Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Preparing for dating (Part II)
Katerina at Evangelical Catholicism posts the second installment in her series on preparing for dating: Seeking a Community.
Young adults alike have a difficult time meeting peers their age who also share their same interests at work, because they are limited by the demographics present at their work environment. If this is true for finding people with the same interests, you can only imagine how hard it is to find young adults who are practicing Catholics at work!
So, how do you find this community? It takes a lot of hard work and persistence.
Katerina gives 4 suggestions:
Become a Minister in your parish: If you are not one yet, this can be a great way to meet more people at your parish and even if they are not young adults, they still are part of your faith community who will provide support through difficult times.
Participate in Young Adult Groups: Ideally, your parish will have a young adult group, but if that is not the case, research other parishes or at the Diocese level to see which parishes are offering young adult gatherings.
Enjoy yourself: When you are alone, grab a great book or the Bible and get your iPod or mp3 player and go to a coffee house and enjoy your reading. You will discover how peaceful and uplifting this simple experience will be. I can’t tell you how many times I have met Catholics and other Christians alike whenever they see my Bible or another religious book that I’m reading.
Start a Blog: I had not thought about this one until now, but if you are not successful in finding young adult groups in your area, then start a blog and be part of the Catholic blog community. You will meet people who are young like you and who share your faith and your spirit of service to the Church.
And, I would add, be prepared to stick with it through hard times. I've been involved in Young Adult Ministry for several years in my diocese (there hasn't been any official ministry in the diocese, so it's been very grassroots). What I've learned is that the group is bound to change frequently and sometimes dramatically as people move, get married, and enter religious life. The result is sometimes a feeling of constantly starting over with making friends and building community. It can be discouraging, but it can also be fun meeting new people.
Young adults alike have a difficult time meeting peers their age who also share their same interests at work, because they are limited by the demographics present at their work environment. If this is true for finding people with the same interests, you can only imagine how hard it is to find young adults who are practicing Catholics at work!
So, how do you find this community? It takes a lot of hard work and persistence.
Katerina gives 4 suggestions:
Become a Minister in your parish: If you are not one yet, this can be a great way to meet more people at your parish and even if they are not young adults, they still are part of your faith community who will provide support through difficult times.
Participate in Young Adult Groups: Ideally, your parish will have a young adult group, but if that is not the case, research other parishes or at the Diocese level to see which parishes are offering young adult gatherings.
Enjoy yourself: When you are alone, grab a great book or the Bible and get your iPod or mp3 player and go to a coffee house and enjoy your reading. You will discover how peaceful and uplifting this simple experience will be. I can’t tell you how many times I have met Catholics and other Christians alike whenever they see my Bible or another religious book that I’m reading.
Start a Blog: I had not thought about this one until now, but if you are not successful in finding young adult groups in your area, then start a blog and be part of the Catholic blog community. You will meet people who are young like you and who share your faith and your spirit of service to the Church.
And, I would add, be prepared to stick with it through hard times. I've been involved in Young Adult Ministry for several years in my diocese (there hasn't been any official ministry in the diocese, so it's been very grassroots). What I've learned is that the group is bound to change frequently and sometimes dramatically as people move, get married, and enter religious life. The result is sometimes a feeling of constantly starting over with making friends and building community. It can be discouraging, but it can also be fun meeting new people.
