Preparing for the Young Adult Ministry Symposium

BY CASSANDRA (CASEY) LEE ASSOCIATED DIRECTOR, YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS) decided to postpone the Young Adult Ministry (YAM) Symposium to next year, 12 – 15 August 2021.

This postponement of the AMS YAM Symposium stirred an idea to refocus the Symposium’s goal to “renew the vision of young adult ministry” as a process of discernment through virtual webinars over the next year leading up to August 2021.

The webinars will be facilitated with Zoom, a video conferencing tool that has the capability of oscillating between a large group and smaller breakout groups. To reach multiple time zones, each webinar presentation will have one live session (the last Tuesday of each month) and two recorded sessions (the Thursday following). Keynote presentations are being recorded and made available on the website to view later, as well. The discussions will not be recorded so that an exchange of ideas may be less inhibited among those who connect to either the live webinar sessions or the recorded sessions.

The Office of Evangelization hosted the first two webinars in this series, one in September and the other in October. The first webinar introduced the inspiration for the YAM Symposium, which was the Holy Father’s invitation in his Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit for (arch)dioceses to explore renewing young adult ministry as a way of “journeying together” (Christus Vivit, 203). The journey helps “young people use their insight, ingenuity, and knowledge to address the issues and concerns of other young people in their own language.” This document was the result of the Synod on

Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment. It sought “to provide a Catholic response to the reality of young people in connection to faith, the community of the Church, and each one’s vocational calling” (USCCB.org, Christus Vivit). The webinar shared this context as a way to invite the young adult participants to share their voice in these discussions.

The second webinar discussed “Challenges in the Military Environment,” which is part one of a two-part series sharing the results of a recent survey the Office of Evangelization developed to capture the experience of being a Catholic military young adult (ages 18-39). As of late October, the survey received 115 responses from active-duty military members, military spouses, veterans, reservists, and National Guardsmen. The survey questions covered both the opportunities and challenges of being Catholic in the military. As mentioned, the theme of challenges was covered first in the second webinar, which highlighted a sense of belonging, mental illness/mental health, isolation/social exclusion, and community as some of the major issues faced by military members. It is hoped, through continued discussion in the webinars, that new pastoral approaches may develop to help combat these matters.

I ask for your prayers as the Office of Evangelization continues to accompany military young adults in the preparation for next year’s YAM Symposium. I also encourage you to consider inviting active-duty military young adults and spouses to join the webinars. The dates for the next two webinars are as follows:

Evangelization Discipleship

Tues, 29 Dec 2020 8 pm ET - LIVE with discussion Thurs, 31 Dec 2020 7am ET – recorded with discussion & 2pm ET – recorded with discussion Tues, 26 Jan 2021 8 pm ET - LIVE with discussion Thurs, 28 Jan 2021 7am ET – recorded with discussion & 2pm ET – recorded with discussion

Registration and additional information is available on the website at milarch.org/symposium/ Christmas 2020 |

BY MARK MOITOZA, TH.D.

Last December I had the privilege of visiting Assisi for the first time. I arrived in Italy to prepare to facilitate an AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreat that would be held at a nearby diocesan retreat center. Anticipating the arrival of couples from U.S. military installations in Europe, I took a day to embark upon the pilgrim’s path. Walking from the train station I followed the way to the walled city that Saint Francis called home. The gradual uphill climb became steeper as the buildings and many churches came into view.

Upon entering the Porta San Pietro, I crossed into this medieval village confronted with both the ancient and the new. Stone buildings evoked a beautiful and sturdy sense of time gone by while many tourist shops touted that convenience was never far off. Turning left I continued up the cobblestone streets to the Basilica di S. Francesco. Having spent most of this journey climbing up I suddenly found myself descending downstairs into the crypt. As I arrived at the tomb of Saint Francis I sat in a pew and prayed, surrounded by the silent prayers of pilgrims over time. Ten months later on 3 October 2020, in that same crypt, the Holy Father signed his new encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship (https://www.usccb.org/fratelli-tutti).

There is much to digest throughout this encyclical. A number of recent webinars and articles have highlighted important insights in each of the eight chapters. The best advice I heard, however, was to read through the letter slowly and prayerfully. That encouragement reminded me of walking around Assisi. Through many turns and paths, the pilgrim is led toward embracing new perspectives. Frequent pauses finds one considering where one came from and where one is heading. The pilgrim way is neither direct nor convenient.

Sometimes, the one thing we are looking for is not revealed in the way we expect. That happened to me as I anticipated seeing the bronze statue of Saint Francis the Warrior on his horse, but I could not find it. In fact, I passed

right by it without realizing that the statue was covered up with branches as a life-size outdoor nativity scene was being assembled. It was not until I had walked through the entire village and returned again to the basilica that I suddenly caught a glimpse of what I was looking for, through the small gaps amongst the branches.

Pope Francis highlights the impact of Saint Francis at the beginning ofFratelli Tutti (all brothers). The Saint evoked a spirit of fraternal love, simplicity, humility, and joy. He crossed boundaries to accompany the poor, the sick, and the outcast. He recognized Christ in others while sharing the love of God in those moments of unanticipated interruption. As we prepare for the Christmas season it is a good time to read slowly and prayerfully through this new encyclical, which calls us to recognize love in the human dignity of each person. To cultivate a daily pilgrim path that finds us peering through the unexpected is to recognize the love of Christ. V