These young adults have been so busy these past two days, and are a living example of hope for the future of our church....
Hello again - it is AJ Dewalt checking in. Saturday, our third day, began with worship and a rousing sermon by the Rt. Rev Michael Curry, which became the “halftime speech” of the convention, and gave it a rally cry of “Go Be A Crazy Christian!” The rest of the day I spent at different workshops, and I have to admit, I came away with a few new ideas that should be fun and really help the church on a parish and diocesan level, I believe. The late afternoon I sat in on a committee hearing on whether or not we should have blessings for same sex couples. The debate was very interesting. From what I saw, people from all across the world want to include everyone in the church no matter their sexual orientation, which was amazing to see.
After the session it was time for the Celebrating Young Adults Ministries Reception. The reception was a lot a fun. I had a chance to meet new people, including the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, our Presiding Bishop! Okay, to be honest, I only shook her hand and had a ten second conversion, but it was nice to meet her. Sunday started with a lovely service, and then I went over to Victory Field (a minor league ballpark) where the Diocese of Indianapolis held a festival. They collected donations there, with the proceeds going to help churches overseas. We had the afternoon off, so it was quiet as I walked around the city and looked at a few sites. With only two days left I can't wait to see what happens next.
Yours,
AJ DeWalt
The past few days have been extremely busy and full of excitement. On Saturday we attended the same gender blessings hearing, and were very surprised to hear all the opposing testimonies to the resolution. You know that there is a divide in the Episcopal church, but to see it first hand was a surprise to me. Even with the opposing testimonies, there were much testimony agreeing that same gender couples should be able to be blessed in the church. This hearing was followed by the Young Adult Festival, which was also a surprise. The festival showed not only the amount of young adults and youth presence in the church and at the convention, but also the support that the church shows to the younger generation. The support is much needed because the presence of young adults in the church is growing, and whatever they may be looking for in order to help in ministries, or help in their own spiritual journeys, will not be as hard as it may seem if supported by the larger church. Hoping that the rest of the time is as exciting as it has been the past few days.
Ciao for now,
Ashlee
The past couple of days have taken a huge turn from the nonchalant Friday that preceded them. I have experienced so much in the last couple of days, and words can barely explain my experience and the new found appreciation I have for the Episcopalian Church. Saturday morning I attended a Ministry Panel, which covered several key themes - Where is the Episcopal Church going? How do we recruit new members? How do we define ourselves in 2012 as the Episcopal Church? Rev. Matt of St. Bartholomew in New York City eloquently articulated how, through his ministry, he is incorporating the current popular church into church culture, which is so heavily involved in visual media. Rev. Matt captures the essence of Episcopalian life through the lens of his video camera. Something that is so simple, yet such a profound idea. Young adults practically live on youtube in this day and age, so why not rail through that platform. In response to the question of how we, as Episcopalians, define ourselves as Christians, one participant answered it simply - "My God is not your God, and that is the beauty of the Episcopalian Church." Which, when you think about it, it's so true! Over the past decade, the Episcopal Church has changed dramatically from what it once was. The Episcopal Church is now immensely diverse, and that can make it hard to define who we are as Episcopalians. In our church, we are not forcing everyone to believe in God in the same way, rather we try to collaborate our own ways of worshiping God. Our intention is to welcome all, therefore we it make it difficult to put a face on the church as a whole.
Peace,
Amasi Kumeh
Saturday was a very interesting day. It didn't start off well, but it did end beautifully. On the schedule I had there was an interesting workshop called, "Prison to School Pipeline." It was an event being hosted outside of the General Convention. The workshop was moved to Monday the 9th, and as a result, I ended up missing the Ministries Panel discussion. I did however get a chance to attend a workshop about starting a young adult ministry. I'm glad to say this was a wonderful workshop, and I gained many insights. It was a conversation and did not have a presenter. This allowed the young adults to share what worked, and did not work, in the parish from their perspective. The one thing that I like about our diocese is that, when we think of a Young Adult Ministry, we incorporate the entire diocese, and not just make the group for individual parishes. I did get a lot of good insights that can be used to start up a Young Adult group in the Diocese of Newark. I feel as if, once you graduate from high school, there isn't much to do as a young adult. Part of the problem could be that many young adults go away to college and can't participate if there was a group in their home parish. Iwas also able to attended the hearing on the blessings of same sex couples/unions. It was very interesting, and I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to listen in on the testimonies. One thing that I heard bothered me. Someone said that approving the resolution would cause blood to be on our hands. I'm still not sure how I feel about that statement, but I know for a fact that I do not think blood will be on our hands. On Sunday the service was wonderful, and the room was full. I even saw people standing and sitting against the outside walls. I would like to thank the Diocese of Indianapolis for the festival in Victory Field and their hospitality. I know there are two days left, but it needed to be said.
Hasta Luego,
Janelle Grant
As for their Chaplain on this journey - exhausted, but enjoying the grace of being here with these young adults, the diocesan delegation, and all the others who are here listening to the Holy Spirit, and working toward the five marks of mission set before us.
Blessings,
Chaplain Diana
