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Theology on Tap founder to speak

	Diocese gathers What: The Gathering of the Church of Green Bay. When: Oct. 3-4 Where: St. Norbert College, De Pere Why: To come together with Catholics from around the diocese to pray, learn, share faith, be renewed, develop skills, celebrate your beliefs and enrich your spiritual life. Registration: For registration materials, call 1-877-500-3580, ext. 3 or (920)437-7531, ext. 3, e-mail: diocmail@gbdioc.org.
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Fr. John Cusick jokes that, as a Chicago native and a lifelong Bear fan, he has never had a good reason to drive north to Green Bay. That will soon change when he presents four sectionals at The Gathering of the Church of Green Bay, Oct. 3-4 at St. Norbert College, De Pere.

Although he has never visited Northeast Wisconsin, his work has enriched the lives of young adults in the Diocese of Green Bay. In the early 1980s, Fr. Cusick, director of Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, founded Theology on Tap - a speaker series for single and married adults in their 20s and 30s. Theology on Tap was introduced in the diocese in the summer of 2002 and now includes programs in Appleton, Antigo, Green Bay and Marinette. He will address ministering to young adults in the Catholic Church at The Gathering.

"I've worked with young adults for 26 years and continue to work with young adults, so I see things through their eyes," said Fr. Cusick. "Hospitality is a virtue. If young adults don't feel welcome, they are not going to come back."

Fr. Cusick will offer tools for making parishes more welcoming in his presentation entitled "Hospitality: The Virtue, Skill & Strategy to Make a Good Parish a Great Parish."

"When we look at hospitality as a virtue, we need to learn from the Protestants who have been more welcoming, and I mean that seriously," he said. "As Catholics, sometimes we are much more concerned that, if Mass runs too long, there will be parking problems for the following Mass. The parking lot is not a virtue."

"People look to the church for weddings, baptism and funerals," he continued. "We need to make these moments welcoming. We need to be gracious in our invites. We cannot take people for granted."

Fr. Cusick will also offer ways for parishes to overcome staleness in his presentation "How Do You Do the Ordinary Differently? Looking at Parish Life and Programs Creatively."

"It's strange, every parish does the same things," he said. "There is a standard Catholic drill that all parishes do, but why do some parishes have such a good reputation compared to others?"

"Take visiting the sick, for example. Churches visit the sick when they are in the hospital. I remember when my mother was in the hospital, she didn't need visitors at that time. She wasn't in any condition to meet with these people. My mother needed people when she was home from the hospital. By visiting people at home, you can see what they need. Tell them you are going to come back on Saturday and return with cleaning supplies. Look in the refrigerator to see if they need groceries. If it's empty, go out and buy them some food. This is just one example of doing something differently to do it better for the people you are serving."

Fr. Cusick, who speaks at conferences throughout the United States and abroad, will answer questions about gestures of the Catholic faith in "Catholic Practices: Why Do We Do What We Do?" and discuss skills and strategies to make young adults more active in the church in "Young Adults: Future of the Church."

"I believe in the principles of presume little, explain lots," he said. "If we can explain things, people will enter more fully into the Catholic tradition. Knowledge is power. If you know why you are doing what you are doing, you will take more ownership in it."

While young adults represent the future of the church, Fr. Cusick said the jury is still out on that future.

"I don't think that we can determine the impact that the (sexual abuse) scandals have had on young adults or the impact of secularity," he said. "I grew up in a Catholic culture that is gone. Young adults will still knock on the door for marriage and baptism, but they are no longer the backbone of the church like they were 30 years ago. I wrote a book on the subject and know some things that work to attract young adults, but I can't make anyone else do it. People need to step forward and make it happen."

Diocesan programs for young adults, such as Theology on Tap, are good steps, said Fr. Cusick.

"I do a lot of diocesan activities and it's good to increase the understanding that to be Catholic is to experience church in a much larger sense," he said. "Also, I believe that many young adults are not all that ready for parish life. In dealing with young adults you are dealing with a group of gypsies. They are trying to find their way, and we need to meet their spiritual needs."