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Catholic Young Adult Sports league marks first-year anniversary
Games connect young Catholics and foster faith
By Nissa LaPoint
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Photo provided |
It’s a struggle for young adult Catholics to find a supportive and welcoming community. And for Anny Jones, 27, it took years before she found what she desperately needed: Catholic fellowship.
It was through the Catholic Young Adult Sports’ softball league that Jones was immersed in a community of faithful friends, and even met her fiancé, right in Denver.
“For three years I lived north of Denver and was restless from a lack of a vibrant Catholic community, especially among the young adult population,” Jones said describing her experience before joining CYAS. “But after three months and a couple of sports later, I made faithful friends in CYAS with whom I share my life’s journey. The leagues were an invitation to grow my inner life, even while making friends and playing games.”
Catholic Young Adult Sports has connected people like Jones for more than a year since its inception in June 2010. Among the nine leagues offered, 541 young adults competed in friendly games in a variety of sports from kickball to bowling at locations across Denver. Winners of the leagues receive CYAS T-shirts and participants often gather at restaurants after games for fellowship.
“Young adults make up nearly half of the U.S. Catholic population, and usually go without ministry or parish involvement for at least a decade after confirmation,” said Paul Spotts, 29, CYAS founder. “It is becoming less likely that they return to church once they are lost during this time. The importance of the young adult ministry is barely on the radar for most dioceses and churches, but CYAS is changing this.”
Catholic Young Adult Sports was inspired by a similar group called Kansas City Catholic Challenge Sports and is meant to create a welcoming environment for Catholics and non-Catholics, Spotts said. In the organization’s first year, 72 percent of CYAS participants were practicing Catholics, 12 percent were non-practicing Catholics and 16 percent were not Catholic.
Spotts graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a degree in finance. He spent four years in various ministries including the Fellowship of Catholic University Students before starting Catholic Young Adult Sports.
“We are actively on our way to engaging and transforming the sleeping giant,” Spotts said reflecting on his organization’s first year, “the 18- to 39-year-old Catholic population. The future of our Church is at hand.”
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