Young Adult Ministry: RENEW Theology on Tap
RENEW International’s Theology on Tap was especially vulnerable to the effects of the COVID pandemic, because most meetings are held in the kind of venues—bars and restaurants— that were among the first to be closed down in many parts of the country. Theology on Tap, which RENEW has been licensing since 2007, invites young adults to explore the Catholic faith and its relevance in their lives in settings in which they feel most comfortable. Normally, participants eat and drink and listen to lay or clerical speakers discuss aspects of the Catholic faith. RENEW maintains a Facebook page for Theology on Tap Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of the Diocese of Altoonaprograms, and a closed Facebook page, Theology on Tap Think Johnstown, chats with two young women after a Theology on Tap session in State College, PennsylvaTank, for exchange of ideas. nia in December, 2019. Bishop Bartchak spoke about Some 34 dioceses and individual parishes participated in reaching out to the religiously unaffiliated. Theology on Tap during the past year. The COVID shutdown didn’t stifle this ministry entirely, thanks to modern technology. For example, RENEW cosponsored two Virtual National Theology on Tap webinars in April, available via a website and streamed live on YouTube and Facebook. In May, when Dane County, Wisconsin was permitting indoor gatherings at 25 percent occupancy, the Cathedral Parish in the Diocese of Madison scheduled a Theology on Tap session in connection with Mental Health Awareness Month. The session, which was presented both inperson at a lounge in Madison and via Zoom, explored the topic “Have No Anxiety at All: A Conversation on Mental Health.”
Archbishop Wilton T. Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington, speaks to a group of young adults in a crowded bar in the nation’s capital in August 2019. Gregory spoke about the impact of the sexual-abuse crisis on the archdiocese, and he listened to input from some of the hundreds who gathered. 10
Also in May, Theology on Tap Toronto and Faith Connections hosted a Zoom-based session in which a panel of previous Theology on Tap speakers reflected on the past talks in light of the pandemic and discussed “what we can bring forward into the world, and DID YOU KNOW? our lives, once the storm has All the Theology on Tap sessions from the passed.” Archdiocese of Washington, including
RENEW INTERNATIONAL those with Archbishop Wilton T. Gregory, are available on the ADW Theology on Tap podcast.
RENEW International
