Young people during a time of praise and worship while attending a Lifeline event in 2018 at the NET Center in West St. Paul.

Young people during a time of praise and worship while attending a Lifeline event in 2018 at the NET Center in West St. Paul. COURTESY NET MINISTRIES

A popular event for high school students in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis returns Nov. 5. Suspended during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lifeline restarts at NET Ministries’ headquarters in West St. Paul with its format of Mass, contemporary praise and worship, a talk geared toward young people and their faith, and a time for eucharistic adoration to process topics discussed.

New this year is partnering with the archdiocese, said Mark Berchem, founder and president of NET Ministries. The archdiocese is helping with funding (attendees pay no fee) and planning, utilizing its Office of Marriage, Family and Life. The archdiocese’s Office of Latino Ministry also will assist, especially with NET now offering sessions for Spanish speakers as well as English, which requires guidance on aspects such as music and speakers, Berchem said.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who will celebrate the Mass Nov. 5, said he was “thrilled by the archdiocese’s new collaboration with NET ministries that made possible the return of dynamic and faith-filled outreach to the young people of our archdiocese.”

ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH DAY

NET Ministries will lead the coordination of Archdiocesan Youth Day going forward, previously organized by the archdiocese’s Office of Marriage, Family and Life. But it will be a partnership between NET and the archdiocese, using gifts from both to serve the archdiocese “the best way we can,” said Bill Dill, marriage preparation and youth ministry events coordinator at OMFL.

The next AYD will be April 29 at NET Ministries in West St. Paul.

“We’re really excited to do AYD with NET Ministries,” Dill said. “They’ve been doing large events for years, and it just fits so well in their wheelhouse with their gifts and assets.”

NET has a long history of working with the archdiocese to provide evangelistic youth events, including AYD, said David Rinaldi, vice president of mission for NET Ministries, who served as emcee for the first three AYDs. NET missionaries, staff and alumni served in many ways over the years: performing dramas, sharing testimonies, leading music “and volunteering for all sorts of behind-the-scenes tasks,” he said.

“We’re excited to continue partnering with the archdiocese and welcome people to our newly expanded NET Center,” Rinaldi said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for young people to spend the day with our archbishop praying, learning and having fun.”

Nearly 2,000 young people gathered at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis Sept. 15, 2012, for the first Archdiocesan Youth Day. In addition to a candlelit adoration procession, they listened to speakers, attended Mass, received the sacrament of reconciliation and listened to music.

“Knowing that NET’s programming has long been transformative for many young Catholics in our area, I look forward to the opportunity to partner with NET as we strive to respond to the needs expressed so clearly in the three years of our Synod process,” Archbishop Hebda said. “In many ways, this new partnership will be the first fruits of our Synod.”

West St. Paul-based NET Ministries is named for its national evangelization teams. Founded in the archdiocese in 1981, teams of Catholics ages 18-28 spend nine months traveling to 100 dioceses across the U.S. each school year to conduct youth retreats, drawing more than 100,000 youths annually before the pandemic.

Lifeline’s main goals are awakening faith and giving attendees a sense of belonging as members of a larger community in the archdiocese, Berchem said.

“All good youth ministry programs have a balance of ‘momentum events’ and what I would call small group discipleship,” Berchem said. It’s difficult for one parish to host events with large numbers where “young people can see that ‘it’s not just me that believes’” while being inspired by uplifting music, liturgy that reaches at the heart of what they are wrestling with and quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament, Berchem said.

For more information and to register for Lifeline, visit netusa.org/lifeline.

LIFELINE EVENTS

Nov. 5
Mercy first: Encountering God’s love in the sacraments
Speaker: Ali Hoffman, served with NET Ministries

Jan. 7
Wonder of prayer: Encountering God’s love in prayer
Speaker: Tanner Kalina, speaker at FOCUS Summer Projects, NET Ministries

March 4
Joy in community: Encountering God’s love in community
Speaker: Pat Millea, Martin Center for Integration

April 1
Called for freedom: Encountering God’s love in service
Speaker: Ian McCoy, NET Ministries

Lifeline Latinamente

Dec. 2
In Spanish and English, Mercy first: Encountering God’s love in the sacraments
Speaker: Kiki Rocha, “Latina coach”

Feb. 3
In Spanish and English, Joy in community: Encountering God’s love in community
Speaker: Alex Gotay, author, speaker at Catholic youth conferences