“Called”

NCYC 2017- Indianapolis

Dear Friends,

We’re returning to Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), where the theme this time is “Called.” NCYC is a biennial celebration of the young Church, bringing together more than 23,000 Catholic youth from across the nation, and the next conference will be held November 16-19, 2017. The days are packed with incredible speakers, powerful prayer and worship experiences, along with countless ways to meet and have fun with other young Catholics. We hope you’ll join us in 2017!

This memo includes important details about NCYC 2017! Please read it carefully, and don’t hesitate to contact me with questions.

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What is NCYC and Who Is it For?

The National Catholic Youth Conference welcomes youth in grades 9-12 (those who are in 8-11 are encouraged to attend.) It is sponsored by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). NCYC is many great things rolled into one, including:

  • Nationally Recognized Speakers offering keynotes and concurrent sessions covering many topics for Catholic youth and adults. The 2017 MC and speakers/performers will be announced soon, but they are always top notch.
  • Powerful Prayer and liturgy experiences by and for young people.
  • Catholic Musicians, bands and concerts each day and evening.
  • Thematic Park- a festival village where you can get creative, play group games, listen to live bands and comedians, eat, buy cool Catholic stuff you won’t find anywhere else, surf the internet, eat some more, learn lots about Catholic colleges
    and service opportunities, and hang out with 23,000+ of your closestfriends.
  • A Cool Venue- Lucas Oil Stadium is home to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and adjoins a beautiful convention center.

Thematic Park/Exhibits

The thematic park is a unique NCYC programming element. The park provides participants an opportunity to explore their faith interactively. The park includes traditional exhibit booths, where companies and organizations provide information and resources about their ministries, interspersed with interactive venues that include creative projects,

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prayer experiences, and a variety of service opportunities. The park also features a coffee house for participants to sit back, relax, and enjoy the music and ministry of various Catholic artists.

Experience NCYC!! Great 2017promotional videos and the conference theme song, along with past St. Anthony NCYC pictures can be found
on the SaintAnthony Youth Ministry Facebook page. “Like us”, then check it out!! The Saint Anthony photos of previous NCYC experiences illustrate how awesome it is. Just dig into the site’s photo archives and you will see hundreds. Google NCYC….

NCYC also is a pilgrimage of Faith- Long before we hit the road for Indianapolis, parishes are asked to prepare their young people and adults to attend this event by gathering the youth together on a regular basis and leading them in prayer, reflection, service and community building experiences in addition to the fund-raising events the group undertakes.

What does NCYC as a pilgrimage experience mean?

Attending NCYC is more than just a vacation; it can be a life-changing experience. The goals of a pilgrimage, especially for youth, should reflect the general goals for youth ministry found in Renewing the Vision. As a reminder, those goals are:

  • To draw people into responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the faith community.
  • To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
  • To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

Why attend the NCYC?

Youth and their adult chaperones attend NCYC because they want to:

  • Gather together with other Catholic youth on a national level;
  • Learn more about themselves and their relationship to God, and the Catholic Church;
  • Celebrate their Catholic faith;
  • Meet thousands of other Catholic youth;
  • Share beliefs and experiences;
  • Recognize their role in the life of the Catholic Church

Please make sure that any youth or adult committing to this pilgrimage must abide by the NCYC Code of Conduct (copies of Code is attached). See more about behavior expectations below.

Dates: November16–19.

  • The interactive park opens on Thursday at noon, Nov. 16, and the opening session begins at 8:00pm.
  • The closing liturgy ends at 10:00pm on Saturday, Nov.18.
  • There are no Sunday activities. We will be leaving Indianapolis Sunday morning, Nov. 19, and will return around 12:00pm.

Lodging:

SAS will be staying at the J.W.Marriott, directly adjacent to the Convention Center.

  • Youth will be housed four to a room in two-bedded rooms.

Travel:

We will be taking buses and will likely bus with other deanery schools.

  • Estimated at $50.00 per person

Food:

The Men’s Club has provided our breakfast items, and hopefully that will occur again for NCYC 2017. We will include lunches/dinner in our final cost. Average per meal is $20. Kiddo’s can bring $ for personal use (snacks, purchase memorabilia).

Conference Package:

  • $550.00 per person (round about)Thursday night till Sunday.

Conference:$255

Hotel: $144

Transportation: $50

Food: lunches/dinner:$80

Trade Items: Shirt/hat/few other items: $50

Trade Items:

Trading items are a great way to meet participants from across the nation. We will provide a few items, but feel free to make/purchase some “trade” items yourself. We will create a t-shirt that we will have printed for those who attend NCYC.

Being a participant at NCYC is a very eventful time, but there are also a couple of other opportunities at NCYC, but you must apply and be selected.

1. NCYC YOUTH ANIMATOR. The Youth Animator Program is for young people with high energy and enthusiasm who also possess good public speaking skills, vocal music ability, and some rhythm. Youth animators take lead roles in general session programming by leading prayer, song, and movement from the main stage in the stadium. All youth selected to be animators will be asked to sing and perform basic dance steps and ritual movement whether or not it is their primary area of ministry. For eligibility and requirements, contact the OYYAM.

2. NCYC YOUTH AMBASSADOR. The Youth Ambassador program is for young people with good public speaking skills, and/or leadership abilities. They do not need any previous experience, but should be comfortable with the possibility of speaking in front of large groups. Ambassadors welcome other participants to mega workshops, determine if/when a room has reached its capacity, introduce and thank warm up artists (mega workshops) and speakers (mega and regular workshops), lead prayer, and introduce the evaluation process. More information forthcoming.

Chaperones:

They are expected to abide by and enforce NCYC and diocesan rules. This includes Safe and SacredTraining and a criminal background check.

We will offer in-person meeting with the chaperones prior to our pilgrimage to Indianapolis.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at r call (812)282-2290.

Many Blessings,

Stacy Gillenwater, Coordinator for Youth Ministry