Print Issue: August 1, 2002

Hot Sun Shines On 1,200 At Atlanta Teen Conference

Kirsten Vaughn and her mother Audree, a core member for the St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta, Life Teen group, stand in prayer among hundreds of others. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

COVINGTON - It was the hottest weekend of the year, with the heat index reaching 104 degrees, but that didn't stop 1,200 teens from excitedly offering praise to God.

At the fifth annual Steubenville Atlanta conference, held July 5-7 at the Georgia FFA-FHA Center, teens took the heat for the opportunity to renew and strengthen their faith in Christ.

The weekend, which had the theme "Set Free," was sponsored by the Faith Enrichment Institute, the Archdiocese of Atlanta and Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.

The retreat featured talks, music provided by Servant Singers of the Diocese of Alexandria, La., and many prayer opportunities, including a powerful evening of adoration Saturday night, Masses, and the sacrament of reconciliation.

During one session Saturday afternoon, teens crowded under a tin-roof shelter to hear Father Tim Hepburn, chaplain at Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, give a talk entitled "Prisoners of War."

Father Hepburn talked about the "bondage of suffering."

"How many of you have been so hurt that you are honestly incapable of giving (that hurt) up to God?" he asked, and was met by a raising of hands.

He acknowledged in high school he "stunk at basketball," so he quit.

"I was just so humiliated," he said. "I thought if there was any chance I'll be humiliated doing something, I am just not going to do it. You know how sometimes you just don't feel like you fit into life?"

He told the biblical story of the woman at the well, who was humiliated by her own sins and therefore went to the well during the hottest part of the day to avoid fellow townspeople.

"But Jesus showed up in the middle of all of her weird behavior, didn't he?" Father Hepburn said. "Sometimes when we are suffering, it starts to make us reach out for healing in weird ways. Sometimes our sources of comfort can be sinful and so we can be enslaved by what we suffer."

Although suffering can be "meaningless, senseless pain," Father Hepburn said that Jesus is there even in the darkest moments.

"Jesus did not come to abolish suffering, but to fill it with his presence," he said. "He understands. He was human and he was tempted in every way. He suffered in every way, but he did not let that suffering lead him to sin."

"Jesus is going to come to you in your suffering and he can really bring you healing."

With pink flamingos at his side to give a welcoming feeling to penitents, comfortable camp chairs, and a beach umbrella to shade him from the sweltering sun, Father Bill Williams, parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Church, Lilburn, hears the confession of Stephanie Nguyen, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Church, Peachtree City. All the amenities were a surprise for the priest from the St. John Neumann Life Teen group.

Father Hepburn invited teens to stand and share their moments of suffering. Several teens told their peers of their struggles, from one teen with an eating disorder, to another who had gotten into drugs, to another who had suffered physical and mental abuse.

One teen said that she was on the wrong path until one day she got "kicked in the butt by God."

"I'm blessed and I thank God that I actually went through that to get where I am today," she said.

A young man said that he had contemplated suicide until a conversion experience and that he now has "such a new respect for life."

"It makes me feel so good that I found Jesus and that Jesus found me," he said.

Sixteen-year-old Paige Largue of St. Ignatius Church, Mobile, Ala. exudes a Spirit-filled joy during the post-Communion prayer in which Father Bill Young told teens, "The cross is your freedom."

Father Hepburn played his guitar and sang the words of Isaiah 43. He encouraged the teens to offer their suffering to God.

"Jesus wants to come to us in our suffering," he said. "We as Christians don't have to fear suffering. Jesus is there."

Following the session, many teens talked about their reaction to the weekend for high school students, which originated on the campus of Steubenville and is now replicated at regional sites so more youth can attend.

Maddie McConnell, a sophomore from St. Ann's Church in Marietta, was especially touched by Father Hepburn's session.

"He is the best speaker I've ever heard," she said. "I think he really understands us."

This was the second Steubenville Atlanta conference for David Caron, a graduating senior from Mary Our Queen Church in Norcross. He said he enjoys the music the most and likes taking a break during the summer to attend the retreat.

"It gives you a chance to stop thinking about yourself," he said. "I just reflect on the talks and use that as my guide."

Jordan Litterilla, a rising junior from St. Peter Chanel Church in Roswell, was attending the conference for the first time. He admitted the heat was sometimes a struggle, but was willing to endure.

"I think it's worth it," he said. "I'm really having fun. It's amazing all the stuff they're doing here. It really helps me to think about where I am in my religion stance."

For Jackie Brogan and Meagan Dee, teens attending the conference from Tampa, Fla., Steubenville was an emotional experience.

"I cried twice during adoration," Brogan said. "I stayed in there an hour. I kept remembering what (the speakers) told me up in the tent while I was praying and that really moved me."

Dee said she, too, was moved to tears.

"This year, the first day I was praying, something struck me and I just started bawling," she said. "It's the first time I've ever done that before."

She said she hoped to continue her Steubenville experience long after the closing Mass.

"I'm definitely leaving here different," she said. "I am leaving knowing that God is number one and that he's there 24/7."

Deacon Loris Sinanian, president and executive director of FEI, said there are two main reasons teens continue to flock to the conferences all over the country.

"They are excited about Jesus and want to be constantly renewed in that love. This conference really offers that opportunity," he said. "Plus they have the opportunity to meet others and they feed on each other in sharing that love."

Deacon Sinanian said teens from nine or 10 states attended this year's conference. Involved in Steubenville Atlanta from the very beginning, he said that he feels that "this year's conference showed that we have a good, stable program." Next year Life Teen will sponsor Steubenville Atlanta. Deacon Sinanian will stay on as an advisor.