Young Adult Pilgrimage Announcement and Information

“As I make my slow pilgrimage through the world, a certain sense of beautiful mystery seems to gather and grow.” A.C. Benson

Pilgrimage has always been a strange word to me. I have always thought that life itself was a pilgrimage, and it is, but I have recently begun to understand the very spiritual nature of being intentional about a trip somewhere. Wikipedia defines a pilgrimage as “a long journey or search of great moral significance.” Great Moral Significance.

When I first started planning for the Young Adult Pilgrimage coming up in June, I sat with that statement for a while. We decided that going to New York, to the headquarters of The Episcopal Church, would be a great way to get to know how we fit into a larger picture.

We asked for an audience with the Presiding Bishop because we thought it would be a great way to understand what The Episcopal Church wants from us and what it is doing for us. We want an opportunity to show her who we are and why we are so important to the life of the church. We also think that having an opportunity to explore our cultural and religious history and its significance in the way the church interacts with the community is important. And our last goal is to try to get a better understanding of what the church does in times of crisis, like our relief work after 9/11. I think all this plays in to the exact definition of a pilgrimage, a “search of great moral significance.”

I never really understood the difference between a vacation and a pilgrimage until I went on a trip to Quito, Ecuador, in South America. I never thought that a “vacation” could change my life in the way that trip has.

By going with a group of people who were also there trying to have a life-changing experience, I was able to transform what could have been any other trip with something that opened my eyes to the love and grace that Jesus left when he died on the cross. I was given the language to put my spirituality into words. Having people around you who are searching for a deeper relationship with God is essential to the spiritual growth of any person.

Here’s what we are planning:

• Leave June 20 and return on June 27
• The cost will be $1100 for an entire week in New York City, which includes flights, lodging, activities, and transportation while we are there.
• The activities, which are subject to change at any time and are included in that price, are:
  --visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, The Episcopal Church offices, Trinity Wall Street (one of the first Episcopal churches ever built)
  --tours of General Seminary (the first Episcopal seminary), The Cathedral of St John the Divine including a spire climb, Ground Zero and St. Paul's Chapel (where most of the 9/11 relief was housed)
  --a day of mission work
  --a Broadway show and a show at St. Mary's put on by the Episcopal Actors Guild; and
  --A MEETING WITH THE PRESIDING BISHOP!!

The only thing not included in this price is your food. You will be required to bring extra money to cover that. I suggest you budget $50 a day, which is $350, but you can eat for cheaper than that if you try.

A non-refundable deposit of $500 is due by April 10. An additional $300 is due on May 8, and a $300 payment on June 5.

I hope you will consider joining us for this meaningful trip of discovery to learn who we were, who we are, and who we want to be as Americans, Christians, and Episcopalians.

Lauren Woody
Young Adults Coordinator for the Diocese of Atlanta

For more information or to register, please contact Lauren Woody at lwoody@episcopalatlanta.org.

March 2009 Article

A Lenten Reflection
by Michael Asmussen

Well, it is that time of the year again. We are now halfway through the time when we give something up or take something on for the 40 days of Lent (well, really more than 40 days, as you are allowed to indulge on Sundays). Growing up I would typically give up something that I had so rarely that I really wouldn’t miss it for those 40 days (like Dairy Queen blizzards). In fact, I got to be pretty good at picking something so specific that I really didn’t have to change my lifestyle. Obviously it was easy for me, but now I feel as if I was really missing the point (although, as a little kid, I think missing the point now and then really isn’t that big of a deal).

In recent years I have taken to giving up candy and ice cream for Lent, which is difficult, because I am a HUGE fan of some of the Easter candy. (Especially Cadbury mini eggs-- in fact, I have been munching on a few while writing this). I figured that these things would be simple enough to give up, and really didn’t think they would be that hard. But the first time I decided to give up candy and ice cream for Lent I really struggled. I would often wrap up work doing groundwater sampling at a gas station, and an ice cream bar or milk shake really would’ve hit the spot. Somehow I managed to restrain myself, and in the process I felt as if, in a strange way, my faith had been strengthened.

Something that I have not tried myself is the idea of taking on something for Lent. As strange as it might seem, for those of us who feel like we have too much going on, or maybe for those that find it too hard to give something up, taking something on might be the better fit. It can be something like trying to exercise more, eat healthier, make an attempt to make a difference in somebody else’s life, or even something as simple as making the effort to take time out of each day to clear your head and re-focus.

If you haven’t started a Lenten discipline yet, it isn’t too late to start. We still have half of Lent left, so whether you decided to give something up or take on something, take the opportunity to step back and think about the promise of Easter that comes at the end.

November Newsletter Article-- Young Adults ROCK

Young Adults ROCK

There is a reason why Compline is more wildly popular among young adults than say, Morning Prayer. Sure – on one hand, it fits better into the rhythm of our lives, and soothes the mystery of our day with offerings to God. However, if you spend a lot of time reading Compline, and accept – as most Episcopalians do – that praying shapes believing, the words found in this bedtime prayer speak to the deep needs of many young adults today and help us through the “chances and changes of this life.”

Tending to our deep spiritual lives was just one of the topics in the north Georgia mountains on the weekend of October 10-12, 2008. Sponsored by the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults (DAYA), the first Young Adult Summit was held at Camp Mikell in Toccoa, GA. This gathering – the first of its kind for young adults in the southeast – drew 35+ young adults from three surrounding dioceses, for workshops, fellowship, and discussion on empowering young adults for leadership and personal spiritual growth. With workshop topics ranging from campus ministry to spiritual direction, Episcopal Relief and Development to the discernment process, there was a wonderful balance between learning how to feed our own needs and the needs of others.

Part of what was so amazing about the weekend was that it was hosted, staffed, and sponsored by young adults for young adults. It “practiced what it preached” and “preached what it practiced.” If the point was to empower young adults, the best way it was done was that young adults were the ones doing the empowering. Sure, there were many people of all ages there to support what was happening and to lead workshops, and be resources, but none of it would have been possible without DAYA, director Lauren Woody, and the incredible young adults involved with this group.

Our own Bishop J. Neil Alexander addressed the gathering on Friday night, and was the keynote speaker. He rejoiced in this gathering, and spoke candidly about his own experience as a young adult in the church and his hopes for young adults today. Primarily he spoke of relationships – emphasizing God’s relationship in the Trinity, and urging us to worry less about how much we love God and focus more on how much God loves us.

And that is exactly what it felt like we did that weekend, and what I carried away from this amazing time together. Relating to each other was the purpose – some new relationships were formed, others rekindled, and others deepened. I believe the people that were at the first annual Young Adult Summit were impacted in ways that cannot be contained or measured. The energy was palpable.

You might not have actually felt the shift of the earth on its axis that beautiful fall weekend, but it occurred and nothing will ever quite be the same again. Primarily, we rejoice in just how far we have come already – the recognition of the gifts and ministry of young adult leaders in the Diocese of Atlanta who work many, many hours to make this event, and many weekly events possible. We celebrate and recognize the presence of Christ among us, working through us and in us to make a safe, warm, welcoming place for young adults in our church.

And we look to the future for the second, third, fourth…annual Young Adult Summits and to finding our place in this church and in the world. I am honored to have been a part of this first event, and know that mountains moved that weekend – and trust God is working in us daily to raise up, recognize, and nurture the young adults among us. Watch what happens next!


Submitted by Sharon Hiers

DAYA Enews - May Article

This is the complete article that appeared in the DAYA Connector - the official enewsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults.

A New Community by Charles Shipp
May Enewsletter

When I was in high school, one of my friends told me to be sure to find a church when I went to college because having that community was so important during turbulent times. That advice stuck with me, and after I moved from Memphis to Auburn—seven hours away from home—I quickly realized how true it was. I found a church there, and that community really helped me get through college and grad school.

When I graduated and moved to Atlanta, I had to leave that support group. I felt a little lost—Atlanta is a huge city and I hardly knew anyone here. I found myself thinking “Where do I start? How do I start from scratch and find a new group of friends?”

About a week after I moved in, I got a message on Facebook from a fellow Episcopalian welcoming me to the city. Granted, I was a little weirded out by this. How did this person find me and know I had just moved here? But, I did feel welcome. Then, two days later, I got another email, this time from another Episcopalian about my age. By this point I was thinking there was some covert Episcopal spy network hunting me. Anyway, she told me she was Episcopalian and invited me to church the next Sunday. (God sometimes has a blunt way of getting through to people.) So, I went.

She invited me to meet a group of young adults for lunch after church, and presto: within a week of moving in, I had met about ten Episcopal young adults. It was amazing—instant community. I now had a lifeline in this incredibly big city. Those young adults from across the diocese are now my best friends in Atlanta.

Spring is a big time for moving. School is out, people are coming home for summer, graduating and finding a job. Wherever you end up, reach out and find a group. I know it helped me get my bearings here in Atlanta. The church is such an easy way to get rooted in a new place, be it Atlanta or somewhere else. Atlanta, and much of North Georgia, is full of 20s and 30s, and the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta has some of the best young adult ministries in the country, both in our parishes and at the diocesan level. If you’re moving into the diocese, across the diocese, or to a neighboring diocese, DAYA is a great place to get hooked into to your new community and find some fantastic new friends. Check out the website at www.dofaya.org for information on how to get involved in diocese-wide events, and for links to individual parish young adult groups.

Peace in Christ,

Charles Shipp

DAYA Enews - March Article

This is the complete article that appeared in the DAYA Connector - the official enewsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults.

Don't Call it a Retreat:
A Reflection on the Vocare Experience by Sarah Jordan
March Enewsletter

What does “vocare” mean? Sure, it’s Latin for “to call,” but what does it really mean? As a pilgrim at DOG/DOA Vocare #3, I discovered that Vocare is about discovering who I am meant to be through God’s eyes. I went to a weekend filled with uncertainty and found a loving community who accepted me- flaws and all- and helped guide me through my journey. I learned to rely on God for insecurities that I didn’t even know I had. I found love, acceptance, and clarity all through what- at the time- seemed like goofing off with a bunch of wackos.

I wasn’t expecting to find genuine friends who I would so quickly call “family.” My biggest struggle going into the weekend was a lack of community; I had recently been severely betrayed by those around me and felt weary of everyone. I know God had me attend this weekend to meet them and fill my heart with love and trust again. Even now after Vocare is over, I talk with my new friends daily and rely on them for strength in God’s word. I truly feel like I’ve been adopted into a new family and feel completely blessed to know such strong ties formed through the love of Christ.

As for my fellow pilgrims, many struggled with insecurities about their future. Which path should they go down? Can’t God give them a clear sign? What should they do in the meantime waiting for an answer? I am extremely blessed to know my calling, but others who struggled found peace through the weekend. Slowing down and praying about God’s will helped guide them to trust God into sharing His plan when the time is right.

This sounds intense- I know- but it wasn’t until I began reflecting upon my weekend once I returned home that I discovered these things. While I was there, I thought that I was having a fun time with a group of cool people who just happened to be sitting around having deep conversations. It’s hard to explain what Vocare is because it must be experienced for oneself. I do know, however, that Vocare will be a milestone in my continuing spiritual journey. Don’t call it a weekend. Don’t call it a retreat. Call it an experience. And it’s one I will treasure in my heart always.

DAYA Enews - February Article

This is the complete article that appeared in the DAYA Connector - the official enewsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults.

Tracy Wells on Episcopal Internships
February Enewsletter

Last year, I woke up every morning and went into work at a church office. Wednesday mornings, I helped lead a Eucharist and then dropped in for a brief hello with the Wednesday morning Bible study crowd. Friday mornings I'd head over to a local retirement community for a Bible study and hymn sing and would always be treated to warm banana bread baked by one of our attendees. Sunday mornings I'd vest and process in with the clergy crowd, help serve at the altar, and preach on occasion. During Lent, I led the church's Lenten series, and sat on a committee about starting up a J2A class for the youth. No, I was not a seminarian. I was not even in the formal discernment process for the ministry! I was an intern in one of the Episcopal Church's "Domestic Young Adult Internships," this one called "Resurrection House" in Omaha, Nebraska.

Did you know that the Episcopal Church offers year-long internships for young adults in their 20s? These programs, based out of cities from Boston to Los Angeles, from Omaha to Chapel Hill, N.C., give young adults an opportunity to spend a year in service and discernment, similar to Jesuit Volunteer Corps or Americorps programs. In most of the programs, interns spend their time in service work positions, taking a year to give back to the community and to discern their vocational path.

Some of the programs also have a parish ministry component. Resurrection House is one of those programs, and it does an incredible job of giving young adults a first-hand look at all the ins and outs of ordained ministry. Before even formally declaring that you are interested in discernment to any "official" diocesan discernment committees, you get hands-on experience actually working in a parish and "trying it on" for size. Interns spend 20 hours per week working in a parish, 10 hours per week volunteering in the community, and 10 hours per week in discernment and Sabbath rest (we also meet regularly with a spiritual director). The structure of the program is very healthy and balanced and does not at all lend itself to burn-out, which is EXTREMELY rare in many programs geared toward young people that seem to expect you to be able to run a million miles an hour and burn the candle at both ends constantly. If you are at all interested, even slightly, in the possibility of pursuing ordained ministry, I cannot recommend this particular program (Resurrection House in Omaha) highly enough. Let me tell you a bit about my story and how I wound up there.

In 2006, I was about to graduate with a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but I felt more confused about what direction my life should take as I finished up my degree than I did when I went in! Although I'd thought when I entered the M.T.S. program that I was going to be a journalist, a religion reporter, towards the end of my time in Boston folks had started to suggest that I might think about a career in ministry, but I was still wary of that notion. I had never really seen myself as a leader in the church. But I wanted to take their suggestions seriously and really take some time to consider this potential career path, so the idea of spending a year in discernment was very appealing.

Several of my friends from the Episcopal church I attended in Cambridge had participated in the young adult internship program in Boston -- The Micah Project -- and raved about the program. It sounded great, and so in my head I envisioned staying in Boston another year and doing the Micah Project. I didn't want to move very far, to totally uproot my life. But God had other plans.

I applied for Micah and for the New York Intern Program, but neither of them offered me a spot. The woman who interviewed me in New York, though, asked if I might consider the Omaha program.

Now, I know. It was my first thought, too -- "Omaha?!?! Why the heck would I move to OMAHA?! Is there even anything to DO in Omaha???"

But then it occurred to me -- I am from Columbia, S.C., which is a great city, but if someone from another part of the country were assigned to go there for an internship, they would probably have a similar reaction - "What the heck is there to do in Columbia, S.C.? Who would want to move there?" And yet if they didn't go, they would be missing out on all kinds of wonderful things that Columbia has to offer. I figured Omaha was probably the same way. So I decided right then and there that I would give Omaha a chance, that I would be open to the places God was calling me, even if it wasn't a place that was even on my radar screen before.

In many ways, this seemed like a crazy decision for me to make, to spend a year in discernment and intentional community living in Nebraska, of all places. I had an established home and community in Boston, where I had been living for three years. I had an apartment full of furniture, none of which I could bring with me to Omaha (the program encourages folks to bring as little personal possessions with them as possible and provides a furnished house for the interns to live in). And I had been in school for seven years straight, having gone straight from undergrad to three years of graduate school. It seemed it was time to enter the "real world," to get a "real job" and start making money, rather than essentially taking a vow of poverty for a year and putting off the student loan payments yet another year. There were a million reasons for me NOT to do this internship.

But that little voice in the back of my head that I have now come to understand as the voice of God just wouldn't let go. Nag, nag, nag. It kept pushing and prodding me towards this program - I knew it was something I had to do.

So, I said yes. I packed up all my belongings, shipped them home to my parents' house in South Carolina and put them in storage for a year, and packed up my car with several suitcases and set out across the country into the great wide open -- driving long days across the vast, expansive plains of the Midwest until I arrived in Omaha, not knowing a soul, totally open to the possibilities God had in store for me for that year.

And what an amazing year it was -- I was blessed with incredible mentors in Mother Judi Yeates, director of the Resurrection House program, and Father Bob Scott, rector of Church of the Holy Spirit in Bellevue, Nebraska where I served as intern. Both of them showed me incredible care and interest in my life and discernment path, talking through all my many doubts and questions about the life of ordained ministry.

The congregation where I worked, Church of the Holy Spirit, was an amazing, warm, welcoming community that really sees mentoring the Resurrection House interns as a part of their collective ministry. They welcomed me with open arms into their community and encouraged and empowered me to lead. I never once felt like I was looked down upon or patronized because of my young age, even though most of the folks I was "ministering" to were old enough to be my parents or grandparents. A lot of the program was about watching and observing and just being in the life of a church, but I also got to take some initiative and leadership, such as in the Lenten series that I led. I created an interfaith stations of the cross project that brought perspectives from different faiths to that community and started some interested interfaith conversations. I was thrilled with how open they community was to going along with my crazy ideas and trying them out, even when they didn't always come across as the most well-polished presentations.

The Church of the Resurrection, the parish that sponsors the internship program and houses and feeds the interns each year, also has a HUGE level of ownership in the internship program and really sees the internship as a key part of their parish's ministry. Resurrection is very small parish, but with a very big heart. They have a non-profit community outreach center that actually has a larger budget than their church budget! And they see Resurrection House as a crucial part of that outreach, and take ownership and pride in the mentorship and encouragement of the interns each year.

Through the nine months I was at Resurrection House, I began to feel more and more that perhaps ordained ministry really is where I am called. And it surprised even me. But I would have never have realized this, I don't think, without first trying it on through the Resurrection House internship, and I will be eternally grateful to the folks of Resurrection House, Church of the Resurrection and Church of the Holy Spirit for all they have given me. (To read more about my sense of calling, check out this sermon I gave on my last Sunday in the Resurrection House program this past May: http://tjammas.blogspot.com/2007/05/sermon-for-may-20-calling.html )

And for the record, Omaha is actually a pretty cool city. It has a great downtown area with lots of fabulous restaurants and nightlife, a world-class zoo, great coffeeshops, and I even found a few venues where I could hear live folk music concerts, a particular passion of mine.

So all this is to say -- if you are a young adult interested in ministry**, or even just not yet quite sure what you want to do with your life, consider taking a year of intentional discernment in one of the Episcopal Church's Domestic Young Adult Internship Programs. It will probably be one of the most meaningful experiences of your life.

If you'd like to talk with Tracy more about her experiences in Omaha in the Resurrection House program, feel free to contact her at tjwells@gmail.com.

**If you are particularly interested in parish ministry, you'll want to check out Resurrection House in Omaha, Pathways to Ministry in Dallas or Watermark in Spokane, WA - these three programs have strong parish ministry components. The Micah Project in Boston also has opportunities for parish ministry as well, although not all interns have parish ministry placements.

DAYA Enews - January Article

This is the complete article that appeared in the DAYA Connector - the official enewsletter of the Diocese of Atlanta Young Adults.

Laura Esposito on Vocare
January Enewsletter

Happy New Year everyone!

When I was asked about nine months ago to be the lay rector of Vocare #3, it seemed as though 2008 would never come. Now, Vocare #3 is less than a month away, and I, along with the rest of my team are very excited. For those of you that don’t know, Vocare is a retreat geared specifically for young adults in the church. The ages of 19-29 are a period of great transition within our lives. We are discovering new experiences, moving, starting new jobs, relationships, schools, etc. Sometimes throughout this hustle and bustle of the twenty-somethings, God and our Christian lives may get pushed onto a backburner. When we do go back to the church, where we established our Christian identities as children and teenagers, it can be overwhelming. As adults in the church, we may ask, “How do we fit in?”

Vocare is a tool to help us answer the question of what part we play in the church and in the community at large. The weekend focuses around twelve talks, which some say can be considered one talk in twelve parts. These talks weave together our identities as Christians and people, our relationship to Christ, the sacraments of marriage and ordination, our place within the greater community, and opportunities to share what is learned at Vocare. After most of the talks, there is time to discuss what was learned and what questions you may have within a group. This is not a group therapy. This is a chance to discuss what the focus of the talks mean to you in an open, honest environment.

Some of you may have heard that Vocare is like an older version of Happening, or a younger version of Cursillo, and though it has come out of the same movement as those two, it is not the same experience you would receive at either retreat. Through a series of talks, group discussions, and worship, Vocare aids in the discovery of our position as adults and leaders within our Christian community. Vocare’s meaning is “to call,” and that is what it does. It calls us to drop our busy lives back home and enjoy in God and each other’s company. Once we have quieted the noise around us, we may finally be able to hear the small still voice within us.

I hope that some of you may choose to join us at Vocare #3. It will be rocking I assure you! You can find the applications online at the DAYA homepage, or you can email me at Lae1984@gmail.com, for an application. The weekend starts at about 6pm February 1^st, and ends around 4 pm February 3^rd. This year it is up at Camp Mikell in Toccoa.

Pax,

Laura Esposito

Lay Rector, Vocare #3