SAN DIEGO — On three consecutive Thursday evenings, March 28-April 11, young adults gathered under the stars at Mission San Diego Parish for tacos, beer and an engaging talk by a Catholic speaker. It was the most recent installment of Theology on Tap, a catechetical series designed to meet young adults in a nonthreatening, casual setting and to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith. The program was first offered in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1981 and has expanded to many dioceses, including San Diego, in the intervening years. “This is, by far, the largest and most successful Theology on Tap series we’ve done,” said Pamela Poe, associate director of the diocesan Office for Young Adult Ministry, which sponsored the event in collaboration with Mission San Diego Parish, where the rectory backyard served as the event venue.
The theme for the series was “Truth Beauty Goodness.” On March 28, more than 200 people turned out to hear the talk by Anthony D’Ambrosio, co-founder of Catholic Creatives, an organization focused on sparking a creative culture of innovation in the Church. On April 4, the speakers were Luke Carey and Michael “Gomer” Gormley of the “Catching Foxes” podcast, which has almost 5 million downloads. Instead of the typical talk, Carey and Gormley did the event as a live podcast. Closing out the series on April 11 was Cristina Barba, founder and president of The Culture Project International. Founded in July 2014, The Culture Project has provided a mission program to more than 50 missionaries who have served 45 dioceses and invited more than 100,000 students to reclaim sexual integrity and the meaning of life.
