‘Alive in You’ develops mind, body and spirit

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 08.01.08

From left, Angel Ortiz, youth ministry coordinator, Jason Piccolo, Adam Curry, Kyle Snethen, Maria Bailey and Nicole LeGros, all of Blessed Trinity Parish in Orlando, pose for a photo while painting the exterior of one of the 48 houses refurbished during their Alive in You Catholic Conference and Service Camp trip to Pahokee.
Courtesy of Angel Ortiz

CASSELBERRY | Jim Weir is the youth ministry director at St. Augustine Parish here. He and his wife, Heather, recognized the need for an experience for teens that balanced work, Catholic spirituality and education with community building and leadership skills. They developed the Alive in You Catholic Conference and Service Camp.

“Our call as Catholics is to serve,” Jim Weir said. “We watch the transformation of the teens as they are serving the needs of others. We help them process the service experience. It finally clicks, and when they return home it’s a way of life.”

The first camps in the summer of 2006 followed Hurricane Katrina into Louisiana to assist in the restoration efforts. The program has grown each year and for the summer of 2008, 1,000 teens are involved in camps in Appleton, Wis., assisting the victims of the recent floods; Chattanooga, Tenn.; New Orleans; and Pahokee.

“On the first day, the teens are looking around wondering, ‘What’s going to happen?’ By the second day they’re open, they’re excited, they’re filled with the Holy Spirit and by the end of the week, they’re on fire. They’re ready to go out and serve, to bring it home and share with their families and friends. They’re spiritually fed,” said Heather Weir.

For more information, visit the Web site www.aliveinyou.com or call 407-574-7396.

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