On Tuesday, September 27th, over 50 Boston College students, faculty, and staff sat down to lunch in Gasson 100 to share a meal and conversation. What made this event unique, however, was the conversation topic—faith.
Each table was led by a facilitator to build conversation based on paper guides printed for each participant. The specific theme was faith in action, and the guides included articles on memories of renowned physician Dr. Paul Farmer and his work in rural Rwanda, the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, and Pope Francis describing works of mercy. The articles served as talking points, and from them the conversation flowed.
“Finding opportunities to talk about faith with friends or anyone is never easy—[this] program gives you that opportunity,” said Lynn Berardelli, Associate Director of The Church in the 21st Century Center, BC’s resource center for renewal in the Catholic Church. The Center is where Faith Feeds began, and the Center also sponsors events such as Agape Latte and Espresso Your Faith Week.
Faith Feeds was born in 2019. As described on the C21 Center’s website, Faith Feeds is “designed for individuals in Catholic parishes who are hungry for opportunities to talk about their faith with others who share it.” This idea found a broad audience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversation sessions occurred once a week for an hour on Zoom, centered around the C21 Center’s guides, each composed of three articles from the Center’s biannual magazine (C21 Resources) along with discussion questions for each article. Attendees included people from around the United States as well as international visitors from Italy and Ireland.
“It’s such a simple concept, but such a powerful program,” added Berardelli. The in-person iteration held on September 27th was the first of its scale held at BC since the pandemic, and some members of the online Faith Feeds community formed during the pandemic met for the first time at this lunch.
In an article for BC University Communications written by Kathleen Sullivan early in the life cycle of the program, C21 Director Karen Kiefer said, “We are hoping that, in the future, Catholics across the country will host Faith Feeds in parishes, classrooms, dormitories, retreat centers, homes, and in other places where having a faith conversation is as easy as setting a table.” Both Kiefer and Berardelli expressed a hope that in particular more students will participate in the program and perhaps even start Faith Feeds groups on their own. The guides are offered free to download on the Center’s website. To date, 20 guides are available on topics such as “Race and Catholicism,” “Lay Vocations,” “Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” “Finding God in Transitions,” and “Life Epiphanies.” Special guides have also been created for Advent and Catholic Educators.
As for the results, Berardelli described the conversations as “always organic, never the same, and always inspired by the Holy Spirit. Each time people do it they get what they need from it.”
Thomas is a student in BC’s Carroll School of Management, who fittingly serves as the current Business Manager of The Torch in addition to his position as Campus News Editor. Thomas can be found around campus singing at Masses with the Liturgy Arts Group, tabling for the BC Pro-Life Club, deep in conversation while enjoying BC Dining cuisine, or gazing in awe at Gasson Hall and its Collegiate Gothic style architectural neighbors.
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