One of the things that drew me to Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) in 2018 was its goal to create connections among young adults. I was newly graduated from college and had moved home to Portland, Oregon. I didn’t have any social circles, and my attempts at making friends weren’t going well. YCP Portland ended up being the place where I found my people and made solid friendships.
YCP, a nationwide nonprofit, brings young professionals in their 20s and 30s together to help them embrace their Catholic faith, build community and take action where they live, work and pray.
When I moved to Seattle in 2022, I was fortunate that our national team connected me with the right people to help launch our Seattle chapter, which we did in March 2023.
Our Catholic faith is something that binds us so completely to each other and to Christ. YCP taught me that we are not meant to do this life alone.
Each month, YCP Seattle hosts an event focused on providing young adults with the encouragement to live our faith in joy and confidence through our everyday work. Each event brings in new faces, and the average attendance is around 50 people. Our networking happy hours provide opportunities to get to know each other in a casual setting. The executive speaker series and executive panel discussions lead to more in-depth conversations about how we can make our work lives Christ-centered.
But forming personal connections is more than meeting people at events and talking to them once a month. YCP helps create links between young professionals and seasoned professionals, Pacific Northwest and national chapters, practicing Catholics and those looking to get acquainted with the faith. To this end, YCP hosts events focused on spiritual and professional growth as well as networking — like our national conference April 2628 where 800 young Catholics will gather in Texas for a weekend of development and prayer.
Locally, we hosted an Advent retreat at the St. Mary-on-the-Lake Peace and Spirituality Center in Bellevue. We opened our half-day retreat with Mass celebrated by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo; Father Justin Ryan, the archdiocese’s vocations director; Dominican Father Chrysostom Mijinke, assistant director of the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Washington; and Father Chad Hill, priest administrator of Christ the King Parish in Seattle. In his homily, Bishop Elizondo encouraged the retreatants, saying, “The Lord has a mission and purpose in every single circumstance in our lives, even in the workplace,” which perfectly illustrates YCP’s vision of “Working in Witness for Christ.”
At YCP, we equip young workers to take true ownership of their faith and work lives. We enable them to go forth as catalysts of personal excellence for everyone they meet.
I hope to meet you at one of our events.
Annabelle Larson is president of YCP Seattle and a member of St. Andrew Parish in Sumner.
Information about YCP Seattle’s events can be found at ycpseattle.org and on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Northwest Catholic magazine — April/May 2024