“What I wanted to do for these girls was give them a place where they can learn about their faith in an apologetic kind of format,” said Pearse. “Our faith is internal; we don’t have to have all the answers. But there are times when it sure is nice to have a few.”
The group has about 14 members and is aimed at girls in high school. Female university students attend meetings to act as mentors and leaders.
Reine Sader Mykyte, a young middle school teacher, also helps to facilitate group meetings.
“We’re going to give them the tools to be able to defend their virtues and their faith,” she said. “The goal is for everybody to be comfortable in defending their faith.”
Real Women in Christ uses the book Yes or No: Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Christianity by Peter Kreeft, a Catholic theologian, to guide group discussions. Each member has a copy and the group talks about the apologetic strategies offered in the book.
Pearse also said that having a group specifically for girls is important, allowing members to develop their faith through the eyes of femininity and womanhood. Women have different issues than men, she said.
“It’s different when there are guys and girls together,” said Pearse. “I saw the challenges and these girls and going to face them.”
The group has only had three meetings so far, as it is still quite new.
At its most recent meeting on June 27, the young women discussed fashion and the true meaning of modesty in modern culture.
Olivia Pearse finds the group provides a unique sense of community.
“It helps me to have something to lean back on,” she said. “If I have questions I know I can ask them there and it’s a community where we’re all there for the same reasons.”
In addition to monthly meetings, Real Women in Christ works to promote local Catholic events, and encourages members to become active in the community.
Recently, young women from the group joined hundreds of fellow Catholics in a eucharistic procession through the streets of downtown Victoria.
“This is small,” said Mykyte. “But if everybody did an apologetics group in their own town I think we’d be set for a stronger future.”
Pearse believes young Catholics need more apologetics groups available to them.
“I think it’s so important that our youth really know their faith,” she said. “It’s the youth that are reviving the Church. They can push the Church forward and they will.”
(Van Dyk, 19, is a second-year English student at the University of Victoria.)
Young women keeping the faith alive in Victoria
By Greg Van Dyk, Youth Speak NewsVICTORIA - Young people are learning how to defend their faith in Victoria thanks to a new Catholic apologetics group — and it’s just for girls.
Real Women in Christ was founded this spring and meets once a month to discuss the reasons behind Church teachings.
Laura Pearse, a mother of nine, was inspired to start the group after she noticed her older kids were being challenged to defend their faith by atheist arguments at the secular universities they were attending.
“I realized that they had a lot of faith, but they were unable to really know their faith and have answers when they were faced with a lot of criticism,” she said.
Pearse set out to form the group so that her youngest daughter, Olivia, who will be entering Grade 9 in the fall, will be prepared post-graduation.
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