September - St. Augustine Catholic

around
around the diocese
MARK UDRY
Linda Knight retired August 1 as
director of Youth Ministry for San
José Parish after 18 years of service.
Linda plans to spend more time with
her four grandchildren.
farewell San Jose’s
“Mom” Knight moves on
“It is with mixed emotions that I’m
leaving,” said Linda “Mom” Knight,
youth director of San Jose Parish in
Jacksonville. Active in parish activities
since joining San Jose in 1983, Linda was invited by
then-pastor Msgr. John Lenihan to attend a youth
ministry conference at Marywood Retreat Center
with the idea of creating a youth ministry program
at San Jose.
She became the full-time youth minister at the
parish in 1988. After teaching elementary school for
several years, and working as a volunteer at “Camp
I Am Special,” a camp for children with disabilities
sponsored by the diocese, Linda says she felt a real
calling to youth ministry. “I wanted to focus on one
thing, and I felt my gift was youth ministry,” she said.
Ten years ago Linda started an inner city
immersion retreat for teens – SPLUNGE – after reading about the program in a Catholic
newsletter and attending a similar retreat in Asheville, N.C. Hundreds of Catholic teens in
the diocese have since participated in the program, a week that causes a “paradigm shift” in
their awareness of poverty. Now Linda believes it’s time for her to move on. “Most of the youth
ministers in the diocese are young enough to be my children,” she said, laughing. “One has to
recognize when perhaps room should be made for someone younger.” Spoken like a true mom.
SPLUNGE: putting scripture into practice
A
group of 21 teens ranging in ages
from 15 to 19 tackled an array of
projects throughout downtown
Jacksonville as part of the annual
SPLUNGE (Special People Living a Uniquely
Nourishing Growthful Experience) retreat
from June 5-10. Following the motto “Living
simply so others can simply live,” the group
performed a variety of service projects
– sorting groceries at the Second Harvest
Food Bank, cleaning apartments at the
Morris Manor Senior Citizen Center, serving
lunch and entertaining kids at a community
recreation center – and visiting social service
agencies to learn how to better serve the
inner city poor population.
The group slept on cots in the basement
of Immaculate Conception Church in
downtown Jacksonville, eating only two
simple meals a day and showering only
twice that week. “We live the week in
solidarity with the people we’re trying to
serve,” said Kathy Yoakley, director of Youth
Ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Green
Cove Springs.
MARK UDRY
Chase Hawkinson, 15, of Sacred Heart
Parish in Green Cove Springs, puts relish on
the hot dog of a day camper at The Sanctuary
in downtown Jacksonville.
MARK UDRY
New CD completes
trilogy for “Rapping
Reverend”
Father Stan Fortuna, performs for a
group of teenagers during the 2006
Diocesan Youth Rallies held at St.
Catherine Parish in Orange Park.
“Father Stan Fortuna, a
professional musician and Franciscan
Friar from the South Bronx of New
York, was the featured speaker at the
Middle & Senior High Youth Rally at
St. Catherine Parish in February. His
latest CD, Sacro Song 3, debuted
in July and is a collection of 18
tracks inspired by Father Stan’s
life experiences. He uses popular
culture to reach a youth audience.
Songs include Hangin In There, a
tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims,
and Jesus Talks, a response to the
hip-hop hit Jesus Walks by Kanye
West.
“Sacro Song 3 offers hope and
empowers people to look upward,
to what I believe and know is a
better future,” said Father Stan. “The
power of love, regardless of musical
genre, can break any barrier, scale
any wall – it is stronger than death.”
For more information, or
to order Sacro Song 3, go to
www.francescoproductions.com.
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