A new year, a (re)new(ed) blog

It may be a bit late for New Year's resolutions, but I am a firm believer in the "better late than never" philosophy of life... I have been musing for some time about this blog - whether it was simply a part of my fellowship project that would now be replaced by other ventures or whether it was something worth continuing. Although I have begun to work outside the "blogosphere" to do most of my thinking and writing about young adult ministry, social justice, and my future work that will (hopefully) weave together these passions, I am still firmly committed to the belief that there is a real need for more online resources about Catholic social teaching and young adult ministry. When seen in this light, it seems silly to abandon this blog simply because I have other irons in the fire. (As my mother would remind me, I always have many irons in the fire.)

But a new year and a new outlook call for a new direction. I am embarking on the final semester of my MDiv program, and as part of the culmination of my coursework, I will be working on a capstone Integration Project. Naturally I plan to focus this project on the intersection of Catholic social teaching and young adult ministry, but now with two new foci: first, a serious effort to create an introduction or guide to Catholic social teaching that is intentionally written for young adults; second, an exploration of how an online component (i.e. a website about Catholic social teaching for young adults) could play a necessary counter-part in reaching Gen Xers and Millennials where they gather and search for information.

To that extent, I plan to use this blog (and you, my dear readers) to begin brainstorming ideas for exactly how to "translate" the teachings of Catholic social thought for a new generation. Over the next seven weeks, I will blog about each of the following principles of CST (summarized as such by the U.S. bishops):

1. Life & Dignity of the Human Person

2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

3. Rights & Responsibilities

4. Option for the Poor

5. Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

6. Solidarity

7. Care for God's Creation

I'll also share some related thoughts between these postings: musings on today's generations of young adults, using the Internet as a tool for ministry, and the centrality of CST in our Catholic tradition. 

I welcome your feedback and hope that this blog can continue to be a place of thoughtful, respectful, engaging exchange. The questions of how to invite young adults into our faith communities and how to be a church that lives out the Gospel call of Christ to serve with love are pressing concerns for our time, and I believe God's Spirit of Wisdom is always speaking to us, if we simply open our hearts and minds to listen and respond in turn...