“I like how it’s open to different ethnicities, not just Vietnamese or Filipino,” said Renee Tiet, a member of the Shrine of the Presentation, a Corona-based Vietnamese Catholic community. “We can interact with one another.”
Offering the keynote address based on the day’s theme was Father Hieu Tong-Nguyen, SVD, parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino.
“I liked Father Hieu’s talk about learning to trust in ourselves and to pray,” said Adrian Ngo, a Corona resident.
While the day included engaging and entertaining topics and activities, it also shed light on thought-provoking issues.
Kathi Scarpace, coordinator of the diocesan Justice for Immigrants campaign provided insights into the frightening realm of human trafficking and called on youth to take action in raising awareness of human trafficking in the Inland Empire. Densy Chandra and Deanna Bower represented Catholic Relief Services and spoke on ways to evangelize through service.
For Ngo, the human trafficking presentation opened his eyes to realities he did not know existed.
“To hear what goes on makes my problems pitiful,” Ngo said. “What goes on is despicable.”
Participants also heard from seminarians Ian Hollick and Simon Nguyen who spoke on vocations and faith. They also saw a film on the newly canonized St. Peter Calungsod, and participated in a panel discussion on Asian American cultural diversity among different ethnicities. Music was provided by the Chris Estrella Music Ministry.
“It was a good opportunity to meet new people,” said Jason Nai from the Shrine of the Presentation. “You get to see other cultures and see we share the same faith.”