Benzinger was youth minister at All Saint’s Church in Dunwoody before coming to St. Ann’s.

In addition to the Life Teen staff, over 40 adults help with the program, including 20 adult Core members who plan Life Night activities, and members of the Life Teen Band, directed by Ed Bolduc.

Core member Jennifer Garrard said that over a four-month period, teams of four Core members are responsible for coordinating three to four Life Nights. Core members help with retreats and other Life Teen activities as well.

As many as 300 teens come to Life Teen events, with a solid group of about 60 who are there weekly, according to Benzinger. About 100 teens attend retreats.

“We have Life Nights four times a month after Mass,” explained Benzinger. “Two are educational and focus on a Catholic or biblical issue, one deals with issues teens face and the fourth is a social night.”

In addition to Life Nights, the teens come to Catacombs, a weekly faith topic discussion, based on the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” and Just for Fun, a night to hang out at church for basketball and other non-structured activities. Teens attend a weekly liturgy together and spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As part of monthly service projects, St. Ann’s teens serve meals at homeless shelters, visit the elderly in nursing homes, help set up for the Apple Annie Craft Show and have even built a Habitat House. This past summer, a group of St. Ann’s teens took a missionary trip to Mexico to assist with a building project. They had to earn the money for their trip through service-related work and fund-raising activities, not just have a parent write a check. The teens also adopt two large families at Christmas each year through the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Adopt-A-Family program.

“Life Teen started here in 1992 and since that time we have ministered to a lot of teens,” said Raus. “The major components are still the same as they were in the beginning. It has always been centered on the Eucharist. Many priests have played an integral role in this ministry and there are a number of people who have been involved.”

Raus pinpoints the success of Life Teen to one source: God.

“The reason Life Teen has been successful is because it is from God. He is in control and those of us who work in the ministry try to be faithful and obedient to His will.”

The program started as a result of a parish survey that indicated the number one priority of parishioners was the addition of a youth ministry.

“The entire church community has had a role in making holy teens in this parish,” said Raus.

The pastor, Father Bob Susann, MS, said that because the Life Teen program is centered around the Eucharist, “It’s life giving. Not only the teens love it, but other parishioners find it fulfilling and rewarding as well. It has changed the tenor of the whole parish. Many teens are bringing their parents back to church.”

Word of St. Ann’s Life Teen program has spread beyond the Atlanta area.

“We have become a hub for training parishes who want to start a Life Teen program,” said Father Susann.

St. Ann’s provides office space to the national Life Teen organization, headed up locally by Raus. He spends a great deal of time traveling between Atlanta and Mesa, Ariz., the other Life Teen headquarters.

Adults become involved in youth ministry for a variety of reasons. Garrard said that when she first moved to the Atlanta area nearly four years ago, she was overwhelmed by the Life Teen ministry and wanted to be a part of it.

“I think that if I had been involved in something like this when I was a teen, there are a lot of things in the Bible that would have given me peace and consoled me with some of the things I went through,” she said. “I want to help let these teens know they can always turn to God who will assist them through whatever obstacle they face, whether it is peer pressure, grades or any kind of trouble.”

Grace Massey, a recent graduate of Lassiter High School, said Life Teen is like a big support group.

“We do a lot of talks in small groups and you get to know people and where they’re at. We always have a good time and there are lots of things to do. We shift subjects from the serious to fun. Some nights are informal and others are planned.”

Massey feels fortunate to have found the Life Teen program.

“I really am blessed. It’s not often you can be surrounded by people who share the same values and morals. I love it.”

Tony Cuviello, a student at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta, said he felt a sense of acceptance at his first Life Teen event, a Braves game, but it was at a Life Teen retreat where he started making new friends.

“Everyone is so open to new faces and so open to you,” he said. “It’s different from school. At school, most people have their groups and some allow new people in, but even when they do, it can be hard to fit in. Here, we’re one huge group. Everyone is accepted just like one big family.”

The retreats are a powerful tool of the ministry and, like the Life Nights and Life Teen Mass, they are well-planned and follow a theme relevant to the teens.

Cuviello talked about a retreat he attended.

“It was called The Crossroads. It was a time for the teens and the Core to recognize what the crossroads in their lives were. What are their struggles? Do they turn right, left or go straight? A few of them said they were struggling with things in the home, others with things at school. Anyone who feels called to will share. Usually everyone shares because there is a high confidence level in the group. No one laughs. Everyone is encouraging and willing to help one another. We back each other up all the time and everything is kept confidential.”

Cuviello said the Life Teen Band played for hours during the retreat, helping to create the right atmosphere for sharing.

The band, which Bolduc has led since the program began, is made up of musicians who are “responding to their baptismal calling to ministry.”

“We’re not looking for any recognition for what we do. Rather, our main goal is to minister to that group,” he said.

Bolduc said the band wants its music to be culturally relevant to the teens.

“People ask ‘What is Life Teen music?’ That’s a misnomer. There is no such thing. We draw from any and all resources. We use any music, as long as it is good music and it’s going to minister to the teens. It’s all in the arrangement--the musical language we use to present the songs and speak to them musically--that’s what I mean by culturally relevant.”

The Life Teen Band has produced several CDs that have become a ministry in their own right.

“Sometimes people look forward to the CDs so they can listen to the music they hear at Mass in their car and at home,” said Bolduc, who writes a number of the songs used in the Life Teen program.

Life Teen is evangelical in the sense that many teens invite their friends to attend Mass.

“I’ve brought many of my non-Catholic friends to Mass,” said Massey. “I tell them to cross their arms over their chest and come to Communion with me for a blessing. I’ve also brought some of my Catholic friends who are not active. That’s really neat for their parents.”

According to the director of the Parish School of Religion and OCIA, Mary Ann Fischer, 16 teens came into the church at St. Ann’s this year. Most were raised in other denominations.

“They came with friends to the Life Teen activities and chose to join the Catholic faith,” said Fischer.

The Life Teen program has resulted in an appreciation of the Catholic faith and community among St. Ann’s teens.

“If you’ve never been to a Life Teen Mass, and you get the chance to go, come to St. Ann’s,” said Cuviello. “It is one of the greatest programs you will ever see or hear. Everything about St. Ann’s is wonderful. It’s a community that accepts you for who you are.”

Benzinger said the Life Teen Mass is always standing-room only and lasts at least 90 minutes. The youth participate fully in the service and occasionally they will even perform a short play during Mass.

“We had a pretty intense skit one of the teens wrote that dealt with serious issues like sex, suicide, drinking and disappointment with parents. It was very dramatic and we had it right during the homily,” he said, adding that support from the clergy is the key to their being able to do something like this.

“Father Bob doesn’t always say yes, but he does say, ‘How can we make it happen?’” said Benzinger.

For Bolduc, his experience with Life Teen has enriched his own faith life.

“Teens are a lot holier than people give them credit for being,” he said. “They have a lot to offer to their community. I learn a lot from them, watching them pray and watching them grow closer to Jesus. We try to show them what we’ve learned and, in turn, they teach us what they’ve learned. They’re not the future of the church--they are the church.”

EUCHARISTIC MOMENT -- Youthful members of St. Ann’s, who participate in the Life Teen program and Life Teen Mass, gather around the table of the Lord during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Photo by Michael Alexander