Church challenge: Educating young adults

"I don't even know what I don't know about," he said. "It would be interesting to learn."

Mr. Stephens [not his real name] isn't alone. Tom Beaudoin, author of "Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X," has found in doing workshops with young adults that they are religiously illiterate. At one recent workshop, participants weren't able to talk about the Eucharist, Trinity or Reconciliation.

Lost generation

While Mr. Beaudoin, 30, sees his generation as religiously illiterate, all is not lost. "More [people] in this generation say they know that God loves them [as compared to] those in previous generations," he said.

While there is a need for this generation to be better formed religiously, Mr. Beaudoin said this shouldn't send a message to the Church that it should return to the type of religious education based on memorization of a catechism. Rather, formation needs to link language and daily experiences so that people will have the vocabulary to name their experiences.

"We have to ask as a Church: What's the point of being literate?" he explained. "Literacy is not an end in itself. Faith needs to be experienced daily."

Taking part

Said Mr. Stephens, "What I don't know about the Church plays a role in my participation."

There is an assumption, Mr. Beaudoin said, that as this generation ages, they will return to the Church. But he believes that "we cannot assume that they will come back with the same interest as other generations did."

Different approach

As the mother of seven young adults ranging in age from 22 to 35, she has had the opportunity to view first-hand the religious practices of this generation. She has noticed that their experiences of the Church are different from her own and there are even differences within the generation itself.

For her 30-something children, involvement with the Church during their youth was limited. But her younger children, now in their 20s, experienced the beginning of total youth ministry and were invited during their teen years to take on more leadership roles in the Church.

"The younger ones were invited more into the mission of the Church," she said.

It is those two who are now active in the Church, one as a Catholic school teacher, the other as the program director for youth and young adult ministry for the Metuchen, New Jersey, Diocese.

Ignorance

Mrs. Harrison said the Church must begin to reach out to this generation. "We can't afford to wait," she said. "It takes a long time to change perceptions and attitudes. There's an urgency to this ministry."

Mr. Beaudoin agreed, saying, "It's getting pretty late in the game for this generation."

The loss of this generation is one that many parishes across the country will feel soon. "All of the hope of Vatican II inspired a generation" that is now aging, Mr. Beaudoin explained. "We've created a problem because we don't have a booming crop of young adult leaders to take over" from the Vatican II group.

Challenges

Michelle Miller, program specialist for the United States Catholic Conference and coordinator of its youth and young adult activities, sees the sacraments as important moments in young adult faith formation.

"All of the sacraments need to be looked at as opportunities to evangelize all people," she said. "We need to do Sunday Eucharist well, and funerals and Reconciliation. There is a tremendous opportunity in the sacraments."

Coming back

Married at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany, he became interested in attending Mass because "I liked Father Leo O'Brien [the pastor] and I liked going there. I liked the community. The music at St. Vincent's was excellent. You stayed because it was so good. At other Masses, it's a big turn off."

During his pre-Cana experience, Mr. Stephens found many of his questions about the Mass answered. A priest did a "show-and-tell" Mass where its parts were explained. After that, Mr. Stephens felt more comfortable worshiping.

Welcoming attitude

"Quite frankly, I don't feel welcome," he said. "The usher just hands you a bulletin. I went to [St. John the Baptist in] Chestertown and was greeted with `Welcome to our church.' That was nice. If I'm not welcome, I will eventually leave."

Young adults, Ms. Miller and the other experts say, are looking for vibrant communities where they feel welcomed. "In the 1990s, so much of communication is virtual; it's imperative to connect with one another," she said. Once they find a community, young adults begin to look for ways to deepen their understanding.

Who they are

Generation X, or the Post Moderns as some prefer to call them, were born between 1965 and 1976. They are the first generation of latch-key children, the first generation where divorce was a norm, the first generation since the Civil War not guaranteed to be better off economically than their parents, and the first multi-cultural and media savvy generation.

Given all of that, Mr. Beaudoin said, ministry to this generation must be more than "singles groups."

RCIA model

Ms. Miller suggests inviting young adults to serve as sponsors in the RCIA program as a way to deepen their faith and connect them with the community. Mr. Beaudoin suggests that marriage and baptismal preparation programs be adapted to the RCIA model which is experiential, liturgical and communal.

"RCIA says: If you want to be one of us, you have to journey with us," he explained. "We don't say this with marriage or Baptism. We need to begin to view marriage and Baptism along the lines of the RCIA process with a group of people journeying together. It's a longer process. If pre-Cana is one evening or a couple of hours, it's a huge failure. It guarantees people will remain in a state of alienation. It's not helping them own their own faith."

Renew opportunity

"Renew is setting a fire under some young adults," she said. "They're hungry for more."

She also thinks marriage and baptismal preparation are times to reach out to this generation. "Marriage and Baptism are key moments of evangelization," she said. "Older members of the parish can reach out to younger members with a helping hand. You can be very creative. It's a matter of a parish committing."

Resources

* the Young Adult Commission's newsletter "The X Papers";

* "Young Adults Among Us," offered by Brown-ROA publishing, which includes six discussion sessions for young adults; and

* "Young Adult Works," a three-volume set from the Center for Ministry Development that offers suggestions for ministry with young adults.

Mrs. Moriarty said that parishes shouldn't be concerned if their first efforts net only a handful of young adults. "It takes time and word of mouth for young adults to show up," she said. "It's probably going to start out small."

All of the experts agreed that programs offered for young adults must have a known time commitment, be it six weeks or six months. Said Ms. Miller, "Their lives are crammed."

(To receive copies of "The X Papers" or to get more information on young adult ministry in the Albany Diocese, call the Family Life Office at 453-6677. "Young Adults Among Us" can be purchased from Brown-ROA; call 800-922-7696. "Young Adult Works" is available through the Center for Ministry Development at 203-723-1622.)

(05-27-99) [[In-content Ad]]