A Word to Protestant Youth Workers about the Death of Pope John Paul II
I realize that readers of our Web site and our email lists come from an extremely wide cross-section of the church—that's a big part of what I love about Youth Specialties! I know we have Catholic readers; I know we have liberal protestants; we have seeker-church types, conservative and moderate Southern Baptists, not-too-many fundamentalists (though a few!), and quite a few youth workers who are "unclassifiable!" And with that gorgeous tapestry of perspectives and practices, I also realize there will be a wide variety of responses to the death of John Paul II (yesterday, as I write this).
I know there are many out there who have nothing but suspicion for the Catholic Church. And, maybe even—if I can be so bold as to speak the uncomfortable truth—many who feel some confusion about how to process (personally, or in their ministries) the death of the pope.
Give me a couple more paragraphs, and I'll get to a few suggestions. But first, allow me to tell you about a few of my friends:
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Father Stan Belinski has been coming to the Youth Specialties convention since before some current youth workers were even born. He is a gracious and loving youth worker with a life-long calling to youth ministry. Being one of the only convention attendees wearing a clerical collar, he gets asked all kinds of questions. Every year, I see Fr. Stan continue his growing legacy of warmly sharing the love of Christ with fellow youth workers of every stripe.
I met Sister Ann Cassidy three years ago at a small gathering of full-time junior high pastors. We'd really wanted someone from the Catholic Church at the gathering, and had asked our friends at the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministries for a suggestion of someone "who bleeds junior high." Sr. Ann was their recommendation. This amazing nun from San Antonio came in full habit, and perfectly fit in with our group of wild and crazy nose-pickers. She has become a dear and trusted friend in my passion for young teens.
Joe Passantino started attending that same junior high pastor summit last year. Until very recently, he was the junior high director at a large Catholic parish in Kansas City. Just as Sr. Ann (but without the habit!), Joe has a grace-oozing heart to connect young teens with the living Jesus.
A few years ago now, Mike Yaconelli and I made a short trip over to Phoenix to meet the people at LifeTeen, an absolutely fantastic Catholic youth ministry resourcing organization (kind of like a Catholic YS). Mike and I arrived on Sunday night just in time to attend the Teen Mass (a church service targeting high school students, but attended by lots of adults also) at the parent-church of LifeTeen. Truly, in the last several years, this Teen Mass was one of the most moving and fresh youth ministry programs I have witnessed. Yac and I were both in tears as we watched hundreds of high school students gather around the alter, swaying together, for the Eucharist. LifeTeen was started by Monsignor Dale Fushek, who some of you have heard speak at our Conventions in the past two years (he was in Phoenix and Dallas). Father Dale and his team love Jesus, love teenagers, love youth workers, and have become life-long friends of mine and of YS.
I share these stories for a reason. Let me be blunt: there are certainly many in the protestant church who write off Catholics as not-quite-part-of-the-church. Ironic, really, since we protestants sprung from them. (Yes, I realize there are certainly those in the Catholic church who do not see us protestants as part of the real church either.) And, with the frenetic diversity of theological and denominational persuasions YS connects with, I realize this could be a total non-issue for you. But I'd really like to speak to those for whom this is an issue.
And I'd like to issue a challenge:
We protestants got our name because we're "protesters"—we were against some things in the Catholic church of that time. Unfortunately, that nexus has become part-and-parcel with who we have continued to be. If there's one thing that Protestants are really good at, it's not agreeing, it's reacting against (in protest) and starting something new. That's why the protestant reformation didn't lead to one new group; but has continued to splinter in to hundreds, if not thousands, of further protest-ant denominations.
My good friend Tony Jones has a great thought about this: wouldn't it be wonderful if we saw ourselves as "embracients" instead? Let's focus more of our energy on embracing others than on protesting and drawing away.
What's that have to do with the death of Pope John Paul II? For all of us protestants (embracients!), this is a key point in history where we have the opportunity to embrace our Catholic brothers and sisters—our co-heirs in the church of Jesus Christ, fellow children of God. And there's no better way for you to live this out this week and next than by praying for, and connecting with, Catholic youth workers in your area.
This isn't about getting together to clarify where we disagree. This is about embracing each other. No, this isn't watered-down ecumenism I'm suggesting—I'm no more suggesting you give up a single theological or ideological perspective of your tradition than I am suggesting you try to get a Catholic youth working friend to give up theirs.
So, did you catch the challenge? It was two things: first, pray. Pray for the genuine pain of the Catholic youth workers in your community. Pray that they have great wisdom as they walk through these weeks with the students in their ministries. Pray for the body of Cardinals who will choose a new Pope in the weeks to come.
And, second, take a step toward being an embracient by having coffee with the youth worker from a Catholic church nearby. You may find, as I so clearly have in recent years, that you've been missing out on a like-minded and like-souled friend, missing out on part of the bride of Christ.
We love you, youth worker—Catholic, Protestant... or, Embracient!
Mark Oestreicher
President
