Spirit Day 2021 was nothing less than a feat of technology and organizational skill as nearly 1,500 Grade 7 students successfully navigated a day of entertainment, activities, and spiritual reflection together without ever gathering in the same room.
It was the first time that confirmation-year students “weren’t able to gather as a whole,” said Faye McCreedy, one of the Spirit Day organizers for the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
Spirit Day was launched in Vancouver in 2005 as an annual celebration to get children aged 12 and 13 excited about the sacrament of confirmation and is considered one of the largest annual gatherings of Catholic youth in Canada. But due to severe restrictions on public events due to COVID this year, Spirit Day had to be entirely re-thought.
“The theme of Spirit Day this year was “Connected as One,” said McCreedy. “In this time of pandemic, not being able to connect with community at the parishes at Sunday Masses, youth ministry gatherings, etc., we have to remember that we are still connected as a church.”
Instead of renting a large venue to accommodate nearly 2,000 youths and chaperones, several dozen volunteers worked to establish satellite sites at schools across the archdiocese (where students could safely gather with their “cohorts”), maintain COVID safety protocols, and deliver themed T-shirts to all participants, including students who would tune in live from home.
Spirit Day went ahead April 24 with pre-recorded skits, streamed entertainment from APeX Ministries, a live address from Archbishop J. Michael Miller, and adoration streamed from the Chapel of the Annunciation at the St. John Paul II Pastoral Centre. Nearly 1,500 young people tuned in from Abbotsford to Powell River.
“We pray for each other while we are apart, and most importantly, even though we are not currently attending Masses as we had in the past, we are still very much rooted and connected in the Blessed Sacrament,” said McCreedy.
“It is through the Body of Christ that we can find comfort, hope, and community.”
