LYNNWOOD – After a nearly three-year hiatus because of the pandemic, some 200 youth from 24 parishes gathered for the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Convention, “Generation of Hope.”

“A big takeaway is simply being more optimistic about the future amidst all the challenges we’re facing,” said Silas Klontz, a teen from St. Mary Star of the Sea in Port Townsend who attended the Nov. 12-13 event at the Lynwood Convention Center.

Father Chad Hill, parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish in Seattle, and Aires Patulot, campus ministry director at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, were the convention hosts, opening the weekend with a reminder that hope is grounded in Christ. They encouraged attendees to be attentive through all the convention’s presentations for ways to grow in hope — while seeing themselves as a generation of hope now.

Father Chad Hill, left, parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish in Seattle, and Aires Patulot, campus ministry director at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, were hosts for the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Convention, “Generation of Hope,” Nov. 12-13 in Lynnwood. (Stephen Brashear)

One way of growing in hope was simply being with so many other Catholic youth.

For Klontz, it was “refreshing to see the Catholic community, especially when there’s not many Christians or Catholics at my school.”

Annie Nieto Bailey gave a presentation, “Protagonists of Change,” about her experiences working for Catholic Relief Services and ways that high schoolers can be involved in living their faith. Topics for break-out sessions included “Power Living: Unlock Your God-given Gifts,” “Care for Creation: Environmental Activism 101” and “Catholic Lifesavers Corps,” a suicide prevention program for teens.

“I learned … how you could do a lot in serving the world even when you only have a little bit to offer,” said Lindsay Chau, a member of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society at St. Michael Parish in Olympia.

Listening to Bianca Obilio’s talk about the Catholic Lifesaver Corps and being present to those struggling with suicidal thoughts, Chau said she was struck by how simple it is to help, “which still takes time and energy, but can have a huge impact on someone’s life.”

Kimberly Abadir, the archdiocese’s new director of youth ministry services, said parish youth programs “have faced some real challenges around starting again after COVID — needing to scale back at first while also trying to find volunteers at times.”

Nonetheless, “I’m optimistic as we return to normal life that we’re already seeing renewed opportunities to hope,” Abadir said, noting the time youth spent in adoration Saturday evening and “how many of the youth spontaneously lined up for confessions.”

Time for eucharistic adoration was included during the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Convention Nov. 12-13 in Lynnwood. (Stephen Brashear)

Adult volunteers attending the convention also found reason for hope.

Peter Aulaumea from Holy Family Parish in Auburn said he appreciated the chance to share in adoration with the youth and have an opportunity to go to confession.

“It was a touching moment for me,” Aulaumea said. “The youth are helping me grow closer to the Lord,” much like St. Benedict described “the youngest monk having words of wisdom and an innocent way of living that can help the more experienced monks.”

The convention concluded with Mass and a renewed encouragement for the youth to ground their hope in Christ and ask the Lord “What’s next?” for their vocations as well as for the upcoming week.

Nile van Straaten of Holy Cross Parish in Lake Stevens was asked how she would describe hope after a weekend of encouragement and reflection.

“I would say hope is determination, but I would rather call it trusting in God,” van Straaten said. “For me, trusting in God can be hard at times because it’s something I struggle with, and others do too.  But we need to realize that God wants the best for us, that he has the best path for us.”