Sharing the vision: Fr. Bernard Youth Center celebrates fifth anniversary

By Steve Ritchie

The Fr. Bernard Youth Center in Mount Angel, which celebrated its fifth anniversary last month, is a great example of a vision becoming reality.

Dedicated with a “Mass of Blessing” on Jan. 17, 2006, the Fr. Bernard Youth Center was the dream of Fr. Bernard Sander, OSB, a monk of Mount Angel Abbey who served for decades as an administrator at Mount Angel Seminary and a guest master at the Abbey Retreat House. A friendly, deeply spiritual man, Fr. Bernard was well known for his outreach to young people.

Tony Morris, a former Mount Angel contractor who became the first director of the Youth Center, was the key mover in making Fr. Bernard’s vision a reality, and oversaw the major renovation of the center’s building prior to the 2006 opening.

Before his death in 2008, Fr. Bernard said the Youth Center named after him “is a place to welcome youth . . . a place where youth can come to know each other and learn how they can live their human lives and their faith lives more fully.”

For many people, the Fr. Bernard Youth Center was an answer to prayer, a place where young people could deepen their faith and find, through prayer, reconciliation and mentoring, a spiritual path to follow in their lives.

Many of those closely associated with the center believe it is fulfilling that promise. “Just seeing it take off is exciting for me,” Morris said. “It is confirmation that it’s the Holy Spirit who is pushing this.”  He said it was inspiring the youth center took shape “in the midst of a dark time” for the church, when there was a preponderance of negative news about sexual abuse allegations and lawsuits, and he sees it as “an example of light overcoming darkness.”

Morris is now a pastoral associate at St. Mary Church in Mount Angel.

Fred Vandecoevering, who is in his fourth year as the center’s board president, said, “I have really enjoyed seeing the progress that has been made. It is wonderful to impact youth in a positive way by having them reflect on their life and faith. There are few places like this.”

Both Morris and Vandecoevering credited the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel for providing the former Mount Angel Commons building (Casey Commons) to house the Youth Center.

“Without that building we just couldn’t have gotten it going,” Morris said. Vandecoevering said the Sisters provided the building rent-free for more than two years, and continue to hold the rent to a level the center can afford.

While the Youth Center provides a wide variety of programs aimed at youth and young adults, ages 16-38, one of its major functions is hosting confirmation preparation retreats for young people from parishes statewide. Usually, these are held over a weekend, and those attending stay in Marmion Hall, a former college dorm directly across the street from the Youth Center.

Don Robison, who has worked at the center since November 2007, became director when Morris stepped down in May 2008.

Robison’s background in management and marketing – he spent 13 years with the Oregon Lottery and oversaw its video lottery program – has been instrumental in keeping the center afloat during the difficult economic climate of the past three years.

“Our budget got smaller while the demand for our services increased,” Robison said. “When I started in 2007, FBYC had on staff the equivalent of 4.7 full-time employees. We reduced staffing several times to as few as 1.7 employees, and only recently have returned to a more realistic number of approximately 2.7 employees. Donor donations have reduced, but we are asking greater numbers of people to provide monthly support . . . We plan to be here for so long as God desires us to be.”

Fred Vandecoevering said Robison’s commitment and dedication, along with his professional skills, have been invaluable for the center during this trying period.

“I can’t say enough about Don Robison. He has made a lot of sacrifices to keep the center going.”
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Fr. Bernard Youth Center operates under the governance of its board of directors and is not formally a part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.

But Catholic youth ministers across Oregon have come to rely on the center, and know its importance to Catholic youth. Morris and Vandecoevering are hopeful that the Archdiocese will be able to provide more financial support to the Fr. Bernard Youth Center in the future.

While recognizing the Archdiocese has its own financial challenges, Vandecoevering says, “We would like to see the Archdiocese step forward in the future. Archbishop (John) Vlazny has been nothing but supportive.”

Morris said he believes that the new fund drive undertaken by the Archdiocese may eventually result in more support going to youth ministry and the Youth Center.

Regardless of the financial challenges, Robison takes heart from a large box of notes that he keeps in his office. Written by young people who have come to the center over the past few years, Robison says the notes describe “what this place means to them and how it impacted them. Some say they will look for opportunities to serve others.

“Others say they will treat people with mental or physical differences more positively.

“Others have said they feel closer to God and will place Him first in their lives.”

Fr. Bernard would no doubt be smiling at such insight.