Diocesan Missionary Team Visits Mepkin with Bishop Guglielmone
The Diocesan Missionary Team with Bishop Guglielmone
left to right: Nick Campos, Angele Drouilhet, AnneDee Edwards, Bishop Guglielmone, Molly Andorfer, March Schramm and Jorge Gamboa
On Friday, May 11th, members of the Missionary Team of the Diocese of Charleston came to Mepkin with Bishop Guglielmone. Father Kevin had invited them to have a conversation with the monks regarding young people and faith, with the hope that they could help the community better understand how young people in the Church today see the matter of vocation and give some insight as to how to welcome this generation, should they feel God calling them to the monastic life.
The team was engaging and thoughtful and shared readily their insights and experience in their work of promoting and fostering faith all through the Catholic community in South Carolina. It was important for Mepkin to learn that some young people today do not always support the values the monks might take for granted. They look to “belong,” but their lives are very focused on social media. Their perspectives are very much shaped by their use of technology and the ways technology influences the thinking of those who are “connected” to it and by it all throughout the day.
Nick, Angele, AnneDee, Molly and Matt, who were able to come to Mepkin, shared extensively from their efforts to offer retreats, days of prayer and social gatherings in a faith context. They related the questions and the thinking of young Catholics today, saying they are very compassionate and deeply concerned for the well-being of their neighbor.
The monks asked questions and invited observations. The team asked questions about the monastic life and its place in the broader Church and the broader society. Following the discussion, Father Kevin took the team on a tour of the monastery church and the library and enjoyed casual conversation with the team.