HAYS AREA YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY

It is a great source of encouragement today that so many young people are discovering the high adventure of living in the Catholic faith. — Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

Who are we?

Disciples of Christ is a Catholic fellowship of young adults (generally ages 19-45) who come from all backgrounds to fulfill one passion…to be true disciples of Jesus in our world today. We choose to be active participants in community events to portray to the best of our ability Christ among us, Christ present, Christ the Holy Spirit working through each of us.

Why we have begun the ministry?

In the Ellis County area, for years, there has been an unmet need for spiritual and social fellowship among the Catholic young adult population. The local parishes, in various ways, have tried to fill that need but have been largely unsuccessful. The spiritual and social needs of this range of individuals are quite diverse. We seek -- as best we can -- to be Christ- centered, enabling each participant to meet Christ and brother/sister Christians where we are, and allowing the group to make the decisions (under the guiding eyes of our pastoral leaders) as to the direction we will go as a ministry.

Reasons why people are joining us?

In each person’s life, without a healthy relationship with God, something is missing. We want to grow in our faith, developing a stronger personal relationship with Jesus, by journeying with peers in our faith community. We believe that, like the early Christians, we journey toward God as faith community.

Activities:

Disciples of Christ, our activities are centered around a weekly -- Wednesday evening 7:00 P.M. -- Bible study at the St. Joseph Parish Center conference room at 210 W. 13th streets in Hays (the old St. Joseph school building, now the parish activities center, across the street from the Church itself.) During this hour, we read part, or all, of a Gospel, Letter, or Epistle and share what it means to us. Our weekly Bible study has been a wonderful way to learn more about Scripture -- as well as our faith -- and to bond in fellowship.

 

We also sometimes attend Masses or other spiritual, social, music, service, or sporting events together. This includes talks on a religion topics, Eucharist Adoration, barbeques, attending basketball games, playing volleyball, bowling, going to a movie together…those types of things.

Ideas for the future:

Ideas we are considering doing or participating in are: Walking for a Beating Heart, visiting the elderly, retreats, prayer events, respect life events, painting some rooms at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish; a Catholic reading group, Church yard work and/or cleaning, and other ideas that we can come up with as a group.

Topical ideas for speakers include: creation vs. evolution; sacraments; angels, saints,
Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, dating & relationships, and more.

Who is welcome?

All are welcome. Although we are a young adult group for the Heartland Parishes, we welcome people of all ages and faith walks, - single, married, separated, divorced, widow(ers), Catholics and non-Catholics -- to join us. Couples and singles with children are welcome to bring the kids. Our “Disciples of Christ” group is meant to be a fellowship of believers, not a dating club, so we ask you to come with the intention to grow closer to God, grown in your faith, and fellowship with like-minded peers.

For more information:

Contact Jenny at stjhaya@eaglecom.net or drop in to our Bible study on Wednesday nights.

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