Single and Socializing

[valient_Lucy]

I would love a group where shirtless men were fanning us as we sip yummy drinks. Do you think that would fly? It might attract some other people then the parish I left. Now I’m on the hunt for a new parish. On a more serious note, have fun gatherings and nights out, not just bible study.

LOL! I LIKE this idea.

Yeah, it’s important to have a good mix of social and spiritual events.

 

[valient_Lucy]

LOL–this literally made me laugh at loud!! I alternate between two parishes. They both have YAC. One parish YAC is having a happy hour this Thursday. This thread has inspired me so I am going to attend. I am an introvert though and the idea of walking into a bar where I don`t know anyone is not my idea of fun.

Sincerely,

Maria1212

Go. If you have a young adult friend who is also a Catholic, you can ask them to go with you, if it makes you feel more comfortable.

 

[ack]

Here’s a thought. For those of you who would like a Catholic young adult group, what kinds of activities would you like to see? For those of us who have a Catholic young adult group, what do you like about it?

Our parish young adult group has a meeting every two weeks, usually at someone’s house, but sometimes at the rectory. The meetings start with an informal dinner and socialization; once enough people arrive, we pray evening prayer and then we have a discussion. For the discussion, there is usually a presenter who explains part of the Bible, a pastoral letter, a saint, or another Catholic topic.

Many members of the group also socialize outside the formal meetings (brunches, bars, music, baseball, hiking, etc.) These events are organized on an ad-hoc basis by sending an e-mail to everyone. Finally, most members of the group attend the same Sunday Mass at the parish.

Some advantages of our format:
(1) Structured environment makes it easy for newcomers to meet people
(2) Organization is decentralized – the meeting is often at a different house every time, and we take turns presenting and choosing the topics. This means that nobody can ruin the group or hijack it, because nobody is really in charge. The group could easily split in two and survive, in the event that there was an irreconcilable disagreement on how it was to be run.
(3) Different members of the group can share their talents in their own way – some have a mind for theology, others know how to cook…
(4) Format allows the pastor of the parish to attend often
(5) The quirky atmosphere. The DC area is full of lobbyist, lawyers, and political wannabes, and the parishes in some parts of the city reflect that. I see our parish/group as a haven for laid-back types who don’t want to be a politician or make lots of money. Besides, the parish is in a lower-middle class neighborhood, so the political types wouldn’t be interested in coming here anyway.
(6) No formal age limits. I really hate unnecessary rules, and we don’t have any like this. If you’re too old to hang out with us, you’ll probably feel too uncomfortable to come anyway. Similarly, this is not a creepy “singles group” (but it’s still a great opportunity to meet lots of singles). No attempts are made to exclude young married couples.

Some disadvantages of this format:
(1) Some might find the regular meetings of prayers, reading, and discussion to be boring. (More complicated meetings would be too hard to organize without a real leader, though.) Some of the theology-types like having very, very long discussions.
(2) Social events are not part of the regular meeting structure. Again, without a leader, the structure must remain consistent.

The group has survived for over 4 years without any heroic efforts, so something is being done right…

 

[Rawb]

What would I want? Hmm.

Retreats. That would almost be a given. I live less than an hour from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so there’re lots of retreats all the time. A young adult one would be fun.

Social time. Time to just hang out. It doesn’t have to be Faith focused all the time. Time to just hang out would be good - bowling, movies, restaurants, etc.

Spiritual time. The above being said I would like some time where we discuss the faith, challenges, scripture, the Mass, saints, and pray for and support one another. Opportunities to volunteer in the parish and community would be good too.

Really that’s it. Casual, good balance of people, some hanging out, some praying. Is that too much to ask?

 

[Bataar]

For me, it would have to include some kind of scheduled events/activities. If it’s just a time for people to sit in a room talking/visiting, I wouldn’t be interested because those are extremely boring. I need to be able to interact with people in an activity or at least be able to observe them. Then, if I think they’re interesting, I’ll be inclined to get to know them.

 

[valient_Lucy]

bump.

 

[valient_Lucy]

I’m posting one more thing here, because there is a simposium this weekend for the Cleveland Diocese on young adults. Now, this could be a good thing, but we’re slightly annoyed, to be honest, at St. Rose. We talked to two people who were on the committee, and the committee was run by middle aged religious, which is NOT, I would like to point out, a bad thing. However both the people who were on the committee felt that the young people there were completely ignored. Worse, they almost felt as though they were on the committee as “token young people.”

The other thing that upset them is it seemed to them that the Cleveland Diocese is trying to reinvent the wheel yet again! They don’t seem to want to capitalize on what works, and what IS working, in the diocese.

I wish I could go to the symposium tomorrow, but I have to work. Otherwise I wold actually like to attend, even though we’re frustrated. However, I am glad that one member of the committee is a very active member of St. Rose, since he can make his voice heard.