A Colorful Black and White Ball ... Junior Volunteers welcome Bishop Victor Galeone to his first Catholic Charities Black and White Ball. The Junior Volunteers assisted the Ball Committee in making ‘The Harvest’ the most successful Ball to date raising over $150,000.00 for Catholic Charities to battle homelessness in Jacksonville. They are (l-r) standing- Rachel Lawlor, Amanda Fickling, Ashley Dumm, Katie Voss, Bishop Galeone, Roccio Pinto, Allison McKendree, Courtney Altes, Meredith Holland. Seated: Anna Hilderbrandt, Paige Quaritius, Elizabeth Maher, Kathleen Algire and Browen Keyes. Moved by the World Trade Center attack, Kate Alters, 14, and Ashley Sumner, 13, wrote and recorded a CD single, September 11th. It’s for sale on their website (http://expage.com/X2times two). Proceeds will be donated to a fund for kids whose parents were victims of the attack. They say the September 11th song is their way of expressing their feelings and appreciation towards the heroes and victims of our country and the world. Kate is an eighth-grader at St. Paul’s School, Jacksonville Beach. Ashley, who is home-schooled, is a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Jacksonville. The Drama Club of St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine brought the favorite Christmas season play, It’s A Wonderful Life, to the stage in mid-December. Club Sponsor Nancy Thelen says sales from club’s plays are used to offset expenses of students’ participation in district and state drama competitions where they will be judged on monologues and other aspects of the theater. Bringing the characters of Bedford Falls to life were actors (l-r) Bob Seifert, Patrick Keane and Cheryl Jerozel at the infamous Bailey Building and Loan Company. Kate Sims (center), a Bishop Kenny sophomore, recently attended Savannah 2000 and Beyond, a Eucharistic retreat for teens sponsored by the Diocese of Savannah’s Office of Vocations and Office of Youth Ministry. Presenters were from the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal from Bronx, N.Y., including two Bishop Kenny graduates. With Katie are BK alums, Emily Holtz, ’95, and Brother Gabriel, ’93. This past September, Emily entered the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal as a postulant. For information on the friars and sisters, visit the website: http://www.franciscanfriars.com Feb 8-10 - The Search Retreat for high school students 16 years and older will be held at YMCA Camp Immokalee in Keystone Heights. The cost is $40. Please contact the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at (904) 355-1100. Feb 10 – Deadline for Scouts to send in their applications for Scouting Religious Medals. Ceremony will be at 3 p.m., Cathedral-Basilica in St. Augustine. Call (904) 355-1100. Feb 15-16 - The Journey Retreat for 9th and 10th Grade Youth will be at Camp St. John's at Marywood. Linda Knight, Onie Lee and Sharone Tomore are leaders. The cost is $30. Please call Marywood at (904) 287-2525 for more information. March 16 - The St. Patrick's Day Soccer Shoot-Out will be at St. Monica's Church in Palatka. All Youth Ministries are invited to attend. Call St. Monica's at (904) 325-9777 for details. The National Catholic Youth Conference on Dec. 6-9 in Indianapolis drew almost 24,000 teens and chaperons. About 140 teens from the Diocese of Saint Augustine participated, said Peter Blay, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Nearly 20 members of the St. Matthew Parish Youth Group from Jacksonville attended. Jessy Rushing, a junior at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, said the presentation by Matthew Smith, a former cast member of MTV’s Real World, was inspiring. “It was good to see and hear a celebrity speak out about his Catholic faith,” Jessy said. A part of the conference was the 300-member Youth Congress on Vocations, where teen representatives from dioceses across the country spoke with bishops about vocations at small roundtable discussions. Cindy Castro, 17 and Matthew Sgroi, 18, of Holy Family Parish in Jacksonville represented our diocese. “We hadn’t really thought about marriage and single life as vocations,” said Cindy. Each said they came away with a deeper understanding of their own vocations. Meanwhile, there were many workshops to attend, Christian music groups to listen to, and large daily gatherings to join. “We really filled up the dome with song and praise,” said Matthew. “It was great being with that many kids knowing they all believe the same way you do.” Teens also came together for communal penance services and also for individual reconciliation and prayer. About 170 priests took turns hearing confessions on Dec. 7 and 8, and there were constant lines at most of the 32 penance stations. This report includes information from the Catholic News Service.