NEW YORK — More than 600 young adults, campus ministers, youth ministers and other individuals interested in whether twenty-somethings are “Lost” attended a conference Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29 here at Fordham University. The event was co-sponsored by the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies and the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture.
Four young adults from the Diocese of Camden made the 80-mile trip to New York, hoping to gain some insight on their peers and come back home with new ideas on how to better serve young adults in the diocese.
“I want to learn as much as I can, so I can do as much as I can,” remarked Kevin Mohan, 25, a seminarian currently studying to be a priest in the Diocese of Camden.
Genevieve Jordan, young adult minister at the Romero Center in Camden, an urban retreat and social justice center, welcomed “the opportunity to start a dialogue” among young adults and those who work with them. “I’m really grateful that this conversation is happening,” Jordan said.
Father Jon Thomas, parochial vicar at Christ Our Light Parish in Cherry Hill, agreed, noting the “broad scope of opinions” that were offered the two days. “The conference was a good insight into what young adults face, what they’re looking for, and what attracts them,” he said.
“Young adults want good liturgy, compassionate outreach, good music and a welcoming community,” said Rev. Mr. Jamie King, a transitional deacon who expects to be ordained to the priesthood in May.
As a future priest, currently serving at Infant Jesus Parish in Woodbury Heights, he said the twenty-something conference helped him remember “the importance of meeting people where they are, and the commitment to make the parish the best it can be.”
“A community of faith that celebrates the Eucharist, with deep faith, is the most attractive” to young adults, he said.
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