Young adults talk synod around a bonfire

SEVERNA PARK – Sitting around a crackling bonfire and sipping hot apple cider, a group of young adults gathered outside St. John the Evangelist Church in Severna Park Nov. 5 to talk about the future of the Catholic Church and share their input regarding Pope Francis’ 2021-23 Synod on Synodality.

Father Even Ponton, a 32-year-old associate pastor of the Anne Arundel County parish, answered two simple questions he has been hearing a lot: “What is the synod?” and “Why should I care?”

He went back to a Gospel reading that recounts how Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. 

“They were walking together as a synodal church when the blind beggar Bartimeus called out to Jesus,” Father Ponton said. “Jesus and the disciples were busy, but Jesus stopped.”

Life in the church is similarly busy today, Father Ponton said. There are many projects, programs and Bible studies already running in parishes and it seems like there is no time to stop and listen, especially to those on the margins, those who have come but haven’t experienced a full participation in communion with the church, he said.

“Ordinary Christians of Severna Park,” he said, “how do we make sure we are journeying together and not moving in separate crowds?”

Father Ponton said the parish is looking at ways to approach the synod with listening sessions within ministries and with the parish as a whole.

“The bonfire is a low-pressure entranceway of the synod,” he said.   

Nearly 20 young adults from various nearby parishes showed up. They included representatives of St. Andrew by the Bay in Annapolis, Christ the King in Glen Burnie, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crofton, St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Pasadena, St. John the Evangelist, St. Mary in Annapolis, Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville and Our Lady of Sorrows in West River.

Some young adults already had plans for participating in listening sessions at their home parishes. For others, the bonfire event was their first time hearing about the synod.

Father Ponton invited young adults participating in listening sessions to ponder what kind of church they want to see in 2050.

“We won’t be young adults, but we will still be around,” he said, “So, what do we do now?”

Chelsea Baranoski, the young adult representative of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist, urged her peers to go to a listening session. 

“If you do not feel listened to at one church, go to another parish,” she said. “This is an exciting time for young adults to be heard.”

Heather Brown said she looks forward to the listening session at her parish, Christ the King, which will take place in its pastorate church of St. Bernadette in Severn.

“I feel I find myself searching for people of my same age with same values,” she noted. “I am 30 years old and it is getting harder to meet people.” 

She added she would like more opportunities to meet like-minded Catholic young adults.

“I look forward to listening to what other people have to say, see who feels left out and how I can help the parish,” Brown added.  

Father Ponton said it’s “healthy” for the church to pause and “listen to the Holy Spirit and to one another, like Jesus did.” 

“Where would the church be today without synods?” he asked.

The bonfire event at St. John was conducted in collaboration with Anne Arundel Catholic Young Adults, a countywide ministry for young adults ages 18-39.

For more information about the synodal process in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, visit archbalt.org/synod

Email Priscila González de Doran at pdoran@CatholicReview.org

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