'A SENSE OF COMMUNITY'

Move over folks, there’s a new young adult group in town.

Mohawk Catholic is a faith-based community group for young adults in their 20s and 30s in the surrounding Schenectady area. The group will kick off this month at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Rotterdam with its first Bible study session on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m., with Bible study sessions to follow on the second Thursday of each month. 

“I feel like we’ve been talking about it for so many months now it’s exciting to actually be doing it,” said Rachel Stagnitti, co-founder of Mohawk Catholic. “Even if we just get five people it will be exciting to start building that community and connecting with each other.”

Stagnitti, 25, along with her friend, Tim Zarecki, 24, was inspired to bring a young adult Catholic group closer to the Schenectady area after attending Adirondack Catholic’s Bible study. The two have attended the Queensbury group since last year, which despite being a great place for community and faith, was also an hour’s drive away. 

“We thought this is really cool but it’s an hour away for us,” Stagnitti said. “We thought there’s probably some other people closer to our area that might be interested in something but not want to drive the whole hour.”

The two reached out to Adirondack Catholic co-founder, Taylor Jarvis, for advice. Jarvis put Stagnitti and Zarecki in touch with Thomas Cronin, advisor to the Bishop for Family & Parish Evangelization. Together with Father Stephen Yusko, parochial vicar for St. Gabriel the Archangel, Mohawk Catholic came together and found a space to gather. 

Mohawk Catholic is one of the latest young adult groups - along with Adirondack Catholic and Capital Region Catholic - to spring up in the Albany Diocese. In the last few years, young adult events such as Holy Hour & Happy Hour and Good News & Cold Brews, which are sponsored by the Diocese of Albany, have been growing in popularity. Other events, like Real Talk Rosary, started from young adults attending these RCDA events who sprung off to create their own community. 

Stagnitti feels that there’s “a lot of great momentum right now” for young adult faith events, and she hopes that Mohawk Catholic can continue to build on it. 

“I was excited to hear there was a group of younger adults meeting together in person and exploring God’s word and creating a community through faith because that was something I was looking for as well,” Stagnitti said. “I could sit and read my Bible by myself but having other people to talk to about it really is helpful as well.”

Stagnitti added that being able to discuss God’s word with other adults in their mid-20s helps to offer a similar, bonded perspective. 

“I think for me it’s a big deal about perspective and where we are in life,” she said. “Having a conversation with someone my age, it’s much different than reading a Bible passage and having a conversation with my parents just because we’re at different stages in life and there are different things we can get from the same sections and topics. I think it’s especially helpful just to talk about things in a community overall. I can have my own thoughts but having conversations and hearing the thoughts of others is also helpful in that spiritual journey.” 

Added Stagnitti: “I think I want people to know that they’re not alone. Before I found Adirondack Catholic I was sitting there thinking, ‘I’m really interested in learning about my faith and deepening my connection with God and somehow finding this community along the way, there’s got to be other people out there who also want that.’ I would hope that people who come to our Mohawk Catholic events find that same sense of community that comes with it and being rallied around the spirit of God can be enjoyable.” 

Mohawk Catholic meets on the second Thursday of the month at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Rotterdam. For more information, email [email protected] or visit @MohawkCatholic on Instagram and Facebook.