Tailgate Mass

This takes “Touchdown Jesus” to a whole new level. Football fans are used to hosting tailgate parties before games, but Mass? The USA Today reported that “Before the Green Bay Packers trounced the Cleveland Browns … the Rev. Quinn Mann donned green vestments and brought the sacred to the secular near Lambeau Field, representing a renewed effort in the Roman Catholic Church for believers to step out of the parish and evangelize.” This is a unique way to combine faith and sports, but these connections between the sacred and the secular happen around us every day as we’re called to live lives of faith in today’s world — not just inside of church on Sunday mornings. Share this article and video with young adults. Then talk about some of the connections you see between faith and sports and how you might take the spirit of those connections into your own community:

  • What do you think of the priest’s endeavors to reach people at a Packers’ football game?
  • Have you ever had an experience of faith while watching or participating in a sport? What connections do you see between faith and athletics?
  • What are some unique ways your young adult ministry or parish can reach out into the community to touch the lives of those who aren’t already attending church?