St Michael's Conference Online

This past summer, I had an experience that totally changed my life. I attended a camp called Saint Michael’s Conference. Saint Michael’s is a conference for young Christians aged fourteen to twenty-one. Every day there is a high mass, three religion classes, and an evensong. It might sound like it would be pretty boring, but it wasn’t.

Initially, I was skeptical when my mother told me I would not be attending the camp I had been to for the past couple of years. Instead, I was to try out this conference. By the end of my first day at the conference, I was certain I liked my other camp better. After that, however it began to get better. One of the first things that happened to me was meeting my “big sister.” The camp is divided into juniors, age fourteen to sixteen, and seniors age seventeen to twenty-one. Each “first year” is assigned a senior to be their big brother or sister. It is like a built in friend and mentor that you meet on the first day there. My big sister immediately made me feel a little more at home.

The classes and discussion groups sounded like they might be very boring, but they were actually very interesting. I learned all sorts of things about prayer, the Bible, and sin during the classes. That week I learned so much about being a young Christian. It really strengthened my faith and now instead of sitting around, I actually try to do some good in the world. I have realized how important it is to try not to sin. The classes helped me to learn this.

Something that was encouraged very much at Saint Michael’s was making a confession sometime during the week. It was not required, but everyone was strongly encouraged to make one. I was rather surprised to find that I was one of few “first years” that had made a confession before. For most others my age there, it was their first time. However, I had never thought very hard about my confession before. The emphasis put on it at camp really gave me something to think about.

My favorite part of Saint Michael’s, however, was how friendly everyone was. I didn’t really make any friends until about half way through the week, but when I was sitting by myself reading, people would come up to me and ask me to play cards or Frisbee with them. If I was standing there alone, someone would just come up and start a conversation with me. When I did make some friends, I knew that they were good ones that I would really miss. Everyone was into hugs there, which I really liked. At the peace during the mass, everyone hugged instead of shaking hands. After you made your confession, random people would come up and hug you. When it was time to leave, everyone hugged you goodbye.

I miss Saint Michael’s and everyone there terribly. I had a wonderful time and I really developed as a Christian too. They are hoping to have more boys for the 2005 conference because there have not been enough, however girls are welcome too. I, for one, will definitely be going back next year.

Reprinted from the September/October, 2004 issue of The S. Stephen, the newsletter of St. Stephen's Church, Providence, RI

My week at St. Mike's, as it is affectionately called, was one of the best times I have ever had in my life. At St. Mike's I felt completely free from the stresses of the world and more importantly I now feel much closer to God. If anything, I hope that this article will make other people consider attending because it is truly worth it.

When I arrived I was welcomed and got to choose the room I wanted. A brief tour of the place followed, before Evening Prayer. Luckily I saw someone I knew from my old church and joined the conversation she was having with a bunch of people. They welcomed me knowing how weird it is on your first day, having experienced it themselves a few years ago. I started feeling a little bit better, although I was still a bit disoriented from seeing everyone around me hugging people as they got out of their cars in the parking lot. After a while this group of people encouraged me to go out and talk to other people and just get to know everyone. At first, I was afraid to do that but I soon got over it.

After Evening Prayer, we went into the conference room where we were told the rules, which were pretty much what you would expect from a Christian camp but a little bit looser than they might have been. Then we went to our discussion groups, where we learned what to expect in the coming week. We met our "big brothers and sisters," people who had been to the conference already and could give us help and advice. We walked around the campus for a while and got to know each other. After that it was time for the night's activity. Every night had a fun activity designed to help us get to know each other. That night we played some outdoor games where we had to work together to win.

By the second day the flow of the place seemed natural to me. I got up early and got a cup of hot chocolate and mingled with some of the other early risers. We did this every morning thereafter and had a lot of fun. I was surprised at Mass when at the peace instead of shaking hands we hugged each other. That became natural after a few days and when I got back to my church I almost started to hug people there!

After Mass we proceeded to breakfast. I got into the habit of getting to know everyone by sitting with new people at every meal. After breakfast we went to our classes which were easily the most boring part of every day-but still pretty interesting.

My first class was "forum" (basically how and why we worship the way we do) taught by Father Schulze, Father Bowling, and Dean Vang. My second class, "The Christian in the Early 21st Century," was taught by Sister Mary Charles. We talked about things such as peer pressure causing us to sin and how to resist that temptation. My last and favorite class was "Windows into Heaven" taught by Dean Vang. We studied how our religion is expressed through stained glass windows.

At lunch that day I first witnessed the wrath of Father Schulze. We were required to wear nametags at all times and one person had lost his. Father Schulze made this person stand up on his chair in the dining room and sing an old classic song that we all knew, "My Hat Has Three Corners." It was pretty funny.

After lunch every day we had a three-hour break when we could participate in some kind of organized sports or just chill. The first day we had all signed up for softball teams for a tournament to be played over the next few days. I was on Father Moyer's team because I knew him and I thought we could put together a good winning team. Of course we lost horribly, but it was fun nonetheless.

That night we held the annual square dance. We all found partners and learned the routines. That was actually not my first experience square dancing but I learned some new moves. Now I know that square dancing does not seem like the kind of thing that a bunch of teenagers would love doing, but let me tell you it is some of the best fun you can have.

Tuesday went pretty uneventfully until my second class when I realized that I had lost my nametag. Everybody told me that this was very bad. I knew that I didn't want to sing in front of everyone, so I thought that my best course of action was to tell Father Schulze and hope for the best. So at lunch I went up to his table and confessed. He told me not to worry about it and advised me to make an announcement and ask anyone who found it to return it to me. Luckily I found it the next day. That night's activity was karaoke, which was very fun.

All through Wednesday we were told to expect a "mystery activity" that night. They actually meant that literally because we played "Conference Clue." I was very surprised by the effort they put into making this game just like the board game. We broke up into teams and went all around different stations in the retreat house looking to disprove people. Through most of the game I became convinced that the culprit was Dean Vang with the thurible in the sacristy, but in the end it turned out to be Sister Mary Jean with the rules and regulations in the senior girls' hallway. That was probably my favorite activity of the week.

Thursday went pretty much like every other day. During our afternoon break they asked us to try out for the talent show that night. I happened to have my saxophone with me, so I played the theme from the "Super Mario Brothers" video games and got a standing ovation. After the show one guy even asked me to play it again so he could record it on his cell phone and use it as his ring tone. My favorite act in the show was a stand-up comedy routine better than any professional I have ever seen. I don't think I have ever laughed that hard before or since. There were many good acts with things like skits and songs that people had composed. It was really great.

On Thursday I made my confession. Everyone was strongly encouraged to make their confession during the week even if it was your first time. It was mine, and everyone was very supportive. I chose to confess to Father Bowling because he seemed like he had good humor about things and I felt the most comfortable with him. After I had finished everyone rushed over and gave me a hug, which was the ritual for confession at St. Mike's. I don't think I have ever gotten that many hugs in the space of two minutes before. Anyway it felt good.

Friday was the last full day of the conference and it felt like it was over way too soon. Everyone talked about how they wished they could stay forever and that they didn't want to leave the next day. That is exactly how I felt. Well, our activity that night was the long anticipated pageant. We all dressed up in our best clothing and it actually turned out to be pretty good. I enjoyed it. When they had finished processing out Father Bowling who was the celebrant said one word loud enough for the entire chapel to hear, "Perfect!"

There was a sad feeling in the air on Saturday morning as we packed up, cleaned, and got ready to go home. When our parents arrived to pick us up we went around getting hugs from all our new friends and saying goodbye until next year. I still talk to most of my friends online. I can't wait to see them again next year and I know they all feel that way too. So yes, I am definitely going back next year and I hope that writing this has convinced some other people to go too. So, if you have any interest at all in this please come. I promise you will have the time of your life.