Young Catholics find ‘Spirituality on Tap’
By Christina Leslie
Correspondent
Involving young Catholics in their Church is a challenge faced by many priests. The Young Adult Ministry groups from St. Celelia Parish, Iselin, and St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia, worked to engage their peers during October through a four-week series of meetings and discussions titled Spirituality on Tap.
Approximately 40-50 young adults attended each gathering in JJ Bittings Brewing Company, Woodbridge, broaching subjects not always discussed inside a church, but still important to this generation’s spirituality, including: the Liturgy, finding God in the workplace, the Church’s teaching on evolution, and human sexuality.
Father James S. Convery, parochial vicar, St. John Vianney Parish, cohosted each event, which featured a hot appetizer buffet and contemporary rock music.
The approach taken by the program is reflective of Jesus’ ministry, where he preached not only in temples to observant Jews, but on mountaintops, beside lakes and in small towns to skeptics.
Father Convery said he implements the program in every parish where he is assigned. To institute the Woodbridge series, he spearheaded a group of young adults from the two host parishes to extend invitations to their peers, posted bulletin announcements and created a Web site to draw people to the program.
He quoted a discouraging statistic cited at a recent national conference: although 40 percent of baptized Catholics are young adults, only 20 to 30 percent of that group have contact with a Church. “One of the great strengths of this program is that the young adults can share a meal, share a drink and know that they are not alone in this walk of faith,” Father Convery said. “This could enkindle a greater desire to get involved.”
Each session began with a prayer, followed by a guest speaker discussing that week’s topic. Frank conversations amongst the attendees were encouraged, and a microphone was passed around so all could share their questions and insights.
The Spirituality On Tap series is modeled on a program instituted in Chicago 25 years ago as an outgrowth of faith-steering conversations between a parish priest and a young parishioner. Later, formalized programs were established in Denver, New Orleans, Boston, and Tampa; the Washington, D.C. version of the program attracted the attention of CNN, which broadcast Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick’s visit to a local bar to speak with college-age young adults.
Kim Nguyen and Jim Kieran, members of St. Matthias Parish, Somerset, attended the Oct. 24 event together. “It’s a great opportunity for young adults to listen to topics of interest,” said Nguyen.
Kieran agreed, “This is a good way for young adults who have no connection to the Church to meet in a comfortable place, talk about God and other issues.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law