Navigating life after college can be difficult, many young adults have learned. Finding faith and fellowship with peers is important, and Our Lady of Grace in Edina is meeting those needs with a Young Professionals group that is thriving.
Father Kevin Finnegan, pastor of OLG, and Tyler McCollum, associate for mission, recently discussed the formation and success of this group with “Practicing Catholic” producer Kayla Mayer. They have seen the group grow to around 150 members ranging in age from 21 to 35, who participate in small groups that meet regularly. There are groups for men, women and those who are married, McCollum said.
“They’re coming from all over the Twin Cities,” he said, “as far as Forest Lake to the north, Stillwater to the east, Wayzata to the west” and Lakeville to the south.
In addition to small groups, participants gather in a large group on the first and third Thursdays of every month. The first Thursday features an hour of Eucharistic adoration followed by a social hour, and the third Thursday is called “Live at OLG” and features guest speakers. Father Finnegan will be the featured speaker in October, talking about the importance of lay leadership in the Church.
He has seen young adults start to take on roles in his parish, and it all begins with finding a place “where you can actually be known and loved and grow in your faith,” he said. “I want us to have a culture where people can come and know that they’re loved as they are, and then invited to grow in faith and holiness.”
To learn more about the Young Professionals group, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Sept. 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 1.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with DeAnn Brandel, an employee of St. Patrick in Edina who has organized a retreat for women Oct. 14 that highlights four women doctors of the Church; and Father Leonard Andrie, pastor of St. Therese in Deephaven, who discusses St. Thérèse of Lisieux family relics that are coming to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
