Back in

1985, a Catholic teenager deserted his parish church to

attend services at the church of another denomination,

must to his mother's dismay.

"I

hear you're going to another church," his parish

priest said. "Is it because of the pope?"

"No the youth replied, "I think the pope is a

very good man, very holy." The priest fished around

a little more and finally the reason came out. "In

all the time I've been going to church, no one has ever

said hello to me. No one has ever reached out, or said,

`Glad you're here.' I'm going to this other denomination

now, I don't even know what they believe, but every time

I go, someone says hi to me and someone says, `I'm glad

you're here,'" the youth said.

The story,

retold by Andy Costantine, Life Teen coordinator for Holy

Trinity Catholic Church, explains the reason behind the

development of the Life Teen program in Mesa, Ariz. by

the Rev. Dale Fushek. Today, there are more than 500 Life

Teen parishes around the world, each dedicated to

providing social, spiritual and educational opportunities

to Catholic teens through hospitality.

Life Teen

is an integral part of parish life at Holy Trinity in

Peachtree City and Saint Gabriel's in Fayetteville.

Centered on the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass on

Sunday evening, high school students join hands and

worship together to the upbeat sounds of the Life Teen

band. The Mass is usually followed by a meeting or

activity such as the recent Life Teen Olympics, tonight's

pot luck supper, or the all-day youth rally set for Sept.

12.

During the

week, members often attend midweek Mass, volunteer at the

Clothes Less Traveled Thrift Shop or engage in Bible

study; any way teens can stay connected to God and live a

life of faith.

Costantine

comes to Holy Trinity after serving seven years as a Life

Teen in a parish of comparable size in Baltimore, Md. His

route to a life in youth ministry has been an interesting

one. Born and raised in Baltimore, Costantine moved to

Tampa, Fla. in his middle school years and stayed in the

area through college, where he trained to be a chef.

"I

worked in a four-star resort with a crew of very elite

chefs. I apprenticed with them for four years. That

experience shaped me in a big way, especially in the ways

that I work now. You learn to work as a team, and you

really have to discipline yourself and please

people," Costantine said. He claims church work is a

"piece of cake" compared to resort work, only

without all the available resources.

After a

brief period of agnosticism, Costantine experienced a big

turn-around and embraced his faith in a whole different

way. Eventually, he decided to dedicate his life to

"something more meaningful than flipping

hamburgers," and returned to school to earn a

master's degree in theology. Ministering to youth

appealed to him, and Life Teen has enabled him to

incorporate his hospitality skills as well as drawing out

his creativity.

So far,

Costantine has organized a shipwreck party, a one-night

Olympics, a summer retreat and a number of volleyball

games. He even allowed the Vacation Bible School teachers

to dress him as a smiling Veggie Tale cucumber.

But through

all the crazy antics, his goal is to reach as many teens

in the parish as possible. With 500 teens on church's

rolls, and 50 or more regular Life Teen members, he has

his work cut out for him.

"All

events are by invitation. My job is to keep them informed

about what is going on and allow them to socialize

together as Christians," Costantine said.

For

information about Life Teen, phone the religious

education office at Holy Trinity at 770-487-0175.

<!--

-----------