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Young Adult Outreach: Keeping - and Building - The Faith
In a high-strung culture that punishes us with social and financial stresses and distracts us with easy, shallow pleasures, young adults are at particular risk of losing touch with their faith. The Office of Young Adult Outreach (YAO) of the Archdiocese of New York invites them to reconnect with the Church by offering them a more meaningful experience.
“The first pillar of our mission,” says Colin Nykaza, YAO’s director, “is to help people in their 20s and 30s encounter Jesus Christ and develop a relationship with Him. The second is to help them encounter each other – find a home, a spouse, a community.”
The programs sponsored by YAO are designed to help young adult Catholics receive God’s love through Masses, confessions and faith formation, and to give God’s love to others through service and social events. Nykaza divides the programs into four categories geared toward young adults at different stages of engagement with the Church: Seeker, Acquaintance, Friend and Disciple.
At Seeker events, attendees might not even notice that their hosts are Catholic. “We’ve done jazz nights, fitness events, trips to a Mets or Yankees game, bowling, boating – pretty much anything that young adults would like to be doing anyway,” Nykaza says.
Events at the Acquaintance level are more faith-aligned, including an array of volunteer programs. “We connect young adults to amazing opportunities to give of themselves,” Nykaza says. “Hospital and prison ministries, homeless outreach, soup kitchens: We’ll either connect to outside agencies or run the program ourselves.” Also in this category are social events with a bit more of an overt Catholic tie. “If someone is anxious about going back to church, we’ll invite them where a couple hundred young adults gather in an outdoor courtyard in Manhattan for a lecture and discussion followed by a social.”
Attendees at a Love & Responsibility lecture in Manhattan.
At the Disciple level, on the other hand, “The events are strictly sacramental,” Nykaza says, “including young adult Masses, reconciliation, and holy hours of adoration. We make sure to host each of these once a month in every region of the archdiocese.” Among YAO’s new under-takings are the planned opening of a perpetual adoration chapel in Manhattan and the establishment of the Bedside Mercy Ministry, mobilizing ‘Hey listen, Cardinal Dolan’s about to do this Young Adult Mass at St. Pat-rick’s Cathedral – great musicians, big party afterward, why don’t you come?’ Before you know it, this person – who had thought they were all alone as a Catholic – is in the cathedral with 2,000 young adults practicing their faith.”
The Office of Young Adult Outreach serves and supports more than 100 young adult ministries in the 292 parishes of the Archdiocese of New York. For more information on YAO programs, visit catholicnyc.com.