by Meghan Walton
Catholic Review

A crowd of some 60 young adults between the ages of 18-35 stood to sing “All Creatures of our God and King” in the St. Agnes, Catonsville, cafeteria, June 19 as part of the six week program “Discovering Christ,” which is run by ChristLife, a Catholic ministry for evangelization.

Through multimedia, presentations, discussion groups and social time, the program encourages young adults to learn about themselves, others and their uniting beliefs in God, said Pete Ascosi, the young adult coordinator for ChristLife.

The purpose of the program is to “expose people to basic proclamations of the good news,” said Mr. Ascosi. “We want to bring people to a closer relationship with Jesus. We are seeking the interested and relaying a compelling message.”

Some of the topics the group will discuss are “Why does Jesus matter?”, “Why do I need a savior?”, “The Holy Spirit: Who is he?” and “Believing and Belonging: What about the church.”

The first presentation, given by Father Timothy Fell, associate pastor of St. Agnes, was on the meaning and purpose of life. Father Fell explained to the group of young adults that God was excited the day they came into the world and he created everyone to love him.

“Our only true happiness can come from loving and serving God,” said Father Fell. “Faith is the only thing without limits. Faith is falling in love with God and doing what he wants.”

Ashley Cook, a St. Agnes parishioner who attends the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said she got an invitation to the Discovering Christ program through her Facebook account. She said this was a good opportunity for young people.

“I miss my theology classes,” said Ms. Cook, 19. “I like being here because I can be with people with similar values.”

Sarah Frederick, a 25 year–old St. Casimir, Canton, parishioner said she wanted to start taking time out of her week to learn more about her faith and get to know others.

“I hope to learn more and get back in touch with my religion,” said Ms. Frederick.

The program brought in young adults from all over the area including Andrew Cole, an 18-year-old Sacred Heart, Glyndon, parishioner who said he wanted to be around good people.

“I like coming to these kinds of things,” said Mr. Cole, who recently graduated from Calvert Hall College High School, Towson. “I hope to learn more about my faith and it’s (the program) been informative so far.”

Reprinted with permission of the Catholic Review, the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s official newspaper.