‘Warriors for Christ’: Conference participants moved to take its message home

Jim Dickey, third from left, and his two sons, Connor and Jordan, laugh during a talk given by Father Larry Richards during the fifth annual Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference on Oct. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Dickey, an organizer of the conference, and his family are members of St. Louis Parish in Batesville. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

“The Holy Spirit is swimming in this room.”

That is how an enthused Jim Dickey described the 2010 Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference held on Oct. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Dickey, a member of St. Louis Parish in Batesville and an organizer of the fifth annual conference, was excited after listening to initial keynote speaker Curtis Martin’s presentation. (Related story: Conference speakers exhort participants to be men of prayer)

The Holy Spirit may have been at work long before the conference began at 8:30 that morning.

Consider that eight men from Evansville, Ind., met at 3:30 a.m. to carpool to Indianapolis for the event.

Tom Quick, a member of Good Shepherd Parish in Evansville in the Evansville Diocese, was part of the group. He was impressed by seeing the approximately 700 men from Indiana and surrounding states who joined him at the conference.

“It’s an indication that there’s something on the move,” Quick said. “The Holy Spirit is around and getting everyone involved to start taking on the battle in the current culture that we’re living in.”

This was Quick’s first year attending the conference. He expected that the ride home would be as significant as the speeches at the gathering because it would give ample time for him and the other men in the car to discuss how they would like to change their lives based on what they heard.

Chad Grube, a second-year conference participant from St. Patrick Parish in Kokomo, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, confirmed the importance of discussion during that drive time.

“Having done it for a couple of years, the most important part is the drive down and the drive back,” Grube said. “Being with other guys, you’re going to start talking about it, how we’re going to live, how we’re going to take ownership of it back in our parish.”

The home and the workplace are also places to take ownership of what is said at the conference, according to Dickey.

“You leave with an inner peace and a truth that this relationship [with Christ] is real,” he said. “Then, all of a sudden, you become, in my case, a better husband, a better father and a better co-worker.”

Dickey’s 14-year-old son, Jordan, a freshman at Batesville High School, attended the conference and confirmed the changes that he has seen in his father.

“He’s become more Catholic and gotten me more into my faith,” Jordan said. “He’s been nicer and led me on the right path instead of just letting me go wherever.”

Talks given by the conference speakers weren’t the only means for participants to grow in their faith. Confession was available throughout the daylong gathering. Mass was celebrated, and space was set aside for eucharistic adoration throughout the day. And the conference ended with solemn Benediction.

Conference-goers like Dickey, Grube and Quick are middle-aged husbands and fathers. Others are young adults.

Mike McCarthy and a group of students from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis came to the conference with Father Rick Nagel, the chaplain at IUPUI.

“It’s been amazing,” said McCarthy, 25, a senior at IUPUI. “I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to come in the beginning. But the speakers have been amazing. It’s just kind of set me on fire. It’s just inspiring to see men get up and not be afraid to speak about their faith.”

Other men at the conference, while already husbands and fathers, are new to the Catholic faith.

One of them is Carlos Ortiz, a member of Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish in Fort Wayne, Ind., in the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, who was baptized during his parish’s Easter Vigil last spring.

“I can’t wait to go back to tell how powerful it is to be here with hundreds and hundreds of men to say the Our Father all at once,” said Ortiz, 40, after the conference Mass. “It’s like being in the presence of warriors for Christ.”

Greg Sorvig, who is participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis and hopes to be received into the full communion of the Church next spring, also attended the conference.

“It’s easy to be consumed by the culture,” said Sorvig, 26. “People are always pulling you in different directions. There’s always an excuse to not worship or continue in the faith. But this is one of those experiences in a big community where you can really strengthen yourself.”

Ron Freyer, a member of St. Louis Parish in Batesville and a deacon candidate for the archdiocese, has attended nearly all of the men’s conferences. He thinks they can have a discernible positive impact on the participants.

“It can be an extremely important time as long as they take Jesus into their heart, listen to this stuff and take it home with them,” Freyer said. “It’s not a pep rally. You’ve got to go out and do what you need to do, and open your heart to what God wants you to do.” †