Fully Participating in General Convention

I had heard that General Convention was difficult – if not impossible – to describe to someone who had not attended. I never realized how true that was until I attended a General Convention for myself.

Being at General Convention 2012 with the Young Adult Festival was one of the most memorable experiences. It was wonderful to get to meet so many other active young adults from within the church and get to play a role in the leadership of the church for the next three years. It was also incredibly busy – a typical day for me required waking up at 6 or 7am and running nonstop from hearing to convention floor and back until about midnight.

While at the Convention, I met more bishops than I could count, shared meals with many people in very high places in the church, and had the chance to testify before two of the Standing Committees of the church on topics of interest to me. One of the things I found most striking about General Convention was how thoroughly people listened to the young adult voices that were present. If a young adult stood to testify before a Standing Committee on some topic, that person received every bit as much attention – if not more – from the Committee and audience as the most experienced priests and Bishops. It was amazing and humbling that the Episcopal News Service, Living Church Magazine, and MSNBC quoted my testimony before the Standing Committee on Prayer Book, Liturgy, and Music.

I also had the opportunity to intern with Integrity USA while in Indianapolis. Integrity is an organization that works for the full inclusion of LGBT Episcopalians within the church. Interning with them absorbed any free time I might have had, but was definitely worth the experience! Through this internship, I did work I was passionate about and met some of the most amazing people I have ever encountered. I hope this will lead to more opportunities to partner with them in the future. At the end of September I will be flying to Pasadena to join the executive board at Integrity’s General Strategic Planning Meeting for the year, which I am very excited about.

Attending the Young Adult Festival at General Convention was wonderful in itself, but the real joy of the experience was found in the connections the young adults were able to make. I made incredible professional connections, but the connections between young adults were even more valuable. The Young Adult Festival provided a forum for the young adults – the current and future leadership of the church – to meet and discuss and learn from one another, and that is invaluable. I didn’t get the chance to meet everyone at the festival, which is one of my big disappointments from my trip to Indianapolis, but I have no doubt that we will all be seeing quite a lot of one another in the next few years.

Reading the Budget

The 2013-2015 budget passed by General Convention this summer contains some major shifts in funding for Young Adult and Campus Ministries. (We invite you to follow along with that budget on page 15 of this document) First of all, the funding for both young adult and campus ministries (previously two distinct budget headings) have been combined with Youth Ministries, Children’s Ministries, Older Adult Ministries and Lifelong Formation under the heading “Formation and Vocation Ministries” (line 63). This heading falls under the second mark of mission, To Teach, Baptize and Nurture New Believers. This move was made in order to encourage coordination and collaboration between these age-specific networks as we strive to bridge the gap. Funding in this area is divided into seven lines:

Episcopal Generations/Lifelong Formation – this line is primarily focused on developing intergenerational resources and ministries and bridging networks. Of particular interest within this line is the transition from youth to young adult and campus ministries. Some funds will go toward the Chaplain’s Conference in 2013, however new funding models and expectations will need to be explored for subsequent years.

Formation and Vocation Networks – This line will be used to facilitate our continually improving internal communications within both the young adult and campus ministries networks. This will include new web-based resources and connections, the continued work of the Provincial Coordinators for Campus Ministry, the creation of a new Young Adult Ministries Council, and a leadership team comprised of both students and young adults.

Campus Ministry Grants – This line will be used through a grants-based program to continue to strengthen campus ministries on the local level. Due to a General Convention resolution, these grants will have a preference for community college based models for ministry.

Events and Gatherings – This line will help fund the Young Adult Festival at General Convention in 2015 as well as a churchwide gathering for students during the course of the triennium.  Additional funds will go toward regional and topical gatherings for young adults, students, chaplains and young adult ministers.

Other departmental costs/Staff Costs – This line makes the four staff persons of the Formation and Vocations team at the Episcopal Church Center and their diverse set of skills more readily available to all of our networks.

Several current projects of the office are not explicitly funded in the current triennium, including the Why Serve conference, Peer Ministry Training, and the Episcopal Leadership Institute for Young Adults. We will engage in continued discernment with our partners and the network at large as we explore new ways for this work to continue.

Additional funding has been made available to ministries with young adult in two other lines of the budget. Line 79 includes one million dollars to be allocated by Executive Council for opportunities for young adults to engage in Mission Mark 3, to respond to human need in loving service. This line will fund the continued work of the Young Adult Service Corps, a program our office oversees in collaboration with the office for Mission Personnel, along with new initiatives targeted at specific subgroups of young adults. In addition, Line 81 allocates a one-time $200,000 grant to the Episcopal Service Corps as an independent network of domestic internships sites.

Though the budget represents significant cuts in program funds, it does maintain current staffing and looks toward new ways of engaging in our common mission. We look forward to our continued discernment of how best to make use of the resources made available to us in partnership with Executive Council and with all of you in our network.

One last scholarship opportunity for the Young Adult Festival (Respond by Monday)

Want to get a behind the scenes look at advocacy at the Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention? One last great opportunity to intern with an organization as part of the Young Adult Festival has opened up. The Chicago Consultation is looking for two young adults (ages 18-30) to join them in advocacy during General Convention 2012, July 5-10 in Indianapolis, IN. (If you are selected as an intern, the Chicago Consultation will cover your registration costs.)

The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican bishops, clergy and lay people, supports the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Christians in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.  The Chicago Consultation works with other advocacy groups to advance the movement towards same-sex blessings, affirm GLBT people in all orders of ministry, and forge relationships with Christians across the Anglican Communion to deepen the conversation on the topic of sexuality and justice.  At General Convention, you will interact with leaders from across the church and Anglican Communion, talk with bishops, deputies and attendees about the church’s call to  full inclusion, assist at special events and the exhibit booth, and help track legislation.

In addition, you will have full access to the Young Adult Festival, including 5 nights housing, two receptions, daily breakfast, briefings and worship, a celebratory dinner, a visitor’s pass to GC and, of course, the company of other young adults with whom to experience Convention.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please contact Jason Sierra in the Episcopal Church office for Young Adult and Campus Ministries at jsierra@episcopalchurch.org no later than Monday, April 9 with your name, diocese, phone number, and two paragraphs answering the following questions: How would partnering with these organizations further your ministry/vocational goals? and Describe any relevant experience including current church engagement.

Young Adult Festival 2012: Meet Indianapolis

Meet the Design Team for the Young Adult Festival 2012

Young Adult Festival 2012!

Home is Where the Heart Is

Anonymous

People say the one constant in life is change.  This is apparent in the seasons, in our own life experiences, and as we transition from one stage of life to another.  I think one of my most difficult transitions (one that I am still working on) is the transition from adolescence into adulthood, aka “being a grown up.”  I have learned over the years that when change comes we need to be flexible and allow the Creator to work…in us, with us, and through us.

Throughout my life the Episcopal Church has been my spiritual home. Growing up on an Indian reservation the Church was there and the people in the parish were my family and my community.  For people in my community, the Church was there to help, support, and empower us.  Later, while living in Seattle, I found myself homeless after coming out; the Church was there too, playing an important role in helping me to find my way out of the darkness.

When I moved and began college I looked around and found, surprisingly, that the Church wasn’t there.  This changed however when a few of us brought the Church to the school by creating a campus ministry at our university.  For many people who were feeling oppressed by other campus ministries that spouted messages of hate we became their spiritual home, a home of acceptance and love.  In this way, I think campus ministry helps people who are questioning their faith, the Creator’s love, and having feelings of isolation find acceptance, fellowship, and a renewing relationship with the Creator.

I think we need to also help with the transition out of campus ministry and into the workforce.  When I graduated, I found a job in another state and needed to leave.  I am sure this fits the stories of other people as well.  As I was leaving I found that people were very congratulatory and wished me well on my journey.  However, they didn’t really help connect me with the churches, or in my case church, in the area I was moving to.  I also didn’t get any contact after the move.  I think maybe a few contacts a month or two after graduation would be beneficial.

I moved to my new rural town and felt a lot like an outsider in that church.  I think this may have been because the average age of the congregation was 60 or because there were no people of color in the congregation unless I was sitting in a pew.  During this time I didn’t feel like the church was my “home.”

However, I maintained my connection with the church through larger national events and activities in the young adult, American Indian, and other areas of ministry.  I truly believe that every diocese needs to have regular young adult gatherings for people in situations like that who may feel isolated and need to build networks.

Last summer, I attended the Young Adult Festival during General Convention.  This was a very important part of my sense of connection to the Church and feelings of being “home.”  I was able to find people like me and connect with others in a profound way.  Many of us maintain our connections via telephone, facebook, and other social networks.  Then, even though there may not be many people my age in my local parish, I am able feel less isolated because my newfound friends are just a few clicks away.  On a different level, while attending general convention I had many, “moments of clarity” when things seemed to all come together.  At some points I could see all the various parts and how everything fits together in this lovely Church of ours.  It was as if you could see all the parts working together creating a mosaic of the Body of Christ.

Recently, a job has brought me to Kansas City.  When I arrived, I realized I had the luxury of having several Episcopal churches to choose from.  I visited several of them trying to find the one that felt most like, “home.”  I want to say that the Church I chose stood out from the others for several reasons.  This church was diverse in age, ethnicity, and family type.  This church has a strong commitment to social justice and community outreach/involvement evidenced not just by words or a checkbook but by true “getting in and getting your hands dirty” action. Also, whether it was the greeter recognizing I was new and welcoming me, the rector calling me after my first attendance to invite me over to visit, or the fact they remembered my name, I felt truly welcomed.

I would hardly call myself, “grown up” but I definitely believe I am on that journey. The Episcopal Church and the some very special people in it, encourage and help me strive to walk that journey in a good way.  This Church is my home and when I think of home my heart is always happy.

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You

by Nkiruka Okeke

Outside of the Anaheim Convention Center, where the 76^th Episcopal General Convention was held, a banner that read “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” was hung.  When I first arrived, I felt like I didn’t know anyone and I got lost (as usual) but the friendly smiles and the helpful directions of those I met made me feel welcome.  

 Along side the General Convention, the Young Adult Festival and the General Convention Youth Program were held.  There were a few things that stood out to me at the convention.

1. The discussion of a variety of issues such as the environment, missions, human rights, communications and giving voice to youth and young adults in the church.
2. The attendance at the conference.  I don’t know the exact number of people that attended the conference but to see an 800,000 square foot room filled with people during the Eucharist and in the exhibit hall was amazing.
3. Feeling welcome.  The theme of the conference “Ubuntu” which means community.  Ubuntu is a type of community that inextricably links us all together, encourages our uniqueness and strengthens us as a group.  The warmness and openness of the people at the conference didn’t feel like a gimmick or a ploy, it seemed genuine and I really do feel that it a part of who we are as Episcopalians.

 The agenda of the conference included Legislative meetings, daily Eucharist, visits to the exhibit hall and for those who participated in the Young Adult Festival, afternoon workshops and evening Compline.  At the Legislative sessions, decisions on how we could full our mission as a church were made.  At daily Eucharist, we got to share in communion with people from all over the nation and all over the world and hear different chorus perform. I thought the children’s chorus was especially moving.  

The Young Adult workshops included information about discernment, meditation, music and community involvement.  There is so many more meaningful experiences that I would like to share but I’ll leave you with links about the General Convention and a quote from the General Convention orientation video below, which I believe embodies the purpose of the Convention.

“What we learn at the conference can help us to live out our baptismal promise to seek and serve Christ, love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every human being.” 

Is Peace Possible in Palestine and Israel?

By Harry Akehurst

Responsible people today don’t need to be told that there are two sides to each argument: we can recognize propaganda; we perceive motives and opposing points of view; we’ve grown adept at netting substance from rhetoric, and instinctively suspicious of attempts to dictate a right or wrong.

The Rev. Canon Naim Ateek strove hard to appeal to this common sense in his brief introduction to the Israel/Palestine conflict, at the Young Adults Festival lunch on July 13, sympathising with all sides and reassuring all of his frank objectivity.

I’m far from convinced. Following a little provocation and insightful questioning from his audience, a glimpse of the anger, resentment and sorrow which colours so much of this debate – and from which rational people so instinctively shrink in our efforts to remain objective – became apparent.

Ateek’s emotion emerged because he stands for justice. Let’s be clear: this is not a conflict between equals; over 50 years of displacement, terror and death leave no ambiguity about where justice most desperately needs to be applied.

But maybe there is still another, murkier side to the situation. As Christians we often bundle the words ‘justice’ and ‘peace’ together, as if they were mutually inclusive. But they aren’t. Consider peaceful regions of the world today: was justice ever done in this country by its indigenous people? Ever done in Europe, where oppressive empires have become established nations, despite their ethnic roots in many exploited, conquered peoples?

Justice in the Middle East would be devastating. Israel would be demolished by tanks and F16s, exactly the way it has dealt with Palestine. Justice demands it. Peace, however, may demand something else. What if, for peace, somebody must surrender their claim on Jerusalem? Many are prepared to march at their oppressors in the name of peace: is there anybody prepared to crawl away, so that nobody more need die?

If we let a bully go, and live alone in a peaceful victory forged in terror and religious lunacy, might we not have done better than if we stood our ground? We must – our duty to life demands it – we absolutely must respond to this conflict, but what should be our rallying cry? As Christians, how can we choose between peace and justice?

Harry Akehurst is from the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Finding the Young Adults in the Church (hint: we’re right here)

By Lauren Woody

As the Diocesan Coordinator for Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Atlanta, I advocate for a group (young adults) that I think is largely forgotten and misunderstood in the church world. As youth we are put out in the spotlight and then just expected to quietly integrate into becoming an “adult” member of the parish as soon as we turn 18. I think that this is one of the biggest mistakes the church is currently making. We’re not given the skills or support to accomplish this goal and then people wonder why we aren’t filling the pews every Sunday. Many of us are leaving the Episcopal Church for other denominations or non-denominational churches because it seems like they are the ones equipping people in their twenties to become vital parts of the church body.

I think we can start doing something about that in our church by educating people as to what defines a young adult. And how do we do that Lauren? We give them the opportunity to be in front of people the way the youth are. We are often lumped in with youth in ways that make it hard to define our identity. But we aren’t youth. We’re out in the real world trying to decide how we will survive the next 80-something years.

Let us stand up and tell you who we are. Allow us to tell you how we are different and why we can’t be lumped together. Let us tell you why we are lost and why we need you to mentor us in the ways of being an adult. It might seem scary, but it isn’t hard. All you have to do is approach a young adult and say hello and how are you, we will do the rest. We’re ready to speak, but unsure of how to ask for that right because we are out of the spotlight. Please don’t forget us.

Lauren Woody is from the Diocese of Atlanta.