One Sunday, Catholic youth minister and speaker Ennie Hickman was floored by a simple question from his son. “Dad,” the boy said, “Can we meet our neighbors?” Hickman had spent his life traveling around the world as a missionary, building ministry programs and witnessing to strangers, but he hadn’t bothered to listen to Christ’s fundamental commandment that he know and love those closest to him. Hickman shared how his son’s question changed his life during a keynote address at the Sept. 20 CALLED conference for young adults.
Approximately 500 young adults attended the annual conference, hosted by the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus, and Young Adult Ministry at the Hyatt Regency in Reston. The afternoon event started with coffee, socializing and confession. For the first time, the conference had both an English-language and a Spanish-language keynote address, and about 100 of the young adults attended the talk by the Latina singer Kairy Marquez. Additional breakout sessions addressed holiness in a digital world, living the corporal works of mercy and freedom from anxiety, among other topics.
Hickman told the crowd that after his son’s question, he and his wife began to think seriously how they could love their neighbors. They decided to have an open house social every Wednesday night. They got to know their neighbors, and a few people have even come into the church as a result. But ultimately knowing your neighbor is not an evangelization technique — it’s a command of God, said Hickman. “It’s a very simple challenge — infuriatingly simple, but it is not easy,” he said. “There are Wednesdays where I’m like, ‘Not today, I can’t do it, we can’t do it.’ But we do and it’s always worth it.”
Not everyone needs to start a weekly neighborhood gathering, said Hickman, but there are practical steps to knowing and loving your neighbors. Being curious about them — where they’re from, their hobbies and their travels. Don’t assume you know what they’re going through — ask questions, said Hickman. And be grateful for their presence in your life.
We need fewer people spouting Christ’s words without truly living them, said Hickman. Will history look back on today’s Catholics and see they were carrying the light into the darkness, he asked. “Or will they say, ‘These folks watched hundreds of hours of podcasts and downloaded apps and generally did religious stuff but they never even knew the name of their neighbors.’ ”
Reyna Perez-Arreaga, a parishioner of Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling, attended the Spanish-language keynote, titled, “How will you evangelize today?” She said the talk and the conference were a great spiritual boost before she starts as a first-time catechist next week. “We don’t really have to go to China or a different country to evangelize young adults. We can do it through our home, through our work,” said Perez-Arreaga. “You don’t have to be perfect or have to know everything to evangelize someone, just start with a small conversation.”
After the keynotes, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrated a vigil Mass for the young adults. In his homily, he thanked them for their good works around the diocese. “I’m hearing from many of our pastors these days that our young adults are on fire,” he said. “The church needs you to stay on fire.” He encouraged them to stay united in faith, hope and love. “Don’t let anyone divide us or fracture us because then the Evil One wins,” he said. The Mass was followed by breakout sessions, a plated dinner, dancing and live music performed by Noble Soul.
John Hurley, a parishioner of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls, came to CALLED last year and since then has grown in community with other members of his parish’s young adult group as well as other local parish young adult groups. Now he’s excited to attend CALLED with the friends he’s made. “Being physically present with other young Catholics is awesome,” he said. “(You) get to hear some great speakers talk about the faith and life. If you’re feeling anxious or nervous about coming next year, just dive in.”
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
