Connections

April 1 is usually reserved for pulling the wool over someone’s eyes, convincing someone of something that is not going to happen or just telling jokes. This past April 1 at McGuire Air Force Base (AFB) in New Jersey, however, had a much more constructive tone. Mark Moitoza, the director of youth and young adult ministry, along with Fr. Brett Hoover, Matt Manion, and Jeanean Merkel, from Paulist Media Works, met with five young adults who were active duty military. The afternoon discussion was set up to request feedback about a new peer-to-peer ministry program being developed by the Archdiocese for the Military Services for young adults throughout the military. Through the gracious hospitality of Fr. McManus we were able to gain firsthand impressions and recommendations from young Catholic leaders in the military.

The five young adult leaders included two officers and three enlisted personnel who shared their thoughts and reflections. This team of young adults had read the initial proposal and offered many insights. Our discussion began by asking each individual to share a “day in the life” of a young adult in the military. We learned about the intense training, long work days and frequent deployments of each person’s area of specialty. We encountered a lot of new acronyms but more importantly we learned how to meet young adults where they are.

Key insights from this discussion included:

1. To design the process so that participants could join late, miss a session and yet still feel part of the group. A sense of hospitality and welcome was needed.
2. To make the resource mobile especially for use while deployed. All participants felt there was more time to participate in a small group during deployments. They recommended utilizing CD-ROM technology.
3. They saw a value for a yearly gathering that would bring leaders from other bases together for spiritual development, training, and support.
4. They themselves were very interested seeing this process developed on their base.

As a result of our meetings at McGuire AFB the visiting committee went back to the drawing board to discuss the implications of these recommendations. Some of the highlights learned were:

1. The need for a simplified process.
2. The need for a process that was flexible and mobile.
3. The need to work hard at promotion.
4. The need to develop good training.

As we move towards the pilot program for the peer-to-peer ministry with young adults in the military we continue to reflect upon the many insights received from these young leaders. Their hard work and honest input has already tweaked what the pilot process will look like. The visit to McGuire AFB was indeed fruitful due to the enthusiastic participation of 2LT Katherine Comer, 2LT Leslie Weiterhausen, SSGT Weiterhausen, SSGT Jonathon Semple and AIC John Fox. April 1 this year was a day that actually enlightened us as we continue to develop a new process to serve young adults throughout the Armed Forces to learn more about the Catholic faith. The Archdiocese for the Military Services expects to launch a pilot program of young adult peer-to-peer ministry in the winter of 2004 or early 2005.