Ignite Your Faith (Igni!)

What an amazing, energetic, prayerful, fun, and inspiring weekend we had with the Diocese of Belleville this weekend. Oddwalk had the opportunity to serve in a variety of roles as part of Belleville’s Diocesan Youth Conference. I was invited, along with Ann Nicholson, to be one of the animators of the weekend. In this role, I served as a co-emcee and helped to move the weekend along through announcements and prayer. This was a lot of fun! From joking around with the band, to announcing the “pick-a-prize” winners, to commenting on the ill-fated “theme”banner,(“Ignite Your Faith” became “Igni”), it really was a great time.

Orin joined me on Sunday and we had the chance to serve as presenters for the morning Keynote session. What an incredible experience! Joined by members of Karl Zimmerman’s house band, Orin and I did a 45-minute set of songs like “Matilda the Gorilla” and “Just Because You Can”, as well as new songs like “Get it Together” and “Let the Children Come To Me”. The band and the teens were rocking! Orin and I felt really good about the set and, since we recorded it, plan to use parts of it for an upcoming part live/part studio CD due out in the fall. This experience was especially wonderful for me because I grew up in the Belleville Diocese and attended this conference each spring.

Thanks to all who made this weekend a special one for us. Thanks especially to Colette Kennett, Susan Knapp, the DYMAC team, and all of the many volunteers involved in the conference. We look forward to spending more time in the Belleville Diocese in the future.

-Shannon