All Gathered for God’s Glory: Ambassadors Reflect on NCYC
Bridget Wodowski and Michael Powell of the Diocese of Buffalo served as youth ambassadors at NCYC. They introduced speakers, led prayer, and provided a welcoming presence during workshops.
The 17-year-olds shared their perspectives on NCYC with their diocesan paper, the Western New York Catholic. Their insights, excerpted here, are followed by thoughts from Denise York, Diocese of Buffalo youth ministry coordinator.
We were astounded that twenty thousand of our peers were gathered to celebrate their faith. It was amazing to see them all gathered for God’s glory, totally unafraid to stand up for what they believe in and literally take over the city of Columbus. We felt privileged to interact with nationally recognized speakers one-on-one, as well as get up in front of five hundred to two thousand teenagers to introduce and bless the speakers.
There were so many amazing messages throughout the weekend.
From Bridget
The most powerful part of the weekend for me was the story of Veronica Gantt’s death early on the day the conference began. It really hit me hard that at any moment, my life could end. I realized that before I die, I want to make a difference. I want to live life to its fullest and be the best that I can be.
My pilgrimage to Columbus has inspired me to “be not afraid.” I now know that I am not alone in my faith. There are people just like me around the nation who want to improve their relationship with God.
From Michael
I think the most powerful part of this entire trip was Mass on Saturday night. I was truly touched by the faith and spirituality of the twenty thousand other kids surrounding me in the huge arena, and it was awe-inspiring to see approximately seven bishops and three hundred priests concelebrate Mass. It gave me a great feeling to realize that the church cared so much about its youth that it would send that many priests and bishops to minister to us.
The two most important things that I learned this weekend were to be proud of your faith and proclaim it, and to search until you find what makes you truly happy in your life. Steve Angrisano shared a story about one of the young victims of the Columbine school shooting. She stood up for her faith even though she thought she would die for answering that she believed in Jesus. The final message of his story was to always live your life for Him, because you don’t know when you might be challenged in your faith or your life might be taken from you.
The second thing I learned was to search until you find, which I was told by the panel of ordained ministers in the vocations workshop I attended. I asked the panel how I was supposed to discern between what I wanted to do with my life and what God was calling me to do, because I always had trouble figuring out which voice was which. They told me that wherever I was happiest and felt I could make the most difference was where God was calling me to be, and that my voice and His were really one and the same if I listened carefully enough. And I’m confident that God was calling me to be at NCYC and praise Him by being an ambassador for my diocese.
From Denise
I was amazed to witness Bridget and Mike as ambassadors. They spoke at three workshops during the conference. The first workshop had over five hundred young people. Both of them were astounded to stand before so many of their peers. That was nothing compared to the second workshop, which was a concurrent session for approximately two thousand people. Doug Brummel was the keynote for the session and instead of going with the standard introduction and prayer Doug asked the two of them to do a skit with him. In 15 minutes they learned their parts and they did a fantastic job on stage. The session was projected via video camera on a large screen behind them. It was amazing to see both Bridget and Mike on the large screen. I was crouched down at the front of the stage to take pictures and was able to get their attention. I told them to turn around and their jaws dropped as they turned and saw themselves on the big screen!
That evening at dinner, Bridget was stopped by an adult in the restaurant. He called her by name and took the opportunity to compliment her on the great job she did leading prayer in the workshop. The following evening at his parish dinner Mike was complimented by Mark Mann from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Mark had been in Doug Brummel's workshop and noted the leadership abilities and stage presence that Mike displayed.
I have the privilege of working with Bridget and Mike as moderator of the Diocesan Youth Board. It was an honor to nominate them and to work with them throughout NCYC as diocesan liaison. Watching them work with speakers and speaking on stage in front of the large crowds was affirming for me. One of my greatest joys is empowering young people to use their gifts and talents and to exceed their personal potential as disciples. Bridget and Mike did exactly that at NCYC, and I am tremendously proud of both of them.
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