St Michael's-Chicago Is Engaging Young Adults
-
October 6, 2023It was surprising to see so many young adults regularly attending Mass at St. Michael’s in Chicago. Young adults frequently visit the church, sit in prayer, receive confession and volunteer for many parish ministries, including serving as ushers and greeters. Many linger after Mass to talk with other parishioners. I wasn’t used to seeing such a crowd of young adults; it baffled me. Little did I know that it was meant to be.
St. Michael’s in Old Town is one of a few parishes in the United States chosen to participate in the FIELD project, a parish ministry for young adults funded by the Lily Foundation. As I engaged in listening sessions, scriptural discussions and social events with the young adults, I discovered a profound love of God and a strong sense of compassion for others, but also a deep disappointment with the Church. A humble, synodal, listening Church is indeed what is desperately needed at this time for our young people, who are just as much a part of our Church as the masses of older people who attend our Sunday liturgies.
At the same time, I am trying to settle into my new role with the IGNITE initiative, a Redemptorist initiative for young adults underway in the North American Conference. As the IGNITE liaison for the Denver Province, I began figuring out what this role entails, doing initial research of the current IGNITE model in the Province of Canada, strategizing next steps to get this initiative off the ground, and thinking about its possible application in different parishes within the Denver Province. We all have a wonderful opportunity with the Network program of the IGNITE initiative to learn and discern new skills and current perspectives in future ministerial efforts with our young people.
The Network program offers a series of seminars, online zoom sessions that build upon one another that provide a method of learning skills pertinent to various parish ministries, including leadership development, goal setting, event planning, and even outcome actualization. On the other hand, Network workshops are stand-alone sessions on particular topics relevant to ministry with our young people.
Going out is imperative for the Church today. We can no longer stay insular, but must live out our missionary charism and meet the people where they are. The Network program through the IGNITE initiative provides us with method and means, and this opportunity has given me renewed zeal for the mission.
May the Spirit of Jesus endow us with an abundance of strength and grace to go forth on mission to the poor and abandoned, particularly to the young people.
For additional details about the IGNITE initiative or Network seminars and workshops, please visit https://ignite-canada.ca. Please email any additional questions directly to me at: [email protected].