3 Takeaways from 2023 at the Newman Center Pasadena

What are the 3 takeaways from 2023 at the Newman Center Pasadena? 2023 has been characterized by community, formation, and service at the Newman Center in Pasadena. It is encouraging to see how God is working through the students and young adults who participate in the activities here. The importance of community, formation, and service are the 3 takeaways from 2023.

Community

Christ builds community. I have been impressed with how the groups are growing. Our campus minister, Jerome, has been able to form a nice Thursday night group of young adults reflecting on themes of the faith, centered on the writings of Fr. Michael Gaitley.

Over the summer, I feel that a great group coalesced around a big service project. We organized a parish-wide movie night, as well as a dodgeball tournament for young adults. We nearly got more than we bargained for with the dodgeball tournament. Most of the groups were from other young adult outreach ministries, but one team showed up as a seemingly official dodgeball team.

Forming strong friendships helps them lay the foundation for future strong marriages.

Community is one of the takeaways

Having a strong community as a part of building a strong young adult program is the first of the takeaways.

Formation

Formation is one of the things we emphasize at our Newman Center.

Our monthly formation activity is the Newman night. Our campus minister, Krista, has been invaluable in making sure we have high quality speakers month to month. We start with Mass, then head over to the Newman Center for a savory supper and then a talk presenting a theme. A few times, they have taken the format of a “Theology on Tap.” It is encouraging to note how the young adults have been interested in themes centered on the Eucharist and the Liturgy, on Life Issues and Love and Dating.

You’re talking about what?

One of the most popular Newman Nights this year was when Fr. Shawn Aaron spoke on “Shakespeare, Sex and Friendship.” From discussing the literature of Shakespeare and Dante, he went on to describe and explore the longings of the human heart, that can ultimately be satisfied only in God. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (St. Augustine of Hippo)

Mother Mary is always present

I was able to share the story of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, helping to underline the intersection between faith and science. It is always good to have a Marian theme during May and I like to keep our CalTech students engaged with the material that we are presenting.

Formation is one of the takeaways

Offering solid formation through formation activities, spiritual direction and personal attention is the second of the takeaways.

Service

Service characterized our team this year. To go back to the Dodgeball Tournament and Family Movie Night; these were significant endeavors carried out by our young adults. We met every week for several months, divvying up the various jobs and going through various versions of the plan. When the day finally arrived, we were like a well-oiled machine, running the event with aplomb.

A team began by decorating the church and putting out advertisements. The promotion lasted several weeks. The day of the event, some of the team put up decorations, while others focused on registering the team. We had two priests from the parish serve as referees of the game and had another young adult ministry, Somos Incorrupto, serve up great music as DJ’s. The games were intense and a lot of fun to watch. During the games, volunteers were serving out delicious grilled-cheese sandwiches to the participants and spectators.

The fun never stops

When we finished the dodgeball tournament, we went on to prepare for the Family Movie Night. Handel’s Ice Cream Truck showed up and I was on the team for the pizzas. We prepared and cooked 99 pizzas and by the end of the night, I was exhausted. We cleaned everything up and called it a night. For me, the greatest thing was seeing that we had formed a team and now I know that we have a team of young men and women committed unconditionally to help out. With them, there is nothing that we cannot do.

Service is one of the takeaways

Service is important for young people if they are going to stay involved. This is the third of the takeaways.

Continuing initiatives

The initiatives have continued to come in. I am very excited about the young adult choir that has begun to sing for the Thursday morning parish mass. It is great to see how these young men and women get together, practice the songs, and then rise early on Thursday to come to mass before rushing off to their busy schedules at school and work.

Some people think that young people today are not interested in religion or unwilling to work, but I see the opposite. It has been an honor to serve this community in 2023 and I am looking forward to 2024.