YOUTH MINISTRY OFFICE

Amidst all the busyness of our Youth Day weekend, I could have done without the 2 medical situations that occurred. The first took place on Friday afternoon, as I was driving our keynote speaker and worship leader Steve Angrisano from the airport to the hotel in anticipation of the big Youth Day youth rally that evening. We were having a great chat about family and I was in the middle of bragging about my family, in particular how caring, loving, and understanding my lovely wife Gail is. Then the phone rang. I recognized the number (and the personalized ring tone of Sean and Jake saying "Dad pick up the phone" repeatedly) and thus found it ironic that my family was calling just as I was talking about them.

"Hello?" I answered.

"YOUR BOYS ARE DRIVING ME NUTS!" the voice screamed from the other end, certainly loud enough for Steve to hear. In fact, I was certain that the people in the car beside me heard it as well...and my windows were closed!

"What happened?" I asked nervously, not sure if I actually wanted to know the answer. Any time that Gail uses the terms "Your kids" or "Your boys" means that they did something wrong. Kinda like how she only calls me by full name (CLAYTON as opposed to CLAY) when she's really mad at me.

"Jake fell from the couch and landed on his face."

The only reply I could muster was "That's not good."

Gail continued, "The bleeding just stopped now...he lost a lot of blood."

Turns out that Jake and Sean were playing balloon volleyball in our great room downstairs, with each of them perched on a couch as they passed the balloon back and forth between them. As Jake lunged for the balloon, he slipped off the couch and landed directly on his nose on the laminate floor. The good news was that Jake is tough and this has happened before. The bad news was that this has happened before...how many shots to the nose can a 4-year old take?

After speaking quickly with Jake and saying bye to Gail, I couldn't really do much about it until I got home that night. So Steve and I continued on our way, stopping at the hotel before arriving at Carney at 6pm for the sound check and last minute preparation. Hundreds of teens started to fill the gym shortly after 7pm and thanks to the wonderful production and logistics teams, we started at 7:30pm sharp as scheduled. I had a small and simple role in the opening skit...I was to don my Spirit Day Man super-hero costume (resurrected from February 2006's Spirit Day) and make a grand entrance from the back of the gym before heading to the stage.

Right on cue, I bolted through the back doors of the gym and ran up the middle aisle, screaming and stretching my arms out in a flying position. Half-way up the aisle, I intentionally tripped over a chair and went flying a few feet in the air, landing hard on my arms and legs. It was quite interesting as the 550 teens in attendance let out a collective gasp followed by cruel laughter. I jumped up onto the 3 foot high stage, did a forward roll for dramatic effect, and stood up to face the audience, who had now changed their laughter to cheers. Then, they started laughing again. Can't say I blame them, as my costume had literally fallen apart on me. I had put a huge hole in Gail's tights, my wig was displaced, and my mask broke so it was hanging from its string from my left ear.

We finished the skit and as I left the stage I noticed that I had cut open my knee when I fell during my entrance. With blood running down my leg, I made my way to the first aid room and radioed for Krissy to track down Derek, who was serving as the weekend's first aid attendant. I told her not to tell Derek that it was me.

I could hear them laughing in the hallway, with Derek wondering aloud who on earth might need first aid treatment a mere 5 minutes into the event. As he turned the corner into the room I greeted him with a big smile and proclamation: "Me, that's who!"

The cut was wide but thankfully not too deep. We cleaned it and bandaged it before I changed back into my normal Clay clothes. Usually the home of kids with sprained ankles or upset stomachs, the first aid room was put into action right away thanks to my clumsiness.

In speaking with the participants after the program had ended for the evening, I learned a couple of things. That many people in the audience thought that my fall was legitimate (it apparently even fooled my closest friends, who are used to me feigning falls and trips). That the chair I tripped on was that of Bon, one of the teens from St. Paul's. Indeed, I had tripped and fell right in front of teens and leaders from my own parish!

I got home just after midnite and went to check on the boys. Sure enough, Jake's face was swollen with dried blood still covering his nostril. Given our respective accidents a mere hours apart, it was yet another case of Like Father Like Son.

PS: We ended up taking Jake to the hospital on Sunday morning. The doctor there said they couldn't do anything about his nose (ie. move it, set it, x-ray it) until the cartilage heals. Thankfully, he isn't in pain and isn't sick...just battered and bruised. He certainly is a tough kid. Must get it from his mommy.

I was blessed to meet Matt Maher way back in 1995 during a trip to Mesa for a LIFE TEEN conference. Back then, he was just starting his music ministry career at St. Timothy's. And back then, he was already tall and lanky, although with less grey hair. A couple of years later, 10 of us from St. Paul's (me, Gail, Gerard, Gen, Rich, Jenn, Dave, Gary, Brian and Diane) took a memorable trip to Mesa and again got to connect with Matt. Since then, he has been up to Vancouver to minister on a number of occasions, once for St. Paul's in 2003 and every year since 2004 for either Youth Day or Spirit Day. I've also seen him at numerous conferences throughout North America.

Thus, we are among his biggest fans and supporters (though I know he has thousands). So it was with great anticipation that we ordered his just-released CD: Empty and Beautiful. It arrived last week, and I excitedly popped it into the CD player so Gerard and I could listen to it on our way home from work. As we listened to the great music, we skimmed through the CD cover/insert, noting certain musicians and certain songs.

As I settled down to eat dinner that evening with my family, I got a text which I didn't check. A mere 5 minutes later, my phone rang so I answered it. The voice on the other line excitedly asked:

"How did you get a mention in Matt's thank-yous?"

"WHAT???"

Turns out that Analyn (the caller) and Faye (the texter...along with husband Sean) noticed that some guy named "Clay" was mentioned in Matt's thank yous.

"I'm not sure if it's me," I replied. "If it is, that's pretty cool."

I couldn't tell if Analyn's jealousy was real or fake (I hope it's the latter...haha). Especially when she said that it was probably Clay Aiken.

"Well, he should thank me for inviting him to Vancouver!" Analyn remarked. I didn't have the heart to remind her that I had invited him to St. Paul's for our LIFE TEEN 10th anniversary a full year before he came up for the YMO...haha.

"Let me guess," I answered rhetorically. "He should thank Lou (our sound guy) for making him sound good. And Sean (our stage manager) for making him look good. And Faye (my awesome Administrative Assistant who designs our logos and registration forms) for getting all the teens there!"

Analyn and Faye were about to start a meeting so I told them I would get confirmation and get back to them. So I texted Matt probably one of the silliest texts he's ever received (don't forget, I was limited to only 160 characters):

“Hey bro…great CD. Help settle a debate for me…am I the Clay in your thanks (I say I’m not)? If so, thanks man! If not, I’m gonna say it’s me anyways!”

Matt replied with a text 24 minutes later (not bad for him): “Yes you are.” I have no reason to doubt him, though I probably put him in a funny spot.

I replied back: “That’s cool man: appreciated and unexpected. Only one album too late!” I was kidding about the last part obviously, as I was referring to the time I stayed at his place back in 2005. He was working on a new song all night and asked for my opinion on certain parts. I gave my two cents (which coming from me was probably only worth a penny) and watched and listened in awe as he pounded away at this new song. Turns out that instead of an entire song, it ended up as a 16-bar bridge in his song “For Your Glory” that’s on his Overflow album. It gave me an even greater appreciation and respect for the whole song-writing process. Ironically, For Your Glory is remade and also on Empty and Beautiful.

It’s been kinda cool as a couple of people have called or emailed to ask if I’m the “Clay” in Matt’s CD. And I truly take his thank you as a thank you to the entire crew here at the YMO and our archdiocese…everyone here absolutely loves him. Including my son Sean. Everyday while driving him to school, Sean asks to see the CD. Today, in looking at the CD cover, Sean asked me:

“Were you scared when Matt was walking near the edge of the building? Did you want to save him?”

I smiled at his child-like innocence. “I wasn’t with him when he took the picture Seany.”

Clayton Imoo: Matt Maher’s Bodyguard. Has a nice ring to it actually. In the meantime, I’ll stick to Clayton Imoo: Matt Maher’s Vancouver Sushi Consultant.

PS: Buy the CD...it's amazing!

When you ask a young child what he/she wants to be when be when he/she grows up, the usual response is something rather-glamourous: a musician, an athlete, a cop, a firefighter, or movie star. Then, as the child becomes a teen, it's sometimes more about success and money-earning potential as opposed to fame: doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, engineer, or teacher.

So I was thrilled, flattered, humbled, and very surprised when Sean showed me a piece of school-work from last November, where he said that he wanted to be a Youth Worker! His reasoning?

"Because I get to work with grade 7s and I get to set up for Youth Day and I get to play basketball and I get to do lots of fun activities and I get to work past my bedtime."

I am proud that Sean takes an active interest in what Daddy does for a living, though I'm slightly concerned that he's noticed my irregular sleep pattern.

I love his picture: I'm not sure if that's me or him in a few years (it doesn't really matter) and I'm guessing that the object in his hand is a Bible. As Faye, my assistant at the YMO so eloquently observed: "It's certainly not a pay cheque!" Just kiddin! Sort of.

It reminds me of a story I tell in speaking on the topic of child-like faith and imitation being the sincerest form of flattery:

We were getting dressed for an outing recently and Sean came running up to me wearing a golf shirt and shorts. Looking handsome, he said to me, "Look Dad...I'm in youth ministry!" So I quickly replied, "Oh...so you don't make any money either???"

All kidding aside...sort of...I am flattered that he knows what I do and what I am passionate about.

As for Jake, he is already a good-looking, sleep-deprived, hockey-loving, injury-prone, junkfood-eating goofball...I wonder where he gets that from. Actually, I think the answer is obvious...even the good-looking part.

It all makes sense to me now...no wonder Gail is so happy that we finally have a girl!