Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 6, 2018 11 Beloved youth minister Sargent dies after battling cancer BY TERRY DICKSON BILOXI -- For more than four decades, Brenda Sargent was a mainstay at the Diocese of Biloxi’s Annual Youth Celebration, working mostly behind the scenes. This year, she had the best seat in the house. Sargent, 56, died on March 22, the day before this year’s conference began, after battling cancer. However, she was on everyone’s mind throughout the weekend as attendees signed a memory book and lifted her and her family in prayer. The memories, tears and prayers continued to flow at her Mass of Christian Burial, which took place March 26 at Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos (formerly St. John) Church in Biloxi. “We hope and pray that the youth have an intercessor in heaven that can speak for them and lift them up when they mess up,” said Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III, who was principal cele- brant and homilist, taking the place of longtime family friend, Father Tony Arguelles, who was unable to attend due to health issues. Sargent, Bishop Kihneman said, epitomized what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. “Brenda loved Jesus Christ and she wanted Jesus Christ in her life on a very personal level and He was,” he said. “In the last year, I got to know her, especially during her illness, and I found her to be a person of great hope and a per- son that wanted to be in service to the Lord Jesus Christ, especially in service to the youth of the Diocese of Biloxi and to let that speak for her love for all of the children of God.” Quoting from the Book of Revelations, Bishop Kihneman said Sargent had her eyes on heaven. “It is a place of God and it’s a place of God’s love and it’s a place of God’s presence,” he said. “Brenda really believed that, because it is what guided her through these last few years, but this last year espe- cially, and enabled her to really stand in faith through the moments of even great suffering. “St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans says, ‘What will separate us from the Love of Christ?’ Will anguish or sorrow or sadness or suffering or distress? No, because we believe. We believe in Him and each of those moments is a call to enter into a deeper relationship with him. That’s what was happening to Brenda, espe- cially this last year. She was being called into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and, even though she wanted to be there at the conference, the Lord said, ‘It’s time. It’s time to come home. It’s time to receive my love for eternity.’” Sargent, a 1979 graduate of Biloxi High School, was active in the St. John Catholic Youth Organization as a teen and as an adult. She worked for the Diocese of Biloxi Office of Youth Ministry for 25 years, until her retirement earlier this year. During her lifetime, Sargent touched the lives of many young people throughout South Mississippi. “Brenda was a tireless worker, very focused and kind to everyone,” said Bragg Moore, who served for three decades as director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Biloxi until his retirement in 2016. “Brenda had a background working in parish youth ministry, so she understood those adults who today work in parishes throughout the diocese. Many of these adults considered her a mentor and confidant whose advice they sought often. She respected each of them and always shared her knowledge firmly but lovingly. “As I look back on her life, I realize that many of those adults who still remain active as parish volunteers today reflect those Brenda traits in their ministry, and must be passing on the deposit of wisdom that Brenda passed on to them.” Even though he was technically in charge of the Office of Youth Ministry, everyone, including Moore, knew who really ran the show. “Brenda was a driving force in every diocesan youth event,” said Moore. “She loved to help plan the hundreds of trips that we took with our youth. She worked to be sure that things worked smooth- ly so that the youth could focus on the experience. She loved going to the National Catholic Youth Conference, enjoyed the pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., for the March for Life, and found the summer trips to Notre Dame University as spiritually renewing for both her and those youth who attended.” Additionally, said Moore, Sargent loved to host youth ministers from other dioceses. “Brenda was so hospitable. We once hosted the Regional Diocesan Youth Directors for a four- day meeting. Brenda set out to provide meals for the three dozen attendees, calling on her many contacts around the coast to assist in this effort. Of course, those directors enjoyed the Biloxi Schooner sail, dinners at a coast casino, a real Southern picnic of fried chicken, potato salad and dessert that she personally prepared,” he said. “She called one coast restaurant owner whom she did not personally know and told him that she was hoping to have a seafood boil for everyone attending. I overheard the conversation where he tried to tell her he would love to host that event, but it would cost almost $25 per person. She was so polite and kind as she told him that he should reconsider and reduce that price to free. She told him that she was going to pray about this and that he should as well. “Two days later she called him. He told her he had gone to confession over the weekend and that a priest told him that his penance was to do some- thing nice for some Catholics. It is fair to say all 36 of us enjoyed a feast of boiled shrimp, crabs, potatoes, and corn. The owner was there to serve us as well. We ate until we were filled. Score one for Brenda.” Sargent’s longtime friend Suzie Middleton, youth minister for Immaculate Conception Parish in Laurel, remembers her as “a servant with a happy heart, a warm smile and laughter.” “We went on so many trips together over the years through the diocese and I had the privilege to room with her. She was the first up and the last to bed to make sure everything went well for the rest of the group. I learned how to organize and prepare my own youth group by her example,” she said. “She taught me to serve with a servant’s heart and so many others. Our youth group has had the privilege to be on the diocesan Search team which Brenda was a part of. Brenda was in charge of paperwork, preparation of all the meals -- she was an awesome cook -- prayer bags, night crews and anything else that needed to be done. Once you gradu- ated from high school you were invited back to help out as a kitchen crew person. Brenda Sargent is pictured in front of the Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame in 2016 during the Notre Dame Vision Trip. Sargent, longtime assistant in the Diocese of Biloxi’s Office of Youth Ministry, died on March 22 after a battle with cancer. She was 56. Photo/Kyle Lizana SEE BRENDA SARGENT, PAGE 15