God and beer in the summertime: Theology on Tap brings young adults together to explore faith - Cover Story

National Catholic Reporter, August 30, 2002 by Renee M. LaReau

It is a hot, humid, late-summer evening in Evanston, Ill., an urban outgrowth of Chicago and home to Northwestern University. As the daylight begins to fade, 20- and 30-somethings wander into ice cream shops and hip little pubs. Summer school students glide past on Rollerblades or play soccer near Lake Michigan. It seems like a typical lazy, easy summer night.

But in the cool basement of the Sheil Catholic Center on Northwestern's campus the atmosphere is more reflective. More than 80 young adults, participants in the Chicago archdiocese's Theology on Tap program, deliberate thoughtfully and silently as they sit at round tables and write. Music by Christian singer Michael Poirer plays softly from a CD player in the corner of the room. Periodically, the clink of glass breaks the silence, as participants sip from cold bottles of Amstel Light and Samuel Adams during this 10-minute rreflection time."

Jesuit Fr. Michael Sparough, the featured speaker at this Theology on Tap site, gave this group much food for thought in his presentation on decision-making. He encouraged them to reflect on their own decisions in the areas of friendship, career, prayer life and sexuality. After the reflection time, he invited participants to divide into small groups for discussion. Sparough encouraged them to share at a level of intimacy they are comfortable with. "Don't put something out there that's kinda raw," he half-joked, provoking an immediate wave of laughter.

In his presentation, Sparough began with a brief biographical sketch of St. Ignatius, painting a vivid picture of a gambling, dueling, womanizing soldier who became a saint, and introducing the crowd to the Ignatian method of discernment.

"The basis of our decision-making," Sparough said, "should be that I want what God wants. Sometimes we think of God as raining on our parade and taking away all the fun. It is an act of faith to believe that God wants not less life for us, but more.

"Who in this room doesn't want to be fulfilled?" he bellowed. "God wants that for each one of us!"

Sparough spoke at the third week of Theology on Tap at Northwestern, and numbers at Sheil rose from 50 participants during the first two weeks of the program to 80 participants this evening. Both the topic and the speaker brought these young adults from as far away as suburban Naperville, nearly 40 miles to the west, and industrial East Chicago, more than 20 miles to the east.

"This topic cannot be more relevant for someone in their 20s and 30s," said Max Crespo-Deynes, a 39-year-old product manager for Lucent Technologies, who lives in Naperville. "When you are done with school you face many hard choices. You look for anything that helps."

Alina Mejia, 35, said she has heard Sparough speak "many, many times."

Sparough, director of Charis, a young adult ministry for the Chicago Province of Jesuits, said that his decision-making talk is "back by popular demand."

"Young adults know very little about St. Ignatius," he said, "yet he offers some really good criteria for decision-making." And the decision-making that characterizes a young adult's life, Sparough said, can be "traumatizing."

"They decide between celibate and married, consider career paths, children, sexual orientation. These are decisions that will determine the rest of their lives."

That young adults will drive for miles to hear a Theology on Tap speaker comes as no surprise to Fr. John Cusick, director of Young Adult Ministry for the Chicago archdiocese and associate pastor at Old St. Patrick's Church. "This is an age group that will drive all over town to see a good movie," he said. The Theology on Tap Web site includes driving directions to all program locations. "Some people will go to a location that is closer to work than home," Cusick said.

This summer 72 parishes, universities and organizations in five contiguous dioceses and archdioceses--Chicago, Milwaukee, Joliet, Ill., Rockford, Ill., and Gary, Ind., hosted a Theology on Tap program during the same four-week period. According to Cusick, the second half of the summer is an ideal time for parishes to host this catechetical and evangelical outreach to young adults.

"There's no competition. All the rah-rah partying takes place during the first half of the summer. College students are home, and there is no competition from the media."

In Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary, Theology on Tap concludes with a Mass and picnic for all participants. The closing Mass in the Chicago archdiocese Aug. 11 featured a young adult choir, Cardinal Francis George as celebrant, and concelebrant priests who have been involved in the program. After the liturgy, young adults were treated to food, a disc jockey, and games on the lawn of the cardinal's residence. Approximately 1,000 participants attended the mass, and about 800 moved on to the picnic, according to program coordinator Judi Black.

One parish in cooperation with other area parishes hosts the program, and welcomes anyone college age through the 30s, single and married. Reaching out to a population traditionally neglected by the Catholic church is one of the primary aims of Theology on Tap.