The Young Adults of CCASTA host a weekly discussion group to learn more about and grow in their Catholic Faith. This is being held virtually over Zoom to help ensure that all who want to participate can despite any safety concerns. The format is casual yet faith-oriented and usually involves opening and closing in prayer, watching a video in a Catholic studies series, and discussing this for the remainder of the time. This weekly group helps to foster community in the participants although weekly attendance is not required. The topics follow a similar theme that changes every couple of months and can easily be jumped into without prior attendance. Additionally, volunteers from the group have taken turns picking a saint they admire and making a short presentation on them for the group. Here's a short breakdown of the general schedule followed each night:
For more information about this group, please check the calendar and/or contact Joe Martz.
To access the notes associated with the discussion group and the presentations on lives of the saints made by the members of the group, follow this link to the Google Drive location: CCASTA Young Adult Public Folder
Each month, the Young Adults plan and run local events to spend time in community together, assist others in the area through service projects, and pilgrimages to local Catholic sites. Check the CCASTA Young Adults Calendar for the most up-to-date information for each event.
About once a quarter, the CCASTA Young Adults plan an event to help focus on volunteering and meeting a need in the community. So far we have partnered with the Baltimore Basilica to help them with their homeless ministry, the Columbia Pregnancy Center to help them in their mission to provide aid and education to mothers in crisis, and Little Portion Farm to assist them in their care for the land and through that, provide for those in need. For more information on these service projects, please check the calendar and/or contact Joe Martz.
Every other week, we meet to discuss a book to help us grow in holiness. Our first book was the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales from August 2021 to November 2021. For spring and summer of 2022, we are reading the Diary of Divine Mercy by St. Faustina. For winter 2023, we are reading A Concise History of the Catholic Church by Thomas Bokenkotter. Times and links to join are on the calendar linked above. Even if you can't make it to the meetings, it's highly recommended by our group as an excellent source of practical advice on living a holy, Catholic life.