By: James Lohrmann

On Saturday July 16, seventeen ChristLife Young Adults traveled to the National Mall in Washington DC to participate in an incredible gathering of over 300,000 Christians called Together 2016. It was a day of worship, preaching, conversation, and most importantly prayer. There were many big names attached to the event including Hillsong United, Casting Crowns, Matt Maher, and Francis Chan to name a few. Even Pope Francis made a video inviting young people to attend this event! 

However the real highlight for everyone was not big name musicians and speakers, but the opportunity to pray with Christians from across the country from many different denominations and traditions. We were often invited to lay hands on the people around us and pray to Jesus to "reset" our lives. These moments of prayer created bonds of connection between us and everyone there that lead to deeper sharing and prayer for each other and for the whole Body of Christ.

Even outside the main event, these moments of encounter between Christians were happening in powerful ways. When a few of us went to find some shade in midst of this day-long event (it was a very hot day), a group of evangelical, African-American Christians from Emory University sat down on the bench next to us. I could tell they were from the Together event from their friendliness and I asked them where they were from. This lead to a great conversation where we learned about their church in Atlanta and we were able to share about our Catholic faith. They were very curious about our Catholic faith. We were able to share why we loved being Catholic: the sacraments, the tradition and history of our Church, and the Magisterium which gives us a sure foundation of truth. We also shared the ways in which Catholics can learn and benefit from our evangelical brethren, their devotion to and knowledge of Scripture, their gifts and passion for evangelization, and their deep, personal relationships with Jesus Christ. One of the women from their group had a new realization as we spoke, "I never understood how Protestants and Catholics could actually come together because of our differences, but I can see now that we can be complementary to each other."

After our discussion, we entered a time of prayer where we joined hands, bowed our heads, and prayed for each other, for the Together event, and for the unification of the body of Christ. The prayers were heart-felt cries to heaven for unity and love in the Body of Christ and for the ability to witness to Christ in the world as one. We prayed also for our country in this time of political, social, and racial division. I thanked God for the witness of our public prayer for unity.

Together 2016 was an amazing event that showed us the power and beauty that comes when we lay aside our difference, and gather with other Christians in the name of Jesus.