For the last number of parish tours, I have had difficulty spelling UNITY. Yes, I know that I look like a fool when I spell UNTIY while explaining our UNITY acronym. But that has got me thinking, why don’t we examine the acronym and look at how it explains UNITY.

****Note: UNITY was not originally an acronym, and it still really isn’t. The leaders of the UNITY 2009 tour team made it an acronym and it works. BUT UNITY IS NOT AN ACRONYM. This is just to explain UNITY in a simpler fashion.

So here we go…

U is for Ukrainian Catholic; this event is made for either those who are Ukrainian Catholic or those who enjoy being around Ukrainian Catholics (who wouldn’t?).

N is for National; UNITY is a national event, one of the only opportunities for Ukrainian Catholic young adults from across Canada to interact, which truly makes it special. It is our hope that we may even attract some young adults from the northern United States for UNITY 2012.

I is for inspirational (yes I comes before T); UNITY touches all who go to it, that is a given. What is often overlooked is that the inspiration often carries over; back into the parishes from across Canada where attendees hail from. As I said in my previous post as well as at every parish tour, UNITY is not just about young adults, it is an event for young adults that benefits the entire Church.

T is for Theme; theme is really what ties everything at UNITY together. Everything we do, directly or indirectly, ties into our theme: Into the Wild. What we want to examine and grow in is our awareness of those “going into the wild” experiences in the daily lives of ourselves and others.

Y is for You; regardless of who you are, where you are, and what your role is in the Church is, UNITY is about you because, as mentioned above, UNITY is about more than just those who attend it. It is about anyone and everyone in our Church; the young and the old, the active and inactive parishioners, the clergy and the laity.

So there it is, UNITY broken into an acronym (and spelt correctly!). Now, what does it mean?

It means that UNITY is important. It means that UNITY is a big event. It means that UNITY is a chance to reinvigorate the youth in our church. But most importantly, it is the first step to building that community I have been talking so much about. And not just a parish community, a national community of Ukrainian Catholics. I have seen it on the faces of people who have been to UNITY, Congress, World Youth Day, SERVE, the list goes on. All of these people have been excited, they have been set on fire with a zeal and exuberance for their faith and the community that surrounds that faith. And by becoming a part of UNITY 2012 in any way, shape, or form; attending, donating, supporting, praying for, then you become a part of our goal to build that national community.

I think that is an attractive proposal for everyone.

P.S. and don’t forget UNITY is not actually an acronym.

Andrew’s Blog History (clink post title for link)

Andrew’s Thoughts for Thursday

(an opinion piece put out every Thursday, time permitting)

Andrew’s On the Road(show)

(Recaps and thoughts after every parish tour)

Introduction – Tuesday July 26, 2011: UNITY!?!?