Young People, Church, Spirituality & Becoming Leaders
A webinar talk and discussion with Dr Ann Marie Mealey. She writes:
In my view, to bring young people back into the Church more fully, we need to remember the riches of the spiritual life. Most young people that I meet tell me with great pride that they are ‘spiritual but not religious’. In most cases, I think this is their way of saying that they wish to stay connected with the more poetic side of the search for wholeness and fulfilment without having to deal with the perhaps heavier questions of dogma, morality or the study of the scriptures for instance. We are often happy to leave that task to the few theologians who are left in the country today as ‘that is for them to sort out’, not me!’
However, within this perspective, I feel there is nevertheless still a profound paradox. How can we ever know that our spirituality is healthy and truly life-giving if it is not tried and tested in relation to moral expectations, how we treat other people and the virtues we hold? Is it not rather selfish to focus merely on what we want to take as nourishment for our own well-being alone without any consideration of the impact that might have on others? How can we really say we are happy if we ignore that cry of the poor, or the call from a friend who is in need, or a colleague who is feeling worthless, or a loved one who has just had a breakdown?
Ann Marie is a member of the J&P Commission and we are delighted to have her lead us in this discussion about where we are going as ‘Church’. This session is based on an extended article that she has written for the J&P January Newsletter and is available for download from the J&P website.
To join this event simply register via the Eventbrite event page by following this link
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