Autumnal beverages, Mass, 26 Catholic vendors and more than 10 speakers were a few of the highlights at CALLED, the Arlington diocese’s first young adult conference.
More than 350 young adults met up at the Sheraton Hotel in Reston for the conference Sept. 23. The event was organized by the diocesan office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, in addition to young adult leaders from parishes around the diocese. Executive Director Kevin Bohli said the event grew out of the Annual Mass for Young Adults each fall.
“CALLED is built on the idea that all of us are called to a particular vocation, a way to serve God in this world,” Bohli said. “However, before and after we discern that vocation, we each must answer the universal call to holiness. So, we wanted the event to have some aspects of discerning our vocation, but more importantly, how do we live out that universal call to holiness in our daily lives and in our occupations?”
The conference began with a Fall Harvest Coffee Festival. Young adults sipped on pumpkin spice coffee as they wandered between tables hosted by Catholic vendors and organizations in the exhibit hall. Free childcare services were provided for participants with children.
Participants congregated in the hotel ballroom to hear keynote speaker Sam Goodwin share his story of imprisonment in Syria on false charges of espionage.
Goodwin developed a love for travel as a young adult. He traveled to 120 countries by 2018 and then made a goal to visit every country in the world.
Goodwin traveled to the northeast area of Syria for a brief visit May 25, 2019. Two hours after his arrival, he was kidnapped by two men working for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The men accused Goodwin of espionage against the Syrian government and forced him onto a plane.
“How often have you been flying on an airplane and not known where the airplane was going?” Goodwin asked the young adults.
He was driven to a prison in the Syrian capital of Damascus and remained in solitary confinement for 27 days. During that time, Goodwin kept his sanity by praying the rosary and singing hymns. “My prayers became an uninterrupted conversation with God,” he said.
His kidnappers transferred Goodwin to a central federal prison in the city and placed him in a cell with 40 other prisoners. Over the course of 35 days, he was taken to trial four times. Every time, the judge denied Goodwin a lawyer and accused him of crimes against the Syrian government.
Despite his suffering, Goodwin became friends with several prisoners, whom he said were victims of Syria’s unstable culture. The men cooked together, taught each other Arabic and English and even played the basketball game “knockout” during their exercise period.
After a month, a guard told Goodwin that Assad had agreed to release him. Goodwin boarded a convoy that sped to Lebanon, where his parents anxiously waited. “I became and remained the only American civilian that he’s ever released,” Goodwin said.
Despite the trauma of his experience, Goodwin still felt the desire to travel. He made one final trip to Brazil in December 2019 and achieved his dream of traveling to every country in the world.
“What I’ve learned to be true is that we can’t always choose the exact path we take in life, but we can always choose the way in which we walk it,” he said. “God will meet us where we are and take us where he wants us to go, and he will use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”
After Goodwin’s talk, the young adults attended Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. In his homily, Bishop Burbidge reminded the participants that each person is capable of pursuing holiness within God’s unique call for each of them.
“Know that he rejoices in your daily efforts, fervent prayers, charitable deeds and sacrifices. He rejoices as you meditate upon his word, seek the forgiveness of your sins, and come forward to receive his precious body and blood,” he said. “In all these ways, you live in a manner worthy of the calling you have received, and God will use them to produce abundant fruit in your life as you walk the path that leads to holiness.”
After Mass, participants attended various breakout sessions. Topics included discernment based on temperament; faith in the workplace; healing; and faith in marriage and family. After the talks, the young adults gathered for evening prayer led by Bishop Burbidge. They enjoyed a dinner, followed by dancing and music by local band Noble Soul.
Elizabeth Wells, a parishioner of St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, first heard about CALLED through a church flier. “I came here with one friend,” she said “I had an idea that a lot of the young adult groups that I’ve participated in would be here.”
Wells said a talk by Father Donald J. Planty, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington, on “Friendship with Jesus through Prayer” helped her to realize the importance of mental prayer. “I feel like it gave a really succinct demonstration of what the steps are for Lectio Divina,” she said, referring to a meditative reading of scripture.
Wells encouraged her peers to go out of their comfort zones and regularly explore young adult groups.
“Honestly, you just have to go for it, to go out and put yourself out there and meet new people. You’re not going to meet people sitting at home, you’re not going to meet people online. And also ask yourself the question, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ ” she said.
Jeremiah Ojeda, a parishioner of St. Veronica Church in Chantilly, said that participants’ enthusiasm at the conference gave him hope for the future of the diocese.
“Catholic community has been so important to me for accountability, encouragement and growth in my faith,” he said. “Events like this strengthen existing relationships and start new ones and are so important. Christ truly is present with two or more are gathered in His name.”
