质量 & 打成一片满足了年轻天主教徒的需求
Once a month, a group of about 100 adults in their 20s and 30s come together to attend 5 p.m. 星期日弥撒在圣. 伊格内修斯教堂. 后的质量, they walk over to the Cabaret Room in 电子游戏软件’s Vanderslice Hall for food, 奖学金, 以及关于信仰的讨论.
年轻人是弥撒的参与者 & 打成一片, a new program from 电子游戏软件’s Church in the 21st Century Center. Conducted in partnership with the BC Alumni Association and the Jesuit Parish of St. 马萨诸塞州洛约拉的伊格内修斯 & 打成一片 is a monthly invitation for young adults to gather together to celebrate 质量, 接受圣餐, 在友谊中成长.
它于2023年1月在马萨诸塞州推出 & 打成一片 has built a community of more than 650 young adults in just its first year. 该项目主要是通过社交媒体和口碑发展起来的. It is believed to be one of the largest organized communities of Catholic young adults in 质量achusetts, 据该计划的组织者说.
C21 Center Assistant Director of Programming Eileen Corkery recalled the night they posted the invite to the first 质量 & 在社交媒体上交流. “我的手机响个不停. It was from all the notifications of people signing up to be a part of this group. 那时我们才知道我们找到了线索.
“It showed me that people in their 20s and 30s are hungry for something like this. 他们在寻找社区, looking to have deeper conversations about the intersection of faith and life,考克利说.
其他人则发现了质量 & 他们自己融入. “People are finding us when they Google ‘Boston young adult faith groups,C21中心通讯助理主任安德鲁·克雷格说. “他们真的在找我们. There’s a desire to find peers and companions for a time in life that's very transitional.”
A strong faith community of peers was something that both Corkery and Craig sharply missed after they graduated BC.
“我和我的朋友们参加了校园事工项目. 这是一个美丽的支持社区, 服务, 和信仰,考克利说, 2017届的毕业生. “Suddenly, you graduate and you don't have that formalized programming and that structure. 我一直在寻找一些东西来填补我的生活, a kind of faith formative group that would nourish me now as a working professional.”
同样是2017届毕业生的克雷格表示同意. “一旦你毕业了, the 24/7 access to those intentional friendships and conversations is no longer there. 质量 & 打成一片 creates a sacred space where people in their 20s and 30s can find a sense of community and companions on the journey where we're all asking these really big questions.”
Corkery and Craig, under the direction of C21 Center Director Karen Kiefer, are the leaders of 质量 & 打成一片.
“20多岁和30多岁的人都渴望这样的东西. 他们在寻找社区, looking to have deeper conversations about the intersection of faith and life."
质量 & 打成一片 is not intended for BC undergraduates; its audience is young working professionals and graduate students in the Greater Boston area. 而大约一半的弥撒 & 打成一片 community are affiliated with BC—as alumni or current graduate students—the other half of participants have no BC affiliation.
质量 & 打成一片 is for any young adult looking for a faith community, Corkery emphasized. “你不一定非要是BC大学的毕业生. 你不需要是大学毕业生. 教会是面向所有人的，不管你的履历如何.”
Brendan Albertson, a 2018 graduate of Merrimack College, first heard about 质量 & 和朋友交往. He said he keeps coming because it’s fun and the good turnout offers the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. “大规模 & 打成一片 is a great chance to attend 质量 and have dinner and drinks with other Catholic young adults.”
“Our program is the only model of its kind for young adults that integrates 质量, 带年轻人参加圣餐,基弗说。. “我们对此感到非常兴奋和自豪.”
每一个质量 & 圣公会从弥撒开始. 伊格内修斯教堂. (摄影:Lee Pellegrini)
弥撒的理念 & 打成一片来自C21中心的电子游戏正规平台结果 学生之声计划, 基弗说, who noted that one of the big takeaways from the survey was the importance young people place on forging faith connections in a community setting. “年轻人希望生活在一个以他们的信仰为中心的社区. They want the Church to invite them into greater participation,” she said.
That is why, she explained, so much care and stewardship is devoted to the 打成一片 component of 质量 & 打成一片. “我们真的非常欢迎年轻人.”
打成一片的场地经过装饰，背景音乐正在播放. 一个坐下来的晚餐，鸡尾酒和甜点. 通过设计, 每个打成一片都略有不同, but there is a constant thread of faith and a “big question” that guides the evening’s small group discussions.
“工作中的挑战, 的关系, and resilience—these are things 20- and 30-somethings might be struggling with,基弗说。. “How can their faith help them navigate questions related to these topics and in their day-to-day lives?”
“弥撒期间的团体意识和共同信仰 & 打成一片是无与伦比的,21岁的参与者Kristyn Stoia说, 康奈尔护理学院的电子游戏正规平台生. “大规模 & 打成一片提供了一个进行深刻对话的机会. 我期待着这些聚会, 不仅仅是因为它们提供了精神上的丰富, but also for the joy of introducing friends to the richness and beauty of our faith community."
有些“混和会”还邀请了一位演讲嘉宾, 比如卡洛塔·吉拉德修女, a member of the Sisters of Saint Joseph for nearly 65 years who has provided decades of 服务 in Boston and beyond. She talked about her vocation and the power of one person to make a difference. Her presentation connected with the big question “How can you enact 服务 in your own life?”
最近的一次弥撒 & 打成一片专注于感恩. 亨利·谢伊，S.J.他是5便士的司仪.m. 质量, talked about the importance of community outreach and gratitude in his homily. 在舞会上, participants wrote cards and assembled care packages for residents in the Jesuits’ Campion Center in Weston.
而弥撒和信仰讨论是弥撒的核心 & 此外，组织者还确保活动也很有趣. Each 打成一片 has trivia and a raffle for tickets to a concert or sporting event.
The organizers have also put together a couple of stand-alone social events. 今年6月，超过100人参加了弥撒 & 打成一片的参与者去芬威公园观看红袜队的比赛. 质量 & 打成一片 organizers and BC’s Roche Center for Catholic Education co-hosted a tailgate before the 电子游戏软件-Holy Cross football game in September.
“我们希望弥撒 & 打成一片可以作为教区的典范，”基弗说. It’s also possible that BC alumni chapters around the country could partner with parishes in their cities to host a 质量 & 他们自己的混合程序.
基弗补充道:“弥撒 & 打成一片是为了纪念21世纪教会20多年的使命st Century Center to be a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church.”
了解更多关于弥撒的知识 & 交流，电子邮件church21@bc.Edu或访问项目页面 C21中心网站.