SOMETHING NEW FOR THE SOUL

XLT New service lets teens and young adults lift their hands, voices, hearts

Our Town

Janurary 2008

By  Mary Owen

Area teens and young adults are coming together to praise, worship and adore Jesus with a renewed intensity, thanks to a unique ministry.

"XLT (Exalt) brings young people together to also hear some preaching and testimony," said Carolyn Trumble, the director of retreats and evangelization for the Fr. Bernard Youth Center. "Adoration has been a form of prayer in our church for a long, long time. XLT just brings it up to speed a little bit."

The special service at FBYC began in November with some 50 young adults, ages 16-38, on hand for a "fun-filled evening" at the center in Mt. Angel.

"I personally have been a youth minister for a long time," Trumble said. "I've been trying to do this in our parish for about five years, and (the worship) was OK, but it has really snapped into place here. It's wonderful!"

The program began in Mesa, Ariz., under the leadership of youth minister Paul George, who has been in the trenches of youth ministry for more than a decade and knew teens needed to grow in understanding and appreciation for the Eucharist, a primary part of the Catholic faith. To fulfill that need, he put together an outreach that offered participants a chance to experience Christ in a new and exciting way.

XLT is now an integral part of Life Teen, an international Catholic movement that serves the Catholic Church by providing resources and faith experiences that help lead teens closer to Christ, accomplished through "a vibrant Eucharistic spirituality," according to the website.

Life Teen started out as a youth group at St. Timothy's in Mesa, Ariz. and has grown into the most prolific youth ministry in the Catholic Church, according to the organization's leadership. Today, more than 1,000 programs stretch around the globe in 20 countries, reaching more than 120,000 who attend a Life Teen Mass.

FBYC "just kind of copied" what the Arizona team was doing, Trumble said.

"It's really a life-giving ministry that young people are really drawn to, and youth pastors are very excited about it," she said. "It gives them a real tangible way to pray. The feelings they get when they sing and experience adoration is really powerful. It really touches their hearts."

Trumble said, much like the FIRE movement that swept the Church in the 1980s, XLT offers Catholics a new way worship.

"Not everybody is used to clapping when they worship at our church, and we clap and raise our hands," Trumble said of the XLT service. "But we also have reflective time when we're quiet.

"Some people like the quiet, some people like the dancing, clapping and singing," she added. "Everyone is welcome."