Fall Youth Day is Sept. 29

Intermountain Catholic

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Fall Youth Day has been a tradition in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. IC file photo

SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic social teaching will combine with kickball during Fall Youth Day.

The annual event, scheduled this year for Sept. 29, "will be another opportunity for us to gather as our young Catholic community in Utah," said Samantha Almanza, the diocesan director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

Almanza sees the event as continuing the relationships built last month at the diocesan World Youth Day. "At the end of the day, they were exchanging phone numbers, wanting to meet up, encouraging … the adult leaders to plan an activity with another parish that they had really bonded with," she said.

The morning of the Fall Youth Day will be spent in a retreat focused on the social mission of the Catholic Church, conducted by Anna Huth from Catholic Relief Services.

The topic carries over the theme from the Diocesan Pastoral Congress, scheduled for the day before the youth event. The theme for the Congress is the New Evangelization.

"It’s important to know that our actions and our relations with people – how we treat people – is the New Evangelization," Almanza said.

Mass and lunch will follow the retreat; the afternoon will be devoted to a kickball tournament.

Youth are invited to spend the day learning more about their faith, building new friendships and "just to get out on a Sunday and enjoy themselves," Almanza said.

Cost for the Fall Youth Day is $5, which includes lunch and a T-shirt. The day, Sept. 29, starts with check-in at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. All activities will be at the Skaggs Catholic Center, 300 East 11800 South in Draper.

Pre-registration is required by Sept. 23. Contact Almanza at 801-328-8641 ext. 313 or samantha.almanza@dioslc.org.