“A professor of religion and philosophy walks into a bar … ”
No, that’s not the opening line of a new Catholic joke. It’s an actual scene set to take place this summer as the diocese hosts several nights of the popular young adult program, “Theology on Tap.”
Pete Steiger of Chaminade University, the aforementioned professor, will be discussing three basic topics — “Love,” “Friendship” and “Happiness” — during three events at Pearl Ultralounge, the uber-popular nightspot in Ala Moana Center. The Theology on Tap dates are June 9, June 23 and July 7.
Theology on Tap — or TOT for short — is a 21-and-older program. A $15 ticket is required for each TOT evening, which will get you in on professor Steiger’s talks, and have a chance to do some faith-sharing Q&A with him. You’ll also get to chill with your fellow Catholic peers over dinner and soft drinks (alcoholic beverages will cost you extra at the bar).
TOT is sponsored by the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The office coordinated its first event of the sort last December at Henry Loui’s restaurant in Salt Lake. Local young adults responded so positively to it that the diocesan ministry team excitedly followed it up with an expanded three-part TOT series.
Aimed at reengaging Catholics in their 20s and 30s, TOT fosters casual and candid discussions about the faith in pubs, parish halls and other low-key places. The program started in the Archdiocese of Chicago after a priest and college student began conversing about Catholicism at a local pizzeria.
With that premise, TOT works to bring the faith outside the pews and into a forum where young adults can relax in conversation and camaraderie.
TOT is now a worldwide thing. According to diocesan young adult ministry coordinator Makana Aiona, some Island pilgrims who went to Spain for World Youth Day in 2011 took part in TOT events there. Lisa Gomes, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, was one of the pilgrims who attended the TOT nights in Madrid. Aiona said he and Gomes were eager to try a “local style” version of it here.
“This was a program that both Lisa and I wanted to introduce to the diocese,” Aiona said.
It’s a timely program to bring to Hawaii. Recent research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that young adults age 18-29 make up only 18 percent of the Catholic population in the United States.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with his Year of Faith and New Evangelization decrees, has called for more opportunities to kick-start a new generation of knowledgeable and passionate Catholic faithful.
Theology on Tap fits in well with that mission. Aiona said the upcoming TOT series at Pearl Ultralounge also features topics especially appropriate for Island young adults. What “quarter-life Catholic” hasn’t had questions about “love, friendship and happiness?”
“When you are searching for a deeper faith, you start to ask yourself what these terms really mean,” Aiona said. “They change your perspective, and then when you find out what the church actually teaches about these terms, it changes your life.”
Aiona said he had awesome discussions about love, friendship and happiness with the Genesis young adult ministry at Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio. He hopes TOT and professor Steiger’s insights will extend the dialogue to a greater audience in the diocese.
So bring your questions, and get ready for three evenings of free-flowing faith-sharing, food and fun. Log on to tot-lfh.eventbrite.com to purchase your Theology on Tap tickets, or call the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at (808) 203-6763 for more info.
