Steubenville on the Bayou is June 27-29 The ninth annual Steubenville on the Bayou Catholic Youth Conference will be held June 27-29 at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. It is a spiritual weekend of prayer, praise and reflection for youth in grades 8-12. This year’s theme is “God is,” based on Isaiah 12:2: “God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. For the LORD is my strength and my might, and he has been my salvation.” The conference is co-sponsored by the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and the diocesan Conference Office. Steubenville on the Bayou is one of 18 conferences held throughout North America. More than 40,000
teens are expected to attend one of these conferences this summer. Through adoration, Mass, the sacrament of reconciliation, praise and worship, and teachings, the various needs of each youth participant are met on a spiritual level. A ministry team consisting of Ennie Hickman, Paul George, Sarah Swafford, Sister Miriam Heidland and Father Leo Patalinghug helps to provide participants with these opportunities. Worship music will be led by More than Sunday. Bishop Shelton J. Fabre will preside over Mass and Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs will lead adoration. “It is an incredible, spirit-filled weekend where you can encounter God and meet others who hold the
same beliefs and values. It is also a fun weekend with lots of praise and worship music and great dynamic talks,” says Shawn Lapeyrouse, diocesan conference director. Youth must attend the conference with a group. Those who are interested should contact their parish youth minister. Adults can attend with a group or they can also volunteer for the conference in one of the many volunteer areas. For more information about the conference, visit www. SteubenvilleOnTheBayou.com, www.steubenvilleconferences. com, like us on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/SteubieBayou or follow us on Twitter @ SteubieBayou.
Donate gently-worn shoes for poor This year Steubenville on the Bayou is teaming up with Funds2Orgs for our Share the Glory project. Funds2Orgs partners with organizations to collect unwanted pairs of shoes and deliver them to developing nations where they are repurposed, creating micro-enterprise opportunities (a small business with minimal employees and minimal capital). In a developing country, necessity compels microenterprises to represent the vast majority of the small business sector. Due to a lack of formal jobs and training available to the poor, micro-enterprises add value to the economy by creating micro-jobs, enhancing income and lowering the overall cost of business. In a nutshell it works like this: groups collect shoes, Funds2Orgs sends them to hub operators in developing nations, then sells the collected items to vendors in developing countries who clean and repair the items and begin selling for a profit margin! What are we asking from each group attending the conference? Collect bags of gently worn pairs of shoes and bring them to the conference. We strongly encourage you to have each participant work on collecting
an entire bag of shoes! How is this incorporated into the conference? On Saturday, we ask that each group participate in the service project during their designated times. The participants will assist us in packaging the shoes for shipment. This allows the participants to have a handson experience in helping the developing countries who are in need of the shoes. Funds2Orgs will send a truck to pick up the packaged shoes. What is Funds2Orgs’ role? In developing countries, families that receive items from Funds2Orgs are families who have little to
no income or livelihood. These items, and their ability to be resold, represent micro-enterprise opportunities. In many cases, it is 23 the only possibility for true selfsustainability. What about the funds received by SOTB? A large portion of the funds that Steubenville on the Bayou receives as a result of the collection of the shoes will go to a charity of the conference participants’ choice. Participants can vote for the winning charity by visiting the “Share the Glory” page on www.SteubenvilleOnTheBayou. com.
The diocesan Conference Office will be offering two retreats in the month of July. The Woman of God Retreat will be held Saturday, July 12 at the diocesan Pastoral Center Conference Hall on Highway 311 in Schriever. Early registration is $24 per person and includes meals. Speakers are Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs and Friar Antonio. All women over 18 years of age are invited. The Man of God Retreat will
be held Saturday, July 26 at the diocesan Pastoral Center Conference Hall. Early registration is $24 per person and includes meals. Speakers are Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs and Friar Antonio. All men over 18 years of age are invited. Online registration is available by visiting www.htconferences.org. For more information about either of these retreats or to register by phone, call (985)850-3171.
Men, women retreats set
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