This is the complete article that appeared in the DAYA Connector - the official enewsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults.
A Note from Lauren Woody
October Newsletter
As I stare blankly at this empty piece of paper, not knowing where to begin, I marvel at how often GOD sends me messages of encouragement when I need them. When I sat down to write this “first article” for the Young Adult Connector, I opened my old youth bible and this was the first prayer taped into the cover.
Let nothing disturb you,
Nothing frighten you.
All things are passing;
God never changes.
Patience overcomes all things;
He who possesses God
Lacks nothing;
God alone is sufficient.
-St. Teresa of Avila
I haven’t opened that old bible since my first Vocare (a young adult vocation retreat) experience in March of 2006. Immediately after returning home, I received a new study bible for my birthday and had cast that old gem aside. This “changing of the bibles” marked a huge step in my spiritual life. I had spent the last eight years searching for God in all the wrong places and wondering why I felt so empty. I used that weekend at Camp Mikell to reconcile with God and myself, and stop punishing myself for all the mistakes I had made in the past. I was ready to move on and grow, and this new bible was going to be my new start.
I have followed the model of “let go and let God” a lot in my life, mostly out of laziness and an inability to take responsibility for my actions. I think a lot of young adults struggle with that at this point in their lives. But, this group experience somehow forced a change in me. I decided that weekend that I was going to take responsibility for my Christian life and I was going to start by looking for a way to get involved. It did not take me long before I came across an overwhelming need for my friends from Vocare and me to have a way to further our experience once we returned to Atlanta. After meeting once, three of us took on the task of broadening our group base, and the product is DAYA. Over the past year and a half, this group has grown and evolved into a loving, nurturing, amazing environment for people to grow in their relationship with God across the Diocese.
Since DAYA began meeting back in April 2006, this group has received amazing support from Bishop Alexander and the Diocese of Atlanta. We have been blessed with so much response from young adults around the Diocese and praise from the parishes and the Bishop. What started as one monthly event has turned into a great website (www.dofaya.org), three monthly events, a Steering Committee, Braves game with the Bishop, quarterly outings, and community service projects. I encourage everyone to go to our website to get more information on what we have been up to. I am so proud of all the progress we have made and I am even more proud that the Diocese and the Bishop have chosen to recognize our efforts.
The next year will be pivotal for the group. This will be the first time in a number of years that an effort to involve young adults will be taken on by the Diocese of Atlanta in force. The Diocese has agreed to give us a budget to plan events and create opportunities for growth and development. There are a lot of exciting prospects for Young Adult Ministries ahead of us and I hope you will take advantage of this gift we have been given. We are in a unique position in this Diocese to pave the way for young adult ministries across the country. We are fortunate to be in a Diocese that has the funds and the will to support a ministry like this. DAYA and the Diocese of Atlanta hope to be a model for other Dioceses struggling on how to involve young adults and I think with everyone’s continued support we will excel at this task.
Having said all that, the next few months will be paramount to show the Diocese how many people this ministry supports. We are asking that every young adult in the Diocese make an effort to come to Convention this year. It will be held November 9th and 10th at the Cathedral. We will be holding a charity poker night on October 12th at 7:30 to raise money for Convention. We will also be selling t-shirts prior to the event to be worn that weekend to show support, and hopefully hosting an event that Saturday night. If you are interested in any of these things, please email us at admin@dofaya.org for more information. It is imperative that we show the Diocese how many young adults there are and it will also be a great opportunity to meet other young adults if you haven’t been to one our events before. We will be manning a table ready to hear from you about what you want to see from DAYA or give us any suggestions on how to grow and serve better.
On behalf of the Steering Committee, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far. We are grateful for all the love and generosity we have received over the last year and a half and we look forward to working more closely with everyone in the future.
See you all at convention!!!
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