My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

St. John recounts a beautiful story of Our Lord and His dialogue with a woman drawing water from a well. The scene is remarkable because it seems to be a breach of the ancient code of conduct between men and women, as well as an affront to the religious sensibilities of the day. St. Matthew gives an account of his own call in the custom house when Our Lord almost rudely singles him out as a disciple and invites him to dinner.

This past April 1st, we launched a small advertising campaign entitled “All Faces. Everyday Understanding.” The purpose of the campaign is to reach out to the many communities in our diocese here in Brooklyn and Queens and invite them to join us for the Eucharist. In the coming weeks and months as part of this campaign, you might notice advertisements popping up in the diocese, from Williamsburg and Bushwick to Astoria and Jamaica in many of the languages of our people – Chinese, Spanish, Polish and French – encouraging them to join us for Mass. This is paid for in part by proceeds from the annual Catholic Communications Collections taken up in the country and in our diocese to further the proclamation of the Gospel.

There was international reaction to our advertisement of a man in robes wearing converse sneakers with the caption “The Original Hipster.” While it seems that media outlets have been favorable, I have heard from some of you who are disturbed and feel this representation is disrespectful.

My sense is that some good faithful Christian people are offended by the so-called “hipster” lifestyle. One priest friend noted that these “kids” were narcissists. Another person noted that they “smoked weed.” Some others have complained that they are just shallow white kids who were dirty.

At the same time, some “hipsters” and many in the mainstream media seemed to be shocked that the Church could dare reach out to this demographic. Some of these people have argued that “hipsters” are open, inclusive, counter-cultural and opposed to virtually everything that the Church represents.

Here is an interesting fact; the advertisement never even mentions the name of Jesus. Yet, Our Lord is very near the surface of society’s consciousness. As a Christian, do I want all people, including “hipsters,” to identify with Christ? Yes, of course! As a Bishop and priest, do I want to encourage all Christians to see Christ in all people? Absolutely!

The fact is, following Hurricane Sandy, many “hipsters” were on the streets of Coney Island and in the Rockaways. It is my belief that they were there to assist others so desperately in need of help precisely because they are longing for greater meaning beyond themselves. Do some hipsters need to be challenged to live a more authentically human life? Yes, of course, as we all do.

We in Brooklyn and Queens are not looking to neglect the many faithful Christians who go to Mass every Sunday. Indeed, we want to be a source of encouragement and strength. We seek to help accommodate that faith by sending priests to school so they might celebrate Mass in the various languages and cultural context of the people residing in Brooklyn and Queens. Indeed, our ethnic apostolates and Hispanic Ministry, Holy Name Societies, Rosary Societies, Knights of Columbus, Jornada and Jovenes de Valor are all intended to be a support for that faith of Church-going Christians. We spend tens of millions of dollars in support of Catholic education and religious education programs to ensure the transmission of our faith.

Interestingly, this part of the campaign did not cost more than $14,000 from our communications collection, which must be used solely for communications. The “hipster” advertisement generated an important discussion nationally and even internationally. Did we make the right decision in attempting to reach out to people in this way? I believe so; however, our project needs to be explained to our own people so that they will welcome potential newcomers to our Church from wherever they come and whatever they look like.

One thing is certain. We are attempting to get beyond what Pope Francis has referred to as “kept” Catholicism – or a complacent acceptance of the status quo. Independent media firms have valued the press generated from our advertisement campaign at over $1.4 million. It is not hard to project advertising value, but much more difficult to evaluate results. Will anyone come to Church after they see our ads? We have put out into the deep and moved from the shore of “kept” Catholicism. I hope the waters carry our message of welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ. But it certainly has gotten people talking, and even thinking. This is always something worthwhile.