About 500 young adults from the Philadelphia region and across the East Coast took time on Saturday afternoon and evening, Nov. 15, to find togetherness with one another.
More importantly, they explored how they belong to a God that intimately resides within and around them – especially when they feel alone.
That theme deeply touched hearts during “The Well,” an annual young adult conference hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Ministry with Young Adults (OMYA) with the Office for Ministry with Hispanics (OMH) at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown hotel.
A significant element of the conference was prayer at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, including a holy hour led by Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre, along with confessions, and Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Keith Chylinski.
The name of the conference springs from the story of the woman at the well, in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. John.
“Just like the woman at the well, encountering Christ and finding how we can belong to Christ, we can find our sense of belonging, who we are, our true and deepest identity in Christ,” said Pauline Father Timothy Tarnacki, OMYA’s director.
“We are also sent to really witness, just like she did. That’s the whole theme of the conference, to become witnesses, to be Christ’s witnesses in our everyday life, just like the woman at the well. Immediately after encountering Christ, she dropped her jar, and she ran to tell the others about this encounter with Christ.”
Patrick Travers, the director of the Catholic Newman Center serving both Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania at St. Agatha and St. James Parish in University City, says that as his students encountered that personal relationship with God on this powerful day, there was similar importance in experiencing it together.
“It’s shared together in community; that belonging also happens with others. Seeing such a big crowd of people that are experiencing this together is uplifting,” he said. “Then being able to have a small group that you’re able to walk with together is also a way that I see that young adults are seeking out the need to belong.”
The range of attendees expanded far beyond Philadelphia, as Erin Bankey from Rochester, New York took in the experience while visiting family in the Delaware Valley.
“That woman at the well story resonates with everyone. We all have stories that no one but Jesus would know,” Bankey said.
“Jesus speaks to your heart so personally. What some of the keynotes are speaking to is how you’re unique and unrepeatable, and I think that’s something the world tries to pass over. You’re replaceable at work, AI can tell you answers, but Jesus as ever-present to you is something we all need to be reminded of.”
The conference began with a prayer service led by Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cooke. English and Spanish speakers then each enjoyed three keynote talks.
The first dove into “Belonging in Christ,” shared in English by Damon Owens, the executive director of Joyful Ever After and national parish engagement officer for Communion.org, and in Spanish by Father Wesley Taveras of St. Aloysius Parish in Pottstown.
The second talk, “Serving Through our Witness,” was presented in English by Jamie Baxter, the founder of the men’s ministry Exodus 90, and in Spanish by Father Francesco D’Amico of St. William Parish in Northeast Philadelphia.
“Owens spoke about finding our true identity in Christ, and what it means to really be rooted in Christ and to belong in Christ,” said Father Tarnacki. “Baxter talked about going out, how we are to care for our brothers and sisters, for their salvation, how we are called to be witnesses and to be on that mission.”
A cheesesteak dinner and witness talk by three young adult Catholics preceded the capstone talk of the evening, “Nourishment in Christ.”
Heather Khym, cohost of the Abiding Together podcast and assistant director of evangelization at Franciscan University, provided the talk in English as Alejandra Barrios, youth coordinator at St. William Parish in the Diocese of Austin, Texas, offered her talk in Spanish.
“This is from the Catechism. It says, ‘God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange,’” Khym told a transfixed ballroom of 500 young people before sharing a reading from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Colossians.
“‘Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?’ When I read that, I was like, wait, is this like some crazy translation, like the message or something? I don’t know if we can get more clear,” she said.
“One day I was just laying there in my bed, and information went to revelation. ‘God is in me. I’m never alone.’ I started to laugh, and then I started to cry a little bit because it was going from just in my head to my heart understanding it.”
She then led the attendees in repeating that truth, reminding them and any young person that Christ lives within them, and they can carry that truth into their everyday lives.
“I want you to just repeat after me,” she said slowly and compassionately. “I am never alone. Ever. Ever. Never. Ever.”
Attendees of The Well conference for young adults Nov. 15 in Philadelphia listen to the Gospel proclaimed during a holy hour led by Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. (Photo by Jay Sorgi)
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