Young Catholic Network applies faith to workplace

August 17, 2023

Three friends, out of college and working their way up in their professions, shared their challenges of linking their faith with their jobs.

“It was hard to connect how we could live our faith in the workplace,” said Maria Tovar Qualley, of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. “How can I apply this to what I’m spending 40-50 hours a week at?”

She and friends Annette Heinzman and Maureen Kenney, both of St. Francis Parish,  thought there must be others feeling the same way. They saw an opportunity in the Des Moines metro area to connect young adult professionals with established members of the community.

The Young Catholic Network was born in 2021.

“We decided to start this kind of event to fill that need and to inspire young adults to evangelize and live out their faith,” said Heinzman.

“The workplace posed more of a challenge in recent years, putting young Catholic professionals in the middle of agendas that may conflict with Catholic teaching/morals. Our goal has been to equip professionals with the courage to share the faith in these moments and pose loving alternatives,” said Kenney.

Once every three months, a networking opportunity is held at the Catholic Pastoral Center in downtown Des Moines followed by a speaker who is a practicing Catholic and is established in his or her field. The speaker shares their experience with living their faith in the workplace.

“We try to ensure speakers come from diverse backgrounds in terms of what they do,” Tovar Qualley said. “We’ve had representation from the following fields: Healthcare, agriculture, law, education, non-profit, public accounting, and insurance. I think that has increased participation and provides young adults the opportunity to network with other young adults within their same field in addition to similar age and faith background.” 

Guests have included former Meredith Corp. CEO Steve Lacy, Dalla Terra Ranch founder Sharon Krause, Deloitte Managing Partner Dan Kinsella, and Drs. Jon and Ramona Thompson. 

“I think this is a great opportunity,” Heinzman said. “There are so many young adults from different industries who come to these events. Most likely, they’ll find someone who works in their field and be able to connect with them, whether they work at their company or not.”

Often, attendees ask for practical tips.

“Sometimes a speaker will say, when you send an email that you’ll be out of the office, say that it’s to celebrate Easter with your family or put a more specific reason if it relates to your faith,” Heinzman said. “If you go to daily Mass, share that when you’re asked where you went on your lunch hour.”

“I’m just really pleased with how the events have started,” Heinzman said. “It seems like the community keeps growing.”

The next gathering is Sept. 12 with a social at 6 p.m. and UnityPoint CEO David Stark taking the stage at 7 p.m. at the Catholic Pastoral Center, 601 Grand Ave. in Des Moines.