Young adults seek to deepen faith when they gather at Lake George

According to Mike Hayes, associate director of Paulist young adult ministries, "most young adults are looking to see how faith will be relevant in their lives through relationships, work, politics, even TV shows. They're looking for [answers to] 'Why does it make sense for me to be Catholic?' and '[How] does spirituality make sense in any way in my life?'"

Mr. Hayes and other young adults will gather at the Paulist center at Lake George, June 11-13, for the Charis Seeker's Retreat, where participants will wrestle with questions surrounding what it means to be a young adult Catholic. "Charis" is a Greek word meaning "grace."

The Paulist Fathers and the Albany diocesan Young Adult Ministry are sponsoring the retreat.

Substantial answers

Mr. Hayes believes that Catholic young adults are looking for more than rote answers about faith and spirituality; they want the "wisdom in what Church teaching says. They're looking for more than 'it's in the Catechism, so it's so.'"

The weekend will also focus on building community among young adults, many of whom were involved with college campus ministry or college retreat experiences but found themselves without that interaction after graduation. 

Annette Parisi, a 27-year-old database project consultant and parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany, noted, "I went on a lot of retreats in college, and those retreats deepened my relationship with God. To go from having that to not having a large, supportive community -- that was an adjustment for me."

Connections

"When people have a good experience with the Catholic Church, as some people might have had back at their college campus ministry," Mr. Hayes explained, "they can't go back to a bad experience of Church anymore."

Ms. Parisi, a native of Queens, was introduced to the Charis retreat by a friend who lives there. She enjoyed the idea of getting away from the phone, work, TV and the other things that "crush in on you," and re-connecting with her faith.

The next time she attended, she brought another friend, co-worker Lisa Beaudoin, 30.

"I really enjoyed [Charis]," said Ms. Beaudoin. "It was an open environment, not judgmental, and I learned a lot about our religion, God and myself. I loved the fact that each of the team leaders tells about a personal experience of God in their lives. Through that, you learn that you're not alone."

Called to what?

Both women struggle with striking a balance between what Ms. Beaudoin calls "what you want to do and what you are called to do."

"Young adults are trying to find our place in the bigger picture of our lives, what direction our path is going to lead us, to not only believe things, but to take action," said Ms. Parisi, adding: "I think everyone has different reasons for going on retreats, and, therefore, will all get something slightly different out of it. I hope that people will enjoy themselves, and are able to let down their guard and let the Spirit work through them."

(For information about the Charis Seeker retreat, call 212-265-3209, ext. 205.)

(5/27/04)