For the last year, I have been so excited for the release of the new Confirmation Series by Ascension Press called Chosen.
I’m always honored to work with or be a part of a Catholic ministry that believes in and promotes the quality of its resources. Having been involved in youth ministry as a teenager, a volunteer, a youth minister, and now a full-time traveling speaker/worship leader, I have come across a lot (and I mean a LOT) of programs and resources that think that graphics and video techniques from the 1980s are “current.” It’s always disheartening when the content is great, but the way it’s expressed is embarrassing.
However, it’s always very refreshing whenever I encounter different Catholic ministries that finally “get it” and have people making good art with media specifically geared towards youth ministry and confirmation programs.
That’s why when Ascension Press asked me to be a co-host for the new Confirmation program Chosen I was more than happy to say, “Yes!” Not only have I used many of Ascension Press’s resources in the past, but I have worked closely with many of the people involved in Chosen and was excited at the prospect of quality resources for Confirmation programs that are faithful to the teachings of the Church.
As a co-host I experienced a lot of great moments filming Chosen. As always, it was a delight to interact with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia while interviewing them at their Motherhouse in Nashville, TN. In Times Square in New York City and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, I got to meet a lot of interesting characters (literally–people dressed up as Superman and Spongebob Squarepants) and tourists with whom we stopped for impromptu interviews about their views on God, life, happiness, etc. While doing a shoot for a talk on marriage, I got to try on multiple wedding dresses (a girl’s dream!), which was appropriate with my upcoming wedding right around the corner.
And one of my favorite and funniest moments of shooting for Chosen came with filming an introduction for a session on sin. Since the word “sin” means “to miss the mark,” we had Chris Cope (Director of Marketing for Ascension Press) get out his bow and arrow and intentionally miss the mark on the bullseye while I was introducing the theme of the session. When that was done, they wanted to get a shot of Chris actually hitting the bullseye. I really wanted to try shooting the arrow, since the last time I held a bow and arrow was in 7th grade P.E. where I was an avid archer (yeah, right). After about 10 tries from Chris to hit the bullseye with no avail, I thought it would be a good idea to give him a break and ask if I could try. I was the only girl amidst 6 guys and they all kind of laughed at the thought of Jackie attempting to be Katniss 2.0. I guess these guys didn’t know that I have an odd and random history of beating guys at foosball, a game of H.O.R.S.E., or pool when they least expect it.
So, here’s what happened next and the rest is history!
To check out the new Confirmation Program Chosen, go to their website, ConfirmationStudy.com.
