2020 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal: Young Adults Savor Beer and Socializing with Archbishop Blair

By Shelley Wolf

PLANTSVILLE – More than 300 young adult Catholics and others from throughout the Archdiocese of Hartford sipped local brews and had a chance to meet Archbishop Leonard P. Blair on Feb. 21 during the third-annual Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Beer Tasting and Cocktail Reception at the Aqua Turf Club.

Attendees sampled beers and spirits from nearly 10 local breweries, heard brief remarks from the archbishop and were introduced to this year’s appeal theme, “Growing in Faith, Giving in Love.”

 In his remarks Archbishop Blair welcomed the crowd to the joyful event saying, “I want to express my heartfelt thanks” for everyone’s contributions to last year’s Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. He recalled the Bible story about Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes and compared it to the faithful’s charitable contributions to the appeal. “What a profound lesson,” the archbishop said, “that it’s essential that we bring what we have, and from that God can multiply and do great things.”

Throughout the evening Archbishop Blair circulated among the attendees, casually chatting with the guests. Many young adults said they enjoyed meeting the archbishop and connecting with other young Catholics. A number of those present are members of Catholic young adult groups such as Crossfire, Crossroads 4 Christ, Catholic Underground and Frassati. For many, it was their first time at the Beer Tasting.

Elizabeth Savarese, 23, who attends St. John of the Cross Parish in Middlebury, said she was encouraged to attend the event by a friend who works in archdiocesan radio and television at ORTV. “I wasn’t sure about it until I got here. I think it’s a great event,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so casual. It’s a new vibe and an exciting atmosphere.”

Savarese said she and her friend Kaelee Collins are always looking for new Bible study groups to join and other Catholic activities. Savarese said she especially enjoyed getting to sample different beers at the AAA Beer Tasting and is looking forward to the many Lenten season activities at her parish.

Lilian and Chike Chukwumah, in their 30s and 40s respectively, said they were thrilled they got to meet Archbishop Blair. “I said we should go,” Lilian said. “We wanted to meet the archbishop. We’re trying for baby number two and hope we can get some blessings in that direction.”

The couple, who worship at Most Holy Trinity Parish in Wallingford, are both physicians who said they meet a lot of new people in their work but especially enjoyed meeting other Catholics. They also thought highly of the entire event. “I’m very impressed. It’s so nice and put together. And it’s unbelievable the list of charities that the Church supports,” Lilian said, gesturing to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal pop-up banners which listed the more than 225 local charities that benefit from the AAA’s Vicariate Outreach Program.

Tom Santopietro, 23, a member of the Greater Hartford Chapter of Crossroads for Christ, a young adult group in New Britain, said, “I liked the breweries and I thought it would be a great way to meet new Catholic people.” Santopietro attends St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Thomaston.

He brought along a friend, Austin Hollis, 23, who attends All Saints/Todos Los Santos Parish in Waterbury. Hollis said he was inspired by some of the more mature Catholics he met at the event, especially by a Catholic middle school teacher “who is trying to teach them about the Catholic religion and what we believe in.”

Michelle Reinert, 23, of St. Paul Parish in Berlin, was accompanied by Alex Lavoie, 22, of St. Peter Claver in West Hartford. Both said they heard about the event through Crossroads 4 Christ. “We want to support the archdiocese,” Reinert said.

According to Tina Poet, director of the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, the Beer Tasting has grown in popularity. “The first year we only had 120 people come, last year we had 200, this year we’re expecting over 300,” she said.

The idea for the event was spawned three years ago, Poet explained, when the archdiocese was looking for a new way to reach out to younger Catholics. “We were trying to bring in younger people who aren’t necessarily donors or even familiar with the appeal,” she said. “We’re trying to bring younger folks in to get a chance to learn about the appeal, to meet the archbishop in more of a casual setting, less of a structured dinner, so that they might intermingle with other people and it became a beer tasting.”

“We’ve tried to grow it each year since,” she added. “The first year we only had two or three vendors, last year we had five or six, this year we have almost 10.”

This year’s participating businesses included the Wine Cellar Outlet, Norbrook Farm Brewery, Stony Creek Brewery, 5 Churches Brewing, Witchdoctor Brewing Company, Litchfield Distillery, Thimble Island Brewing Company, East Rock Brewing Company and Citysteam Brewery.

Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres were also served along with food at a carving station, a salad station, a pasta station and a dessert table.

There was no entrance fee for the event. However, volunteers were available throughout the evening, accepting voluntary donations to the appeal and handing out take-home literature for possible future donations.