Meet Matt

Meet Matt: a recent college graduate starting a new position with a local corporation. Matt is 24, single, and just might be sitting behind you next weekend at Mass.

Matt’s story is not unusual. In fact, the first part is more common than you might expect. The second part however, is relatively rare. What happens involves every member of a welcoming community. Young adults, single and married, represent a third of our parish population. How do we measure up?

Early on in his sophomore year at State, Matt’s roommate Josh invited him to check out Sunday Mass at the campus Newman Center. Matt knew that Josh had been a part of that community since freshman year and was involved in some outreach ministries.

Matt was hesitant to accept. Not because he wasn’t Catholic. He was; his parents made sure he had his sacraments, but that was where his religious experience ended. He couldn’t remember the last time he attended Mass with his folks, he felt lukewarm about the whole church thing, and wasn’t sure he wanted to be accountable to his roommate if he decided to bag it. Matt had to admit though, that Josh seemed pretty normal so he reluctantly decided to join him. Surprisingly, he found the Mass experience to be energizing. He just felt good to be there, and started going week after week and even volunteered a few hours on weekdays with various ministries including tutoring a few local poor kids after school. Matt discovered he thrived on the experience of being a member of a community where he could strengthen his faith and discover spiritual gifts. He found himself growing as a leader. Unfortunately, when Matt graduated, he found himself without this connection. He felt lost and wasn’t able to find anything even remotely close to his experience with the Newman Center.

One Friday night over pizza and beers with his buddies, the typical conversation about work, lousy commutes, and the playoffs somehow drifted to the topic of the Newman Center that most of them attended at State. Although some said they occasionally showed up at their local parish, they missed the experience of campus ministry. Matt agreed, admitting that he really wished he could find a church like it. But then, one of the guys, Steve, started telling them about his girlfriend’s parish.

“It's different.” he said, “They are really friendly, you know? The music is unbelievable. It’s just like Newman except you might be sitting next to someone who reminds you of your grandma, and you know what? She’s just as happy to see you as if she was your grandma!” Steve continued, “Sheila’s folks are long-time members and on the way out they introduced me to the youth minister. You would not believe how cool this guy was. Turns out, they are looking for people just like us. We talked for a long time and he told me about some of the things I could get involved in and said to come back the following week for a planning meeting.”

He paused, grinning “You guys’ game?”

Matt was the first to answer, "Count me in."