Catholic young adults in Las Vegas came together for a Friday faith night, and Viatorians played a big part in this archdiocesan gathering.
Associate Rosy Hartz is assisting the Archdiocese of Las Vegas with young adult ministry coordination while continuing her full-time work as Coordinator of Youth Ministry and Faith Formation at St. Viator Catholic Community, our parish in Las Vegas. Rosy picked up the “Coffee and Creed” program that has been held before. Friday’s event was hosted at Tru Bru Organic Coffee and Roasters, run by St. Viator parishioners.
“The newly ordained priests who we wanted to speak were away on retreat for the night that we had booked, so we just pivoted – music ministers from Holy Family came to do some praise and worship and led into fellowship time,” Rosy said.
Abby (left) and Rylie (right) each helped lead portions of the evening for young adults. (photos by Izzy Villagrana)
Rosy leaned into community-building to help young adults make new connections and then tried some Viatorian-style faith formation. “Abby Hartz and Taylor Bair from St. Viator led an icebreaker, and other young adult board members followed with some,” Rosy said. “And then I led a visio divina prayer workshop a la VYC (Viatorian Youth Congress), and they were wonderfully into it. Since Rylie Perez had done it with me at VYC and Confirmation classes, I invited her up to tag-team lead it with me.”
Abby, Rylie, and Taylor have all been leaders in St. Viator youth ministry, and Abby and Taylor have been Young Adult Leaders for VYC. Additionally, as Abby is the daughter of Associates Rosy and Paul Hartz and Rylie is the daughter of Associates Deborah and Romeo Perez, they have the unique context of being some of the first adult children who had associates as parents all throughout childhood.
“It’s important to have a village, and this is how you build one. We are all craving some sort of relationship with God as well as with each other,” Abby, who also coordinates Viatorian Young Adults on Instagram, said. “Seeing a room full of young Catholics on a random summer night shows me there is something we are all looking for.”
The group enjoyed a mix of icebreakers, fellowship time, and a prayer activity and awarded a door prize from a raffle of everyone who filled out the feedback form. (photos by Izzy Villagrana)
“It’s about intentional connection,” Rylie said. “Hosting these on a Friday turns what could be a routine meeting into something more social that I genuinely look forward to – almost like a community ‘night out’ that is centered on our growing our faith community.”
Rylie is home from Fordham University, a Catholic, Jesuit college in New York, and at this Las Vegas event, she enjoyed the curiosity of the young adults, meeting people from other parishes, and enjoying the diversity in the group. Abby is home from Belmont University, a Christian college in Tennessee, where it has been a bit trickier to find her Catholic faith home.
“I thought it was going to be a lot more of the 28-to-35-year-old young adults – and as a 21-year-old, I would be an outsider – but I was pleasantly surprised,” Abby said. “People don’t always imagine college age when they think of young adults, but I think there’s a need for it. Not every campus has things like a Newman Center. It was great to mingle with kids from all different backgrounds and share in our common faith.”
Rosy and the young adults administered a feedback form and found that attendees were looking for fellowship and service and not just talks and discussions. And young adults from a few local groups shared upcoming events, including a “Dogs and Dawgs” post-Mass cookout at St. Viator coming up soon.
From Rosy’s coordination to Abby, Rylie, and Taylor’s leadership to photography by St. Viator young adult Isabelle Villagrana, these Viatorians are serving with peers in the archdiocese to creatively raise a community of faith.