Just got back from Steubenville

[lilred5]

So, I just went to my first Steubenville Conference and got back yesterday. I’m probably one of the only youth thats ever gone that didn’t really like it. Don’t get me wrong, the speakers were great, I liked worship and, of course, adoration (which I’ve always loved) but then Sunday Mass came and that’s when I decided that I’m probably not going back.
The music was the loud contemporary music (like the other Masses) and I can deal with that (though I do prefer choirs) but during the readings after EVERY reading the Bishop preached. I mean, RIGHT after. I had no time to actually comprehend the reading, reflect on it, and because I couldn’t do that I couldn’t even tell if what he was talking about applied at all to the readings (though, all he said was what we’ve heard all weekend). Then after the readings they had an altar call DURING MASS! They did them Friday and Saturday during worship and I, myself, went up on Saturday but, in my opinion it has no place in the Mass. Then during the Creed they would say a few lines then sing, say a few more, then sing. The sign of peace had teens walking around hugging one another and I have never seen that amount of people getting up and going to the restroom during Mass (I know it was a lot of people, but that was an exceptional amount). Neither have I seen so many people leave before Mass was over (an entire group next to mine was down the steps and walking out the room before the procession even got near the doors. It just seemed like more focus was given on the music and the preaching than the Eucharist. I mean, that’s why i go to Mass and I didn’t have the opportunity to get into the mindset that I’m about to recieve Christ! Don’t get me wrong, the whole weekend wasn’t bad, I got a prayer that I love, the talks were good, and I enjoyed worship but I just didn’t get the spiritual growth that I look for in retreats and that Steubenville claims to help you with (though I can see how one would).
I think that this style of worship is just not for me but the thing is I had a good bit of family members with me who all enjoyed it and some who go year after year (my aunt is a chaperone) and always sing praises about it. I know I’ll have to explain my position to them (as I’m sure they’ve assumed I loved it and want to go back) but I just don’t know how to without the possibility that I may offend them or hurt them. We’re having a family get together soon and I know that one of my family members who didn’t go will ask my opinion of it. How do I explain this without offending my other family members who are so gung-ho about it?

 

[The_Bucket]

You’re not the only person who hated that “Life Teen” approach. Frankly, I think it’s disrespectful to conduct Mass like that and counterproductive in trying to get young people involved in the Faith. You can have a good time, rock out to Christian or other concerts and hang out and then be serious for an hour in Mass.

Heck, as I got older I loved going out on the weekends, having some beers or drinking some whiskey with the boys, smoking cigars, hitting concerts and the like… and then Sunday morning I got up, went to Mass, was serious for an hour and got back into the college spirit for NFL watching time.

I think trying to make Mass “exciting” instead of solemn makes it just another part of life and kids respond to that. If they can sit still for school and still be excited about learning, they can be solemn for Mass and still be on fire for God.

 

[lizaanne]

I know someone personally who goes to Steubenville who recently told my husband that one of her professors was teaching outright heresy (do not recall the topic, but it was not a small thing). When questioning the professor, she found the person was not even Catholic and didn’t really care, they were teaching what they thought was right.

Her mother is not as pleased with Steubenville as she was when she started going there.

~Liza

 

[manualman]

Accusations of heresy without details or supporting evidence is usually called detraction. Just saying…

 

[purplesunshine]

just a note…the field house is often hot and crowded…sometimes people don’t get up because they need to go to the bathroom but to get water…some are allergic to insence.

As far as the “alter call” I don’t in particular remember this but they often go from Mass to Adoration very quickly…and even if they did do something there are many in Steubenville who protect the sanctity of Mass and make sure the masses are within ruberics. I’m not saying that it’s perfect but they’re usually pretty good. If I remember correctly the Sat. night mass DOES meld into Adoration/benediction without a “proper” close…but as far as I know that’s ok.

Lizanne…all you posted is vague gossip…the student could of misunderstood…the situation may have been different…sounds very much like something that got blown out of porportion. Some of the foremost current Catholic theologians work at Steubenville including Bob Rice and Scott Hahn.

As far as your aunt…be simple…that it’s too noisy or crowded for you.

 

[lizaanne]

My apologies - it was John Carroll University, not Stuebenville. So it is not relevant to the discussion.

But it was not vague gossip - not when I know it personally. Sorry to ruin your day of calling names on CAF.

~Liza

 

[Melchior_1]

I know someone personally who goes to Steubenville who recently told my husband that one of her professors was teaching outright heresy (do not recall the topic, but it was not a small thing). When questioning the professor, she found the person was not even Catholic and didn’t really care, they were teaching what they thought was right.

Her mother is not as pleased with Steubenville as she was when she started going there.

~Liza

I expect better from a representative of the media, especially Catholic media. How about this gem;

I know someone personally who watches RealCatholicTV who has recently told my wife that one of the hosts was teaching outright heresy (do not recall the topic, but it was not a small thing). When questioning the host, he found the person was not even Catholic and didn’t really care, as they were teaching what they thought was right.

Regarding the University; if there is such a staff member there, it could even be the fellow lied during the job interview saying he was Catholic when he really wasn’t. Or perhaps has fallen into heresy. We’ve got a couple of Church Fathers who all into that category (Tertullian) yet we don’t judge all of the Church Fathers with the same brush.

lilred5, the conference isn’t for everyone. I’m glad you see that some people get a lot out of it and that how there are numerous benefits. And it’s certainly a mark of your maturity that you acknowledge it is not what you’re looking for in a spiritual sense. Simply tell your Aunt that although you respect the conference and what it does, it’s not something that feeds your spiritually at this time and you will be seeking something that does.

 

[justamoose89]

On altar calls during mass: Remember, we Catholics do in fact have an altar call! Altar call is when you’re supposed to be making a life changing decision to follow Christ and accept Him, and we Catholics do that every Sunday when we receive the Eucharist

Sorry, not trying to “dumb down” the Eucharist or anything. But I think it makes the holy experience of receiving Christ in the Eucharist just a little more special if we remember that going up and receiving Him should also serve as a reminder of our commitment to Him. Every Sunday should be a life-changer

I went to a Steubenville conference when I was a teenager. Loved it!

 

[LookingForFaith]

I’m sorry OP you didn’t have an ideal time. I went to four Stuebenville East conferences, and came back so spiritually refreshed. I highly enjoyed them.

 

[purplesunshine]

My apologies - it was John Carroll University, not Stuebenville. So it is not relevant to the discussion.

But it was not vague gossip - not when I know it personally. Sorry to ruin your day of calling names on CAF.

~Liza

Yes, it is SO not vague gossip when a random stranger on the internet posts that some professor at a school who whent to some class at some point said something that their friend’s daughter’s teacher said is heresy. I doubt your post could be any more vague. And that you didn’t even have your facts straight lends even less to your credibility.

 

[CDNowak]

just a note…the field house is often hot and crowded…sometimes people don’t get up because they need to go to the bathroom but to get water…some are allergic to insence.

As far as the “alter call” I don’t in particular remember this but they often go from Mass to Adoration very quickly…and even if they did do something there are many in Steubenville who protect the sanctity of Mass and make sure the masses are within ruberics. I’m not saying that it’s perfect but they’re usually pretty good. If I remember correctly the Sat. night mass DOES meld into Adoration/benediction without a “proper” close…but as far as I know that’s ok.

Very good points about FFH.

However when it comes to following the rubrics, those trying to get the priests to follow them generally have little say in policy, particularly for Fieldhouse Masses. Following liturgical norms is one of the movement’s weakest arenas, particularly at Steubenville.

OP, you are far from alone. If you did benefit from the talks then I would focus on that and if pressed on the liturgical issues “It was not my style” does wonders (sadly).

 

[KathyA]

Interesting. I’ve attended Steubenville NW for the past two summers as a group leader. I’m wondering if some of the details you describe aren’t left to the area organizers. While Mass did have contemporary music, the rest of what you describe was not a part of our weekends. So, perhaps not all Steubenville youth conferences are equal.

As for what to tell your aunt…share the things you did like that you mentioned. You could also say, “I’m glad I had a chance to experience that. There were parts that I really liked and parts that I didn’t really care for, but it was good to see for myself what it was all about.” I think that conveys that you aren’t that excited about attending again, while respecting that your aunt IS excited about attending again.

Also, you might soften about this experience as time goes on. After the first year, I didn’t think that any of the teens in my group would want to go again. (It IS a long, exhausting weekend after all!) But, they were not only excited about the next year, they encouraged others in our group to go the next year. After some reflection, the good things you experienced may outweigh the bad.

Kathy

 

[justamoose89]

I had a similar experience at an ACTS retreat (not sure if you guys are familiar with ACTS, but oh well). The team members were condescending and acted like none of the retreatants had ever experience God before, and they all expected us to be totally and completely changed at the end of the retreat. I had been on many similar retreats before, so that retreat was nothing new. I had friends who had been before, and they excitedly asked me how it was. The situation was indeed awkward…

One thing I did learn though: humility! By the retreat team acting like “spiritual betters”, I felt challenged to “prove myself” and “show them” that I was already in a relationship with Christ and that I had experienced many wonderful things of the Holy Spirit. In other words, I was trying to show them that I was better! I realized my fault in this and did learn a lesson in humility…

Moral of the story: God can use retreats and experiences like this to better us in ways that we don’t expect! Especially if we didn’t think we didn’t get anything out of it

 

[lilred5]

just a note…the field house is often hot and crowded…sometimes people don’t get up because they need to go to the bathroom but to get water…some are allergic to insence.

As far as the “alter call” I don’t in particular remember this but they often go from Mass to Adoration very quickly…and even if they did do something there are many in Steubenville who protect the sanctity of Mass and make sure the masses are within ruberics. I’m not saying that it’s perfect but they’re usually pretty good. If I remember correctly the Sat. night mass DOES meld into Adoration/benediction without a “proper” close…but as far as I know that’s ok.
.

I’m sorry, Mass was in a large convention center so I don’t think hot and crowded is the reason though I do understand the insence thing because my relative who attends brings a surgical mask incase the insence makes their asthma act up.
For ours, we had Mass in the morning and adoration at night. But this was Sunday morning and Mass was the last thing on the schedule. I’m sure there are people protecting the sanctity of the Mass but I still found it detracting from the reason of the Mass.

On altar calls during mass: Remember, we Catholics do in fact have an altar call! Altar call is when you’re supposed to be making a life changing decision to follow Christ and accept Him, and we Catholics do that every Sunday when we receive the Eucharist

Sorry, not trying to “dumb down” the Eucharist or anything. But I think it makes the holy experience of receiving Christ in the Eucharist just a little more special if we remember that going up and receiving Him should also serve as a reminder of our commitment to Him. Every Sunday should be a life-changer

I went to a Steubenville conference when I was a teenager. Loved it!

I understand that we make the decision to follow Christ when we recieve the Eucharist but the Eucharist is completely different from “if you’ve never gave your life to Christ in a public way I invite you to come foward…etc.”

I’m sorry OP you didn’t have an ideal time. I went to four Stuebenville East conferences, and came back so spiritually refreshed. I highly enjoyed them.

I am genuinly happy that you had such a great experience at them.

Melchior_ and KathyA thank you for your advice. I guess this is something that I’m going to have to approach with all the intelligence, charity and kindness that I can muster.

justamoose89 - very true.

 

[agapewolf]

Just to clarify:

The Steubenville youth conferences (Which is what is being talked about here) is not the same thing as the school. They are connected, but one isn’t an experience of the other.

I play in the house band for our steub conference here. It is definitely different depending on location and leadership, priests/bishops, etc. Our 2 current bishops and past bishops (including Archsbishop Burke) celebrated the mass and preached, and didn’t do what was talked about here. We use incense, etc. Its’ a 2 hour closing mass in an emotionally and spiritula draining couple of days-- sometimes emotional teens need to go to the restroom.

This conference is meant to be evangelistic. It is because of Steubenville conferences that I am able to go to quiet dailly adoration and daily masses.

 

[Emily2009]

I went to the Stuebenville [Ohio] Youth Conference the summer between my 8th grade and freshman year. [2005]. I did not like it. Adoration freaked me and a couple friends out…they’ve changed things since then. But neither of us ever went back.

The Bishop of Stuebenville [Ohio] may be my favorite Bishop ever…he was my Parish Priest for six or so years!

I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe you should try the Notre Dame “NDVision.” I liked that a lot better.

 

[PatriceA]

I went to the Stuebenville [Ohio] Youth Conference the summer between my 8th grade and freshman year. [2005]. I did not like it. Adoration freaked me and a couple friends out…they’ve changed things since then. But neither of us ever went back.

The Bishop of Stuebenville [Ohio] may be my favorite Bishop ever…he was my Parish Priest for six or so years!

I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe you should try the Notre Dame “NDVision.” I liked that a lot better.

I think you need to clarify how adoration “freaked” you and your friends out.

 

[graceandglory]

So, I just went to my first Steubenville Conference and got back yesterday. I’m probably one of the only youth thats ever gone that didn’t really like it. Don’t get me wrong, the speakers were great, I liked worship and, of course, adoration (which I’ve always loved) but then Sunday Mass came and that’s when I decided that I’m probably not going back.
The music was the loud contemporary music (like the other Masses) and I can deal with that (though I do prefer choirs) but during the readings after EVERY reading the Bishop preached. I mean, RIGHT after. I had no time to actually comprehend the reading, reflect on it, and because I couldn’t do that I couldn’t even tell if what he was talking about applied at all to the readings (though, all he said was what we’ve heard all weekend). Then after the readings they had an altar call DURING MASS! They did them Friday and Saturday during worship and I, myself, went up on Saturday but, in my opinion it has no place in the Mass. Then during the Creed they would say a few lines then sing, say a few more, then sing. The sign of peace had teens walking around hugging one another and I have never seen that amount of people getting up and going to the restroom during Mass (I know it was a lot of people, but that was an exceptional amount). Neither have I seen so many people leave before Mass was over (an entire group next to mine was down the steps and walking out the room before the procession even got near the doors. It just seemed like more focus was given on the music and the preaching than the Eucharist. I mean, that’s why i go to Mass and I didn’t have the opportunity to get into the mindset that I’m about to recieve Christ! Don’t get me wrong, the whole weekend wasn’t bad, I got a prayer that I love, the talks were good, and I enjoyed worship but I just didn’t get the spiritual growth that I look for in retreats and that Steubenville claims to help you with (though I can see how one would).
I think that this style of worship is just not for me but the thing is I had a good bit of family members with me who all enjoyed it and some who go year after year (my aunt is a chaperone) and always sing praises about it. I** know I’ll have to explain my position to them (as I’m sure they’ve assumed I loved it and want to go back) but I just don’t know how to without the possibility that I may offend them or hurt them. ** We’re having a family get together soon and I know that one of my family members who didn’t go will ask my opinion of it. How do I explain this without offending my other family members who are so gung-ho about it?

Praise God that you are where you are! You have a maturity that surpasses my own kids. Thank you for the explanation. I am signing my teens up for Steubenville tomorrow, and from what you wrote, I think it will be AWESOME!!

You see, my kids are converts from protestantism and were just baptized when they were 12. Orthodoxy is great and all, but they are really missing the experiential part of their Christian walk. They are so close to saying, “Yeah, we know the Catholic CHurch is the True Church, but we wanna go over there with our friends where the worship is better.”

To be able to offer them an opportunity to experience this within the Catholic Church, is a great gift. Sure we have to drive over 1000 miles to get there. I don’t want them to fall out of the Barque of Peter. I want them to know that what they want is right here in the universal church. Their own youth group is so dead they tell me. Now that they’re confirmed, less kids will be showing up next year.

I don’t want them to leave the Church like I did chasing after a personal encounter with Christ that I felt I had in the other churches.

Maybe instead of going back for yourself, you can ask your family to sponsor someone else in your parish who wouldn’t have the chance to go next year.

 

[EasterJoy]

I don’t think we need to decide if Steubenville is orthodox or harbors any heretics. The OP just wants to know how to explain a difference of opinion to family members.

To the OPs original question:

So, I just went to my first Steubenville Conference and got back yesterday. I’m probably one of the only youth thats ever gone that didn’t really like it. Don’t get me wrong, the speakers were great, I liked worship and, of course, adoration (which I’ve always loved) but then Sunday Mass came and that’s when I decided that I’m probably not going back…

… but the thing is I had a good bit of family members with me who all enjoyed it and some who go year after year (my aunt is a chaperone) and always sing praises about it. I know I’ll have to explain my position to them (as I’m sure they’ve assumed I loved it and want to go back) but I just don’t know how to without the possibility that I may offend them or hurt them. We’re having a family get together soon and I know that one of my family members who didn’t go will ask my opinion of it. How do I explain this without offending my other family members who are so gung-ho about it?

I will bet you are not the only one who didn’t really like it. There are undoubtedly people who went to World Youth Day, saw the Pope, and came back saying, “Never again. That was not for me.”

When your relatives ask how it was, just say, “I went expecting to like it, I wanted to like it, there were things about it that were fine and some that were really good, but it didn’t do it for me. The next time I go to a youth conference or go on retreat, I’m going to try somewhere else.”

Answer all ensuing questions with: “I don’t want to pick it apart or criticize. I know a lot of people do like it. I just know I won’t be going back. I’ll make my retreat somewhere else. When I’ve had a chance to think it all over and decided where that’s going to be, I’ll let you know.”

By the time you are ready to go on retreat again, you’ll have somewhere else researched that you will be all excited about. As I’m sure it will be perfectly orthodox, what can they say?

If they decide to get offended or hurt because you don’t like all the things they like, that is their issue. In fact, if they were to express offense, I’d express surprise: “Gee, you don’t need to take it so personally. Thousands of youth loved it. I’m just not one of them. There are a billion Catholics in the world, there is room for differences. I’m sure the people back in Ohio will understand.”

 

[graceandglory]

I think trying to make Mass “exciting” instead of solemn makes it just another part of life and kids respond to that. If they can sit still for school and still be excited about learning, they can be solemn for Mass and still be on fire for God.

Yeah, they can be, but you’re not addressing the faithful ones who leave the church because they feel it’s dead.

Children aren’t adults. Teenagers aren’t adults. Teenagers approach their personal relationship with Christ in a completely different way.