but that’s just not how I wanted it to
be I grew up really religious I went to
church every Sunday I received the
Eucharist I went to religious education
programs every week for eight years
receiving all three sacraments of
initiation baptism Communion Christian
confirmation I’ve done everything it
takes to be a good Catholic but I just
don’t feel like one I when I was younger
I was really open to what Catholicism
had to offer because it seemed like a
really warm community where everyone
connected and talked about God and it
was something beautiful but I didn’t get
that I wanted to feel connected to God
and to everyone like my dad felt who was
really religious and to peep and how
people before him have felt but I didn’t
feel that the church couldn’t appeal to
me and many of the teenagers like me and
we got lost from a psychological
perspective there are three main things
that religion offers that allows it to
succeed those three things are hope
community and engagement they work
together to create a system that entices
people to keep coming back but when I
went to church I didn’t find hope
community or entertainment all I was was
just bored first I’d like to talk about
hope in the past everyone feared disease
famine death because we had no idea of
how to prevent it so of course people
looked to supernatural things in order
to find ways to deal with these issues
and the church filled that spot they
were able to put hope into the masses
and that created a good environment for
people but when the Black Death hit
Europe and priests started dying they
found that the church couldn’t offer
them that salvation they all wanted and
attendance dropped and now in this day
and age I looked at doctors in medicine
and when I get the flu I don’t go to
church I go to my local pharmacist to
pick up some antibiotics and so I’m not
getting hope in the same way that I used
to and that’s an issue next there is
community the church offered a sense of
community and belonging to the people
that went and it not only offered a
pious holy experience it also offered a
social gathering for the townspeople
where they could come together and talk
about like ideas what happened that week
and it was a good way to break up day to
day life
but I went to church all that happened
was us sitting there and once it ended
everyone bustle doubt and left as soon
as possible of course there were still
old men and old women that went to the
diner and talked after church but kids
in my generation kids like me we’re just
as antsy to leave as I was I no longer
found that sense of community in church
because I had found it with my friends
at school my online communities and
things like that next and most
importantly there is engagement it is
crucial that the church engages its
audience and is able to spread their
message in a successful manner and it
had done that through when music wasn’t
accessible people went to church to
listen to music they heard biblical
stories and visions of hell that were
both scary and enticing but when I went
to church
all that happened was me again being
bored I was unable to be engaged and to
be honest the most engaging thing that
happened was when the priest said the
mass is ended you may now go in peace
so how do we feel this engagement and
the church isn’t connecting to us the
way it used to even though I hate to
admit it my generation just doesn’t have
the same attention span as those past
did so we found ways to say
hyperstimulated all the time with cell
phones TV while you ink dinner while
thinking about all the drama that
happened that day creates so much
traffic in a kid’s brain that sitting
down for church and being silent and
disconnected for an hour and a half
becomes excruciating so how are we going
to make kids connected because the truth
the only way to do this is connecting to
us in a way that we can understand
technology is such a big thing in our
lives nowadays and the church isn’t
tapping into that I have my phone with
me tonight and I bet many of you have
your phones with you today some of you
might be on it in the audience so there
is so much opportunity for the church to
connect to us in that way but they just
aren’t and why because they just don’t
want to a few weeks ago might have been
months the Pope actually said that kids
should quote put down their cell phones
and pick up their Bibles my phone is
attached to my leg and whether I’m not
whether I’m actually on it or not it’s
always there and I’m not putting it down
to pick up a Bible and what if the Pope
ones comes and calls me am I gonna miss
it because I’m reading my Bible many
small organizations have actually tried
to do this like the Protestant church
75% of Protestant churches actually have
websites which seems like a good thing
but only one half of these websites are
actually using it to connect with their
parishioners my church hands out a
newsletter every Sunday
that tells upcoming events when the next
mass is what’s going to happen but it
just becomes a piece of paper and when
we get home it just gets thrown out
we’re not getting that communication
with the church that we should be and we
don’t feel engaged anymore why not try a
good website or email or other
electronic means of communication that
because the thing is if our generation
isn’t connected to the church the morals
that come with it
we’re not getting and that is what’s
important I might be a lost cause but I
really want the importance of the church
and religion itself to be passed on to
our generation because we are the future
thank you [Applause]