Young adults will be focus

"I went to church occasionally," she said. "No one would have expected me to be a part of the Church."

Now, the parishioner of Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake is the new associate director of adult and young adult faith formation for the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.

Young adults

Many young adults are "looking for something in an empty life," she said. Faith can be that something. "God hits us over the head in a number of different ways. We can use a negative for a positive."

For Mrs. Pickel, the negative was the loss of a child, which led to her more active involvement in the Church. Other young adults are drawn back to the Church when they decide to get married or seek Baptism for their children.

"Sacraments are key moments of evangelizing," she said. "When I met with parents preparing their children for a sacrament, it was a great opportunity to answer questions."

Faith development

This isn't the first time she is working with young adults. As a Catholic school teacher in Brooklyn, Mrs. Pickel was responsible for preparing children to receive the Eucharist.

"I noticed there were parents who were not receiving the Eucharist," she said, because "there were some misconceptions about excommunication. When I told the pastor about this, he said I should do something; so I started a group for young parents."

Background

Her work with Family Rosary, she said, prepared her for working with older adults, while her time at St. Clare's allowed her to work with adults of all ages.

"I took kids from First Communion through Confirmation," she said. "Now they are having babies. I think God led me to them to fill in the spaces."

Seeking leaders

Mrs. Pickel hopes to find young adult leaders in parishes that can be trained in adult faith formation. These adults, she said, would not be paid professional catechists; rather, they would evangelize through the example of how they live their life.

The needs of young adults, and other adults may be great, she said. "Their ability to relate to God may be limited," she said. "The Church needs to work with them on developing this relationship. A major challenge is to have them participate in parish life and focus on their spirituality. Our focus is Jesus Christ and enhancing relationships with Jesus Christ."

(Carol Pickel can be reached at 453-6630.)

(05-17-01) [[In-content Ad]]