Earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed our everyday lives in a way we never could have anticipated. Join us tonight for an honest conversation about mental health during COVID-19 as our panelists discuss questions such as:

• Why are our current mental health challenges unique to this moment in history?
• How are our spiritual and emotional lives connected? How do I know whether I need to see a spiritual director, a therapist, or both? 
• How do I find a therapist?
• How do we balance the positive and negative consequences of social media, especially in regards to our mental health?
• How can we take care of ourselves in this next “phase” of the pandemic? 

Panelists:

Colleen Campbell is the Coordinator of Formation Programs at the Catholic Apostolate Center in Washington, DC, and a PhD candidate in Catechetics and Religious Education at the Catholic University of America. She is co-author of The Art of Accompaniment: Theological, Spiritual, and Practical Elements of Building a More Relational Church.

Fr. Nick Rokitka, is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Fr. Nick completed his theology at the Catholic University of America in the spring of 2016 and was ordained a priest later that summer. Fr. Nick is currently the assistant director of formation at the house of formation for his order in Silver Spring, MD. 

Dr. Helena Orellana is a licensed clinical psychologist, Director of the IPS Center for Psychological Sciences, and an Adjunct Professor for the Psy.D. program. Her professional interests include the psychological and spiritual impact of trauma, psychodynamic and interpersonal theories, the supervision and training of graduate students, and the integration of a Catholic vision of the person with psychology.

The killing of George Floyd sparked a renewed racial justice reckoning in our nation. The national response to police violence against Black Americans has affected our country and communities in a way previously unseen in a generation. These recent events have led our communities to examine more closely the impact that injustice and racism have on an individual, structural, and institutional level. As a result, more young Catholics have begun to engage in difficult conversations about the history and present reality of racism in the U.S. Catholic Church.

This virtual Theology on Tap brought together a panel of young Black Catholic leaders to engage challenging questions about the spiritual and practical actions needed to work towards a culture of anti-racism, which values the equal dignity of every human life. The panel discussed the history of racism within the U.S. Catholic Church, how racial injustice exists in our communities today, the role of white privilege, and practical ways that Church leaders and young Catholics can work towards a more anti-racist and racially just Church.

Four Black Catholic leaders explored questions such as:

• How has our nation’s history of racism influenced our understanding and structures of racism in the Catholic Church?
• How is racial injustice present in the Church today? How does white privilege play a role in propagating complacency with racism in our Church communities?
• What are practical steps that Catholics in leadership and in the pews can take towards a culture of anti-racism in our parishes and communities?
• In what ways can young Catholics actively work towards anti-racism and be true advocates for racial justice?

Ogechi Akalegbere is a Nigerian-American who is the host, executive editor, and content creator for the podcast Tell Me, If You Can. She also works as the Christian service coordinator at Connelly School of the Holy Child.

Fr. Robert Boxie is the chaplain at Howard University and the priest-in-residence at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Washington, DC. He had been the parochial vicar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Largo, Maryland, since July 2017.

Gerald Smith, Jr. is the principal at St. Thomas More Catholic Academy in Washington, DC, where he previously taught 4th-8th grade science. He formerly taught at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland.

Shannen Dee Williams is the Albert Lepage Assistant Professor of History at Villanova University. She is the author of a forthcoming book with the working title Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle.

Fr. Bob shares  practical advice on our how take time for prayer in the busyness of our daily lives.

Our panel shares their real life tips and experience on love, dating and marriage

Fr. Vincent DeRosa shows us the importance of looking up and outside of our selves towards beauty and truth in this Theology on Tap #tbt

Fr. Robert Boxie III shares with us his 25 year long journey, from being a lawyer to entering seminary in this Theology on Tap #tbt.

In this Theology on Tap #tbt, we are reminded of what it means to be prophets, kings and priests through our baptism and how we can serve others.

In this Theology on Tap #tbt, Bishop Frank Caggiano, Jonathan Lewis, Christopher White and Sarah Yaklic share with us their experience of the Youth Synod, what was it like working along side the Pope, encountering the universal Church, and more.

In this Theology on Tap #tbt Thanksgiving edition, Elise Italiano offers five quick tips on how to communicate with family around the thanksgiving dinner table. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sister Emily Beata Marsh is originally from the Buffalo, NY area. She entered the Daughters of St. Paul in 2007, professed vows in 2012, and has been stationed all over the country—including St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Rome (Italy), and now Alexandria, Virginia—carrying out the Daughters’ mission of evangelization through the media. She has a degree in Theology from The Catholic University of America, and currently serves as the national vocation director of the Daughters of St. Paul.