Is it just me, or is there rarely young adults in church?

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SANxJONERO

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When I go to church I rarely see young adults & I’m talking about around 20’s. You’ll see maybe some young adults like teenagers with their families, but I rarely see adults a lil older then that. Some of the young 1’s that are there are only there, because their family makes them go. I really noticed this when I started getting back into being religious & going to church every Sunday. Is it like this in your churches? I don’t think I’ve ever felt as lonely as when I started looking for a devout Catholic lady to have a relationship with.

What’s wrong with so many young ladies today? I remember when I was younger I knew a girl that kind of didn’t like me, because I was a bad person. Now I’m the more religious 1 who rarely sees her at church & she seems even more arrogant then ever! This is just 1 of the many examples of the so called Catholics we have in our world. Now that I am more religious I get rejected by so many people & some times I just want to be friendly, but some people take my new self as something bad. I’m not a bible thumper, but I am a changed man & I thought I would be liked more for that.
 
My generation is still trying to recover from the society in which we live. We are a generation of St. Augustines. Please be a St. Monica for my generation.

Of course, I attend a Mass in the Extraordinary Form that is currently in a small chapel. There are only about 40 currently attending this Mass, but about a quarter of them fall in the ‘young adult’ range. Of course, the priest is only 29, so he falls in that range too.

Pax Tecum,
Zach
 
with the exception of ash wendsday(cant speak for Christmas or Easter as those have all been attended somewhere else with family) i have to say i see the same as the op.

there are kids with their families. but in the 2 years we have lived here i have never seen anyone around my age at mass. my wife and i(25 each) take our baby, but noone else seems to.

and i know there are young people around. there is a junior college, regular undergrad and a grad school all within 3 miles, full of young people. now odds are they are composed of about 25% catholics like the general population. so im at a loss as for why. in undergrad it seemed like every catholic student must have gone every week so who knows.
 
i would like it but they dont have a 6am. we usually go at 8am or 5:30pm as those best fit into baby’s meal schedule, but over the years ive hit them all at least a few times.
 
I usually go around afternoon, or evening. Even if I go other regular Sundays, it’s about the same with young people.
 
I am happy to say that at the parish where I am assigned, we have MANY young people. Our Life teen program is exploding with the youth and making many converts and these carry over into the 20’s crowd.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B
 
SANxJONERO said:
I usually go around afternoon, or evening. Even if I go other regular Sundays, it’s about the same with young people.
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Around here, I don’t see any young people until at least the 10:30am Mass. 😛

The few times I’ve had to go to 6, 7, 8am Mass, it is all old people. (No offense old people).

For me, I’m too preggers to want to wake up early. I have terrible insomnia.

Speaking of Mass times, the Masses themselves are different too. In a prior thread, I had complained about some liturgical abuses, clapping and dancing, folk songs, etc at Mass. Well, I just went to the 6am Mass and it was the most liturgically correct Mass I had been to in a long time, lol.

I guess it’s all about personalizing it…🤷
 
i have also observed that the earlier the mass is the more sound it is so to speak. it seems to be that way everywhere i go.
 
Something I’ve noticed in my parish is a lot of grandparents bringing their grandchildren to church, but the children’s parents are nowhere to be seen. This is very common in my parish.
 
I rarely see people in my age range–I turn 24 in December–at either of the churches I attend from time to time. Both Churches tend to have older people, and people just starting families who are usually in their late 20s and early 30s. I recently met an engaged Catholic couple who attend a church that I’ve never been to, but neither of them are very serious about their faith. It really is a shame, isn’t it?
 
aggiecatholic05 said:
i have also observed that the earlier the mass is the more sound it is so to speak. it seems to be that way everywhere i go.
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Our Cathedral has the EF mass at 1:00 pm, the last mass on Sunday. I definitely wouldn’t call that the “least sound.” 😉
 
jheii said:
I rarely see people in my age range–I turn 24 in December–at either of the churches I attend from time to time. Both Churches tend to have older people, and people just starting families who are usually in their late 20s and early 30s. I recently met an engaged Catholic couple who attend a church that I’ve never been to, but neither of them are very serious about their faith. It really is a shame, isn’t it?
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It is a shame, but I pray for our generation.
 
jheii said:
Our Cathedral has the EF mass at 1:00 pm, the last mass on Sunday. I definitely wouldn’t call that the “least sound.” 😉
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i sure wouldnt either. maybe its a regional thing.
 
We have 10 Masses every Sunday and there are plenty of young adults at all of them.
 
I’m in my early forties and have the same problem only in reverse kind of… . Lots of young people in their 20’s, not so many my age. Three fourths of the people attending the Tridentine mass in my parish are under 30 (or at least appear to be).

Give it some time, though, and you will meet people. I’m a convert (class of 2006) and am just starting to find my niche. If you can find something to get involved in - go for it (start something if you can’t find anything.) 😃
 
Our Lifeteen Mass is always packed full of teens+. The earlier Masses on Sunday are mostly families. Being in a college town, early Fall and Spring are the busiest times for the 20-somethings at our parish. Of course, now the phrase “Oh, the Titans are playing at home today, aren’t they?” is getting a little worn out and the pews are only half full of anyone - young or old 😦

–
 
I go to our earliest Mass- 7:30- and true, it’s mostly older people. I have seen later Masses, though, and they seems to have a good number of young adults. Kids go with their families at 10:00 after religious ed, so maybe that has something to do with it.
 
Sadly, it’s the same at my church. Well, at least at the 5pm Sunday Mass that my husband and I usually go to. I do see a group of girls in their 20’s that come, but they are ALWAYS late. Sometimes coming during or after the homily and always going up for communion.
The teenagers that come seem to be forced by their parents and are off in lala land.
If things keep up like this, I hate to see what it’s going to be like when I’m in my 50’s (I’m 28). I’m afraid our churches will be like ghost towns 😦
 
SANxJONERO said:
When I go to church I rarely see young adults & I’m talking about around 20’s. You’ll see maybe some young adults like teenagers with their families, but I rarely see adults a lil older then that. Some of the young 1’s that are there are only there, because their family makes them go. I really noticed this when I started getting back into being religious & going to church every Sunday. Is it like this in your churches? I don’t think I’ve ever felt as lonely as when I started looking for a devout Catholic lady to have a relationship with.

What’s wrong with so many young ladies today? I remember when I was younger I knew a girl that kind of didn’t like me, because I was a bad person. Now I’m the more religious 1 who rarely sees her at church & she seems even more arrogant then ever! This is just 1 of the many examples of the so called Catholics we have in our world. Now that I am more religious I get rejected by so many people & some times I just want to be friendly, but some people take my new self as something bad. I’m not a bible thumper, but I am a changed man & I thought I would be liked more for that.
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Don’t know about where you’re at, but the census data for Alaska shows that most college age kids leave for college out of state. If you are not in a big college town, you may find the same issue as a localized phenomenon.

Mind you, I live in the “big college town” for Alaska… but most of those bound for college do leave state. Many also instead go into the military before college, thus putting them on the installations rather than (usually) in the community. By their early 30’s, most can afford off base housing, and return to the “real world” even if they have gone career military. Now, last time I went to mass on one of the bases, it was packed with 20-somethings. (It was, however 15 years ago! At the time, I was one of 3 obvious 20-somethings in the parish of about 40 families I was and am again part of.)

And last time I was at St. Mary’s in Corvallis, Oregon (About 2003, IIRC) it, too, was having plenty 20-somethings attend.
 
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