We are the church, at any age, in any place

A few weeks ago, my parish of St. Anthony in Kailua temporarily relocated its Masses to the church hall while the main church’s interior undergoes a month-long renovation. As I sat in a pew next to my parents during the first weekend of Masses in the “new” location, I began to think about how almost 25 years ago I was baptized in that very hall. (At the time, St. Anthony was rebuilding its church after a fire caused major structural damage.)

Deacon Ernie Carlbom gave the homily at the 8:30 a.m. Mass that particular Sunday and in it he connected our short-term relocation with the idea of the “Church.” We had left our physical church but the actual “Church” was composed of “we, the parishioners.” Wherever people worship, there God is.

That in turn made me think about how I’d spent my entire childhood attending St. Anthony, both church and school, from kindergarten to eighth grade. I came back on college breaks and again when I graduated and returned to the islands. In one of those “full circle moments” in life, there I was that recent Sunday sitting next to the parents who held me in their arms 25 years ago, pledging to raise me in the Catholic faith.

I sometimes gripe about how I am asked on a regular basis by people that don’t know me where I’m from originally. I don’t need to worry about saying, “Actually I was born and raised on Oahu,” when I’m at St. Anthony. The people there know me and make me feel welcome. We have history, St. Anthony’s and I. That’s one reason I keep coming back each week.

Not all young adults stay at their same parish their whole lives, especially as we often relocate after high school or college. Heck, it’s hard to keep us going to Mass every Sunday let alone going to the same parish. Maybe the next time you see a new young face in the pew near you, you could go out of your way to introduce yourself and tell him or her about what’s going on at your parish. It might just encourage them to come back the following week.

Parishes can be doing more in creating young adult-targeted ministries and incorporating the millennial generation in everyday parish life. But parents might also ask, beg or bribe their grown kids to go to Mass with them. My parents know on a Sunday when I’m feeling particularly lethargic that the incentive of coffee on them after church gives me the extra encouragement to go. And when I’m at Mass I feel reconnected and recharged for the upcoming week.

And to those active young adult Catholics reading this, what about you? I bet you know an inactive Catholic your age, whether through work or friends or some other way, that could use some encouragement to come back to church. Why not ask him or her why they don’t come to church anymore? And then invite them to attend Mass one Saturday or Sunday with you and then to get coffee or a meal afterward.

There are some terrific young adult programs out there, but the statistics show that the Catholic Church isn’t doing enough now. When young adults want to find their home away from home they should be able to go to any Catholic church and be welcomed. Because we are the Church, at any age, in any place.