A group of young adult Alaska Natives from the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau and Diocese of Fairbanks ventured to Chicago in late June for a synodal process event to dis- cuss their hopes for the Catholic Church’s future.
From the archdiocese, Sister Frances Vista and two Alaska Native residents of Anchorage, Jenay Mike, and Jessica Hunt, accepted the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ invitation to attend the national event, Alive in Christ. The whole group, from both dioceses, consisted of young adults from six different Alaska Native communities, Hunt said.
“The process — and this event — is a chance to explore what it means to implement Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on young people, Christus Vivit, in a richly diverse country like the United States of America — by listening, accompanying- ing, and pastorally responding to young people of all cultures and communities and their dreams and hopes for the Church and the world,” stated an Alive in Christ page on the USCCB’s website.
The goal of the event was to bring Catholics from differ- ing backgrounds and cultures together to improve the pastoral care of Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans/Alaska Natives, Asians, Africans, Pacific Islanders, migrants, and refugees within the Catholic Church of the United States. Young adults, ministry leaders, and bishops from across the nation attended the event to represent their respective dioceses and cultures
On the first day of the event, the Alaska Native group was asked to join Native American groups in leading the opening Mass.
“This whole opening Mass had me taken aback,” Hunt said, noting she originally felt discouraged about the inclusivity and usefulness of “Alive in Christ” due to prior Zoom meetings leading up to the event. “During practice, we still weren’t sure what our place was … Well, there were more ways we were included.”
Alive in Christ was designed for people to listen to one another “while always rooting themselves in Jesus Christ.” Attendees took part in “intercultural action planning” processes while “working side-by-side with those of other cultural families,” according to the USCCB website. The rest of the event was made up of daily Masses, general sessions, breakout rooms, and opportunities to confess and learn about other ministries.
“General sessions were a great way in which we were able to get a glimpse of how our brothers and sisters from parishes outside of Alaska thrived, struggled, and more importantly, advanced from their historical hurts — a struggle that has not yet been fully overcome,” Hunt said reflecting on the event. She noted that there were readings, panels, and testimonies that spoke about the struggles these young adults have faced. A group of people on behalf of the conference planning crew offered an apology to those who have suffered in the past.
Following more discussions, Hunt found herself envying the different cultural groups.
“One of the issues I continued to hear within parishes was the fact that different of church members were fighting over who gets the prime-time Mass of all their five or so weekly Sunday Mass times,” she said. “Little old me is thinking, ‘I wish we had more people at the one service we do have — I wish we were able to celebrate Mass every Sunday and not just service.’”
Further discussions at the event, and in their own time, resulted in Alaska Native Catholics of Kotlik possibly starting a youth group at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Hunt and her conference group, “Embracing Historical Memory,” proposed creating a sister-parish system across the U.S. to provide opportunities for different cultures to interact in the same faith.
“Attending the conference brought to light the dire need
we as young Catholic Christians have to step up, see the concerns of our people, and take action in recognizing Jesus within us,” Hunt said. “If our people don’t claim Jesus within our hearts, then devastation, hurt, and pain will continue to guide our culture and continue to lead our people through more hard times.”
'Alaska Native Catholics attend ‘Alive in Christ’ event in Chicago'
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