The gym at Our Lady of the Wayside school in Arlington Heights was packed Monday night and not because of any basketball games. Far from it. Instead tables donned in tablecloths filled the gym, from one end to the other, with nearly 300 representatives from 17 parishes in Cook and Lake counties in attendance.
Cardinal Blase Cupich and Fr. Arthur Marat, Pastor of Our Lady of the Wayside, visit with parishioners. (Photos courtesy of OLW)
The draw? The chance to meet with Cardinal Blase Cupich and hear about a new campaign aimed at strengthening local parishes and refocusing its efforts in reaching out to young people who are less engaged.
Called Generation to Generation: Answer the Call, the campaign is wide-reaching, with additional goals of caring for priests through retirement, supporting individual parish improvements and assisting with vulnerable parishes.
“Coming together is a shot in the arm,” Cardinal Cupich said as he looked over the large crowd. “I get to see the leaders of parishes who are helping their pastors and parishes on a daily basis.”
Ultimately, all 31 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago will participate in the campaign, with 50% of the funds they raise going back to their churches for their individual needs. But reaching out to disengaged young people was at the center of the program — and the campaign.
Nearly 300 people packed the Wayside gym.
In looking for ways to reach out them — young people who were born and raised as Catholics but no longer attend church — they interviewed 1,500 young adults to find out what their spiritual life is like. Within minutes, Cardinal Cupich said, they opened up about searching for something spiritual, but something holds them back.
“A high percentage of the young people we spoke to were wounded,” he said, “with a high level of depression and anxiety, especially coming out of the pandemic.”
Betsy Bohlen, Chief Operating Officer of the Archdiocese, described these young people as “spiritual explorers.”
“Of emerging young adults, less than 20% of them practice their faith,” she said. “They are skeptical of institutions and the Catholic church is one of them. Yet, 80% of them are spiritually hungry. The question is, ‘How do we answer that call?’ ”
Betsy Bohlen, COO of the Archdiocese, gives details of the campaign.
The answer is to go out and get them, she added, pointing to “soft entry points,” both in online programming, small faith communities, fostering opportunities for spiritual encounter and ultimately personal accompaniment.”
Cardinal Cupich added that churches of all denominations are experiencing a decline in participation from young people, but said the Archdiocese of Chicago is doing something about it.
“There’s a vibrancy to this church and the faith of the people,” he said, “that has allowed us to be bold and innovative. It’s not about preaching to the choir. It’s about reaching out to those who are unchurched and de-churched. We need to give them an entry point — and go where they are.”
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