Liturgical leadership conference is fulfilling a need for this world
By Maggie Parsons
More than 275 participants were excited and eager to return to the annual One Bread One Cup summer liturgical leadership conference at St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Ind., calling all youth and adults from around the country to learn the importance of their role in the liturgies at the place known for its perfect peace.
One Bread One Cup is a five-day conference with three weeks spread out over the course of the summer. Youth and adults attending the conference are led to work, play, and pray as they follow the rule of St. Benedict just as the monks do who live there.
“My first impression was that it sounded boring,” Scotty Biggs, current director of One Bread One Cup, said as he was asked about his first encounter with OBOC.
Young women and men participating in the One Bread One Cup program at St. Meinrad Archabbey take part in a eucharistic procession on the archabbey grounds. (Photo courtesy One Bread One Cup)
Mr. Biggs first attended the conference as a youth minister, then as a catechist, and then became the director of the conference.
“But as soon as I stepped out, I immediately fell in love with the program,” Mr. Biggs noted as he talked about how his view of the program quickly changed as soon as he stepped on St. Meinrad grounds.
“It helps everyone, teenager and adult alike, to see how prayer and a consistent relationship and friendship with God can be an easy part of your day,” said Steve Angrisano, who is a widely known Christian musician and participant of One Bread One Cup for the past 11 years.
Mr. Angrisano, who is the current emcee for the conference, discussed how the youth and adults at One Bread One Cup learn that their relationship with God in their daily life does not have to be complicated.
Each aspect of the One Bread One Cup conference is focused on having the community united by Christ. The community starts by praying the Liturgy of the Hours morning, evening, and night as well as celebrating Mass together every day. The participants are reminded how they should be sharing that closeness with the Lord with their brothers and sisters, not because it is an obligation but because they want to strive for holiness.
Not only is it a community of Christ in prayer, but it’s also a community of Christ in play. Whether it is the interns versus the participants in an ultimate Frisbee game, or dancing in the crazy hat dance until they’re covered in sweat and their feet hurt, or they are performing a skit in the variety show. It is centered in the community of Christ, lifting one another up and cheering each other on.
“Since coming to OBOC, I’ve learned to treat people a lot better in relationships and truly let what the Lord works on my heart each summer take root,” said Hanna Vosburg, a One Bread One Cup college intern and previous participant.
Ms. Vosburg spoke about how OBOC taught her the importance of relationships and community, not only while she is at the conference but also to have that take root in her heart and let the Lord use that for her in other aspects of her life.
Word, sacrament, and mission
The focus of the conference is word, sacrament, and mission, and how God calls each one to open their hearts and be open to the plan He has for everyone, not only in individual lives but also in the Church’s liturgies.
“We feel like we wait for someone to grow up before they are a part of the Mass at our parish, and I think that’s a very big mistake,” said Mr. Angrisano in raising awareness of how youth in the Church believe they must grow up and gain knowledge before being allowed to participate in liturgies.
He also believes it’s a mistake to believe that because the youth are the Church, they are who is going to lead the future.
The youth participants are all assigned to Liturgical Formation Session groups during their time at St. Meinrad. The groups vary with different roles in the liturgies. Some include proclamation of the Word, eucharistic minister, prayer in the life of the Body of Christ, and cantor development. All are taught by catechists and assisted by interns who teach and are an example for the participants, who learn the importance of their roles in the liturgies.
Fun, including a crazy hat dance, was part of the itinerary for the One Bread One Cup conference in St. Meinrad, Ind., over the summer. (Photo courtesy One Bread One Cup)
“My favorite aspect is watching the transition; the day-one liturgies are all done by the interns. And then the next day it’s the youth, and it’s a little bumpy, but by the time we get to the end of the conference, which includes the day-five Mass, the youth are in leadership roles,” Mr. Biggs said, describing the joy of seeing how the youth are shown by example and then take the initiative to be the leaders in the Church liturgies.
“And watching the youth grow into that in such a short amount of time is absolutely amazing to see,” he added, citing as an example how the youth can take that step as leaders for the Church and be an example for everyone on how to take that action in their faith.
“I feel so much more reflective here; it’s away from the culture. And when I come here, I can know what to expect. I know what I’m getting myself into; my role could change, but I know nothing really has changed,” Ms. Vosburg said about how One Bread One Cup at the St. Meinrad Archabbey is like a breath of fresh air away from all the craziness in the secular culture back home.
“This place remains the same regardless of the world changing around me and how my life changes year to year,” Ms. Vosburg remarked.
She said many people call St. Meinrad the place of perfect peace, and the participants who come to One Bread One Cup understand why. Those who return to the conference year after year do so because they know that the archabbey will be there waiting for them; they know that they can find peace in the Lord there when they need it the most.
Robert Feduccia, one of the founders of the One Bread One Cup conference, talked about the inspiration behind starting the conference.
“There was a very big question: what are teens’ roles in the liturgy? There was something unique that St. Meinrad could offer to young people and how they get involved in the liturgies,” Mr. Feduccia said, speaking on the need for the youth to be more involved. “Those in the older generation pass it on and raise up a new generation to find their home in the liturgy.”
Mr. Feduccia spoke about how the older generation is that example for the youth to teach them to understand just how important their role should be in liturgy because they will be that same example for the next generation.
“I don’t think there is anything like One Bread One Cup around the country,” Mr. Angrisano said when asked what is so unique about One Bread One Cup. “I think One Bread One Cup fills a need that nothing else does. Having it one week, then making it two weeks, then three weeks is a testament that it’s needed.”
Mr. Angrisano believes the conference is needed for Catholic youth all around the country.
The One Bread One Cup conference is fulfilling a need in the Church today to teach youth and adults the importance of the call God gives to each of them to get out of their pews each week and be an example of His light for the world.
OBOC leaves a mark on the hearts of all who enter the conference. For the past 31 years it has been teaching and leading a new generation to step out and take initiative in the liturgies.
“You are changed for the better, and you are changed for good,” Mr. Feduccia said, summing up the effect One Bread One Cup has on all who encounter it.
For more information on One Bread One Cup, visit www.saintmeinrad.edu/youth/summer-conferences/.
Maggie Parsons has attended One Bread One Cup for four years and is applying to be an intern at the conference in summer 2026.