Successful Chicago young adult ministry program begins 26th season

Chicago, Ill., Jun 20, 2006 / 22:00 pm

This summer, 40 parishes throughout Chicago will host the 26th annual season of Theology on Tap and open their doors to young adults in search of meaning.  Chicago’s Theology on Tap was one of the first young adult programs of its kind and has been replicated in dioceses and parishes around the United States and abroad.

The series this year, will gather thousands of 20 and 30-something Catholics from throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Diocese of Joliet and the Diocese of Rockford for presentations and discussions on faith, relationship and work issues. It also provides a venue for young people to share their faith with one another.

Theology on Tap, sponsored by Chicago’s Young Adult Ministry Office, began in the archdiocese in June 1981 at St. James Parish as a response to a conversation between a parish priest and a young parishioner who was graduating from college. The young man was looking beyond his last few months of school to the "real world." He was concerned about his identity and finding meaning in life: Will I be more than my job? What will it mean to fall in love? Where does God fit in all this? What does it mean to be Catholic?

The popularity of Theology-on-Tap indicates that the program continues to address these concerns for young people.

Some of the topics covered this year include: What Does It Take to Be a Leader?; Understanding Your Neighbors: The Grand Essentials of the Five Major World Religions; The Art of Intimacy: A Good Conversation Is Long Overdue; Recognizing God in Everyday Events: Is There More than Meets the Eye?; How to Have a Healthy, Holy Love Life.

The series concludes Aug. 6 with a mass, presided by Cardinal Francis George, at Holy Name Cathedral. About 1,000 young people are expected for the mass and the lawn party that will follow.