by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — How do you restore culture? How do you encourage young adults to live virtuously?
Those are a few of the questions Aaron Vrbka and three other Culture Project missionaries help students explore at their free presentations and through their mentorship to parishes and schools. The archdiocese is just one of five dioceses in the country served by The Culture Project.
Founded in 2014 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, The Culture Project seeks to “restore culture through the experience of virtue.” Its mission is to “proclaim the dignity of the human person and the richness of living sexual integrity, inviting our culture to become fully alive.”
The Culture Project has been contracted for five years as a joint initiative of the archdiocesan respect life office, the office of evangelization and the Catholic schools office. Although the archdiocese is only in its second year of hosting missionaries, interest in it began nearly four years ago.
Searching for educational opportunities for young people in the archdiocese, Debra Niesen, lead consultant for the respect life office, is the one who discovered The Culture Project.
“I think it was just the Holy Spirit that allowed us to get it,” Niesen said.
The project assigns teams of recent college graduates formed in Catholic social teaching to parish communities. Within the archdiocese, teams have been placed at Holy Family and St. John the Baptist parishes, both in Kansas City, Kansas.
Describing it as a win-win, Niesen said both rectories had sat empty for quite some time. Now, they have been updated.
“Both of those parishes have completely wrapped themselves around these missionaries. So, it’s been a beautiful thing for the parishes,” she said.
The resource is free for schools and parishes. All expenses are covered by the generosity of donations received through the Respect Life Fund established by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann.
The missionaries give age-appropriate presentations to junior high, high school and college students and provide peer mentorship through lunch hour visits or dropping by after school. Presentation topics include human dignity, sexual integrity, social media and pro-life apologetics, as well as Q-and-A sessions.
Among the parishes that have hosted The Culture Project is Holy Angels Parish in Garnett. Youth leader Lindy Katzer said the missionaries made three visits and had a lasting impact.
“They were so awesome! They are young and relatable,” she said. “They took their time getting to know the kids and earn their respect before diving into some deep topics — ones that need diving into, but aren’t always easy to chat about.”
Katzer noted the presentations covered everything from embryology to social issues such as bullying and social media, concluding with separate purity discussions for girls and boys.
“It was powerful for them to hear a college-aged person truly living a life of purity,” she said.
Angie Bittner, rural youth ministry outreach coordinator, hosted the missionaries during a rural youth conference for high schoolers and was similarly impressed.
“Our students still in junior high and high school respond so well to a young adult who is combating the culture of death and not only living the culture of life, but sharing it so openly, confidently and courageously,” she said.
Team leader Aaron Vrbka, now in his second year, said he values the opportunity to speak openly about difficult topics such as pornography while offering hope.
“I’m surprised and very humbled at the boldness of students asking about how to seek out healing from pornography,” he said. “I just find that I’m always so proud of them when they ask, because that’s a very vulnerable thing to ask about.”
Vrbka said the team would love to reach even more students, if given the chance.
“I promise you we have good things in store for your students,” he said.
For more information about The Culture Project or to schedule a free presentation or visit to your school, parish or campus center, visit the website at: archkck.org/prolife/activities/the-culture-project.
