Young adults to be focus

When she speaks at the Albany Diocese's annual parish convening on Oct. 20, she hopes Catholics will learn how to attract more people from her age group to their parishes.

"When the generation that still has a foot in the `pre-Vatican-II experience' passes on, that's going to very poignantly let the Church know where it stands," the 35-year-old keynoter noted.

Needs to meet

The parish convening is an annual diocesan-wide event that gathers persons involved in parish ministries for workshops and prayer together. But parishes in every diocese, said Ms. Miller, may find their pews emptying unless they meet the needs of young adults -- those in the 18-to-40 age group who are often overlooked by the Church.

Still, Ms. Miller calls this "a fascinating time to be alive as a Catholic Christian. To see the Catholic faith community embracing people of all ages is a challenge."

Some dioceses have made it a point for the past two decades to work on ministries to young adults, the speaker noted, and others are adding young adult ministries to their agendas now, as they realize "how we all missed out on the gifts of the younger generation."

Active in Church

Ms. Miller said one program, "Theology on Tap," has been successful in some dioceses because it's a kind of "Catholicism 101" course that invites young adults to meet at restaurants or other informal venues to learn about their faith -- a critical need for a generation whose religious education has often been lacking.

In asking young adults to make the Church part of their busy lives, she said, "we have to rethink what it means to be an active person in a faith community. It may not mean [attending] two events a week."

Often, said Ms. Miller, parishes demand too much of young people who are already overwhelmed with commitments.

Crucial time

The speaker was excited about addressing Catholics in the Albany Diocese at the convening. She believes this is a critical time for the Church: The Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. drew many young adults to churches to pray, and they now need guidance to stay there.

"We've seen a surge of attendance, of people clamoring to make sense of what happened," Ms. Miller stated. "We're all struggling. If we go into military combat, our Church is going to have to address the needs of young adults in a very particular way. Our Church has to be prepared."

Four topics

The keynoter plans to cover four challenges in her talk:

* the coin challenge: As a coin has two sides, Ms. Miller believes the Church must look at both providing resources and programs specifically for young adults as well as integrating them into the entire parish community;

* the Jesus challenge: In any attempt to serve young adults, the speaker said, a parish or diocese must ask, "How are we Christ-centered?";

* the mirror challenge: The makeup of parishes should mirror that of the larger community in their geographic areas; and

* the reality challenge: Ms. Miller said parishes must ask themselves, "How are we as a Catholic faith community called to be authentic?"

"Young adults are extremely savvy," Ms. Miller concluded. "They see through inauthenticity." If parishes don't meet their needs, "young adults vote with their feet."

(The parish convening will be held Oct. 20, 8:45 a.m.-2 p.m., at LaSalle Institute in Troy. The event includes a panel discussion on the keynote. Fee is $15 per person; box lunches may be purchased as well. To register, call 453-6661.)

(10-04-01) [[In-content Ad]]