SEATTLE — In the coming weeks and months, Catholics are invited to join the National Eucharistic Revival by encountering Jesus in the Eucharist at special adoration events around the archdiocese. 

“When we pray in front of the Eucharist, good things can happen,” said Tyler Tangen, director of young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Seattle.

The archdiocese is offering PNW Adoration Nights for youth and young adults at parishes around the archdiocese on the first Saturday of the month, from December through June 2024. And True Presence Nights, open to all ages, are being presented by The Vigil Project at five parishes from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1. (See box for details about the events.)

“When there’s people praying in large numbers, we can really experience what it means to be the body of Christ,” Tangen said. “Spending time in front of Christ,” he added, “helps that longing, that desire for the Eucharist.”

The National Eucharistic Revival is a three-year initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to restore understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist. 

True Presence Nights

The first True Presence Night will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at St. Anne Church in Seattle, followed by events in Bellingham, Snohomish and Enumclaw, wrapping up Dec. 1 at St. Michael Church in Olympia.

This will be the third time St. Michael Parish has hosted The Vigil Project for a True Presence Night.

“It’s amazing,” said Melissa Fletcher, the parish’s steward for music ministry. “It’s a beautiful evening of music and silence and adoration.”

The evenings are for people of all ages, she said. They are offered free of charge, funded by a $30,000 grant from the archdiocese’s St. Joseph Foundation.

“The Vigil Project is really engaging with the community,” Fletcher said. “They start with live music — a blend of original works and more familiar hymns they’ve put their own spin on. They have great speakers who are inspiring.”

At St. Michael, “we’re hoping to attract people from many different parishes, especially from smaller parishes who don’t have access to this kind of program,” Fletcher added.

Andrew Goldstein, mission advancement director for The Vigil Project, said the organization was developed in 2020 to provide touring music and adoration events for parishes.

“We all need time to pause and pray and be with Jesus,” Goldstein said. 

The organization, which is bringing six of its 30 musicians to the archdiocese, will also offer two workshops for musicians, which are also funded by the archdiocese’s grant. (See box for details.)

For those who may be intimidated to attend adoration, unsure of how to pray in silence, Goldstein said music opens a door.

“Music unifies us,” he said. “It can open a place for the Lord to enter and open our hearts.”

PNW Adoration Nights

The first PNW Adoration Night for youth and young adults will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church in Tacoma; in the following months, the events will be offered in Sammamish, Bellingham, Burien, Seattle, Everett, Vancouver and Bremerton.

Each event will begin with preaching or catechesis and then move into adoration, followed by a social time.

When young people gather in large numbers, they experience their faith being alive in a new way, Tangen said, speaking from his experience at World Youth Day, as part of the archdiocese’s delegation.

“It really set people’s hearts on fire,” he said.

The archdiocese is also planning to send a delegation of youth and young adults to the National Eucharistic Congress, slated July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis.

FIND AN ADORATION EVENT

True Presence Nights, music, prayer and adoration presented by The Vigil Project, are being offered at 7 p.m. on the following dates:

  • Nov. 27, St. Anne Church, Seattle. Details
  • Nov. 28, Church of the Assumption, Bellingham. Details
  • Nov. 29, St. Michael Church, Snohomish. Details
  • Nov. 30, Sacred Heart Church, Enumclaw. Details
  • Dec. 1, St. Michael Church, Olympia. Details

PNW Adoration Nights 

The young adult and youth ministries of the Archdiocese of Seattle are presenting PNW Adoration Nights, with preaching/catechesis, adoration and social time, on the dates below.

  • Dec. 2: Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church, Tacoma
  • Jan. 6: Mary, Queen of Peace Church, Sammamish
  • Feb. 3: Western Washington Newman Center, Bellingham
  • March 2: Middle School Encounter, Burien; University of Washington Newman Center, Seattle
  • April 6: St. Mary Magdalen Church, Everett
  • May 4: Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Vancouver
  • June 1: Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Bremerton

 Find more details here.

MUSICIAN WORKSHOPS

The Vigil Project is offering free workshops to provide professional and volunteer music ministers in the archdiocese “a much-needed opportunity to gather for fellowship, prayer and growth in their musical and liturgical knowledge,” according to the grant application submitted to the St. Joseph Foundation.

The workshops will be held:

  • Nov. 30: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Holy Spirit Church, Kent. Focused for music directors, but open to all. 
  • Dec. 2: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., St. Michael Parish, Olympia. Focused for music ministry volunteers, but open to all. 

Workshops are free, but you must RSVP to [email protected].