By Katherine Long | Editor
If you’re looking for something to help boost your faith and the faith of your family, then the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry has just the evening of renewal for you.
The office will bring international Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick’s Reboot! Live! to the diocese in April, with events in New Hartford, Cicero and Vestal.
“If you’re not excited about living for the Lord, if it’s not driving you in all that you do… Chris’ talk will do that. It will act as a catalyst to renew — or reboot — your faith,” said director Bob Walters. And if there’s a friend or family member who you’ve wanted to invite to or back to the faith, this event is the one to invite him to, Walters added.
Reboot! Live! is the central event of Stefanick’s nonprofit mission, Real Life Catholic.
“The goal of everything we do is to repropose the beauty of the Gospel message to the world, and to talk about how to live it out in practical ways every day,” he told the Sun in a recent phone interview.
Reboot! events, held in parishes around the country nearly every week, combine talks by Stefanick with music from Jon Niven. The experience is designed to be multigenerational and to speak to everyone from to teens to grandparents.
“It’s far more effective for teens if their families are with them, and it’s far more for effective for adults if they see teens there getting engaged,” Stefanick said.
Long a youth speaker, Stefanick said he still loves talking to teens but seeing “the impact of a kid sitting next to a parent — I just don’t want to do it any other way.”
Stefanick said Reboot! attendees can expect a welcoming atmosphere, fun and humor, moving stories, and insight on “how faith can make everyday life more meaningful.”
“The Gospel message is delivered in a way that’s compelling. It’s as relevant as it was in 33 A.D.,” he said.
The Reboot! events will take the place of the annual regional youth rallies, which are moving to an every-other-year schedule, Walters said. These events will also mark the first time Stefanick has partnered with a diocese on Reboot!; the model usually sees Stefanick and his team work with individual parishes to host and promote the events. The model was modified to work with the diocese’s regions and parishes within those regions, Walters said, in order to best serve the parishes and pastoral care areas.
More than 900 youth across the diocese are already registered to attend the three events through their youth groups, Walters noted. (Youth groups who are interested in attending should contact the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry to make arrangements.)
Families and individuals are welcomed and encouraged to be part of these special intergenerational events.
Reboot! Live! will be held April 12 at St. John the Evangelist Church in New Hartford from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; April 13 at Sacred Heart Church in Cicero from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; and April 14 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Vestal from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $19 and available at reallifecatholic.com.
