Young adults in the diocese

The Episcopal Church is devoting considerable time and energy these days to young adults. ENY’s theme for this issue is dedicated to Young Adults. The articles in this section demonstrate how the church ministers to 20- and 30-somethings
(as this group is often called) on a national, diocesan and parish level. Additionally, the articles tell of some of the things that young adults would like to experience in the church. Twenty- and thirty-somethings have expressed feeling lost in that traditional church no-man’s land between being a teenager and starting a family. Young adults have much to offer to our church, something recognized on all levels of the Episcopal Church. The articles delve into current initiatives and resolutions, all of which are saying the same thing – the Episcopal Church welcomes the 20-and 30-somethings in our midst.

All Sorts and Conditions: Young Adult Ministry from a National Perspective

By the REV. DAVID KILLEEN

In concert with the many young adult programs taking shape in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, the national church is cultivating ministries with individuals and groups in the 18 to 30-year-old age group. This is a development supported by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, who commented by email: “A vision of the church is truly enhanced by ‘all sorts and conditions.’ While there is a clear and well articulated sense of what the church is about in this age group, there is also a desire that various walls of separation that exist both inside and outside the church be torn down in order that God’s embrace can encompass everyone.”

Presiding Bishop Griswold’s response echoes the “Prayer for All Sorts and Conditions of Men,” from the Book of Common Prayer. The prayer gets to the heart of the church’s approach to young adult ministry: individuals in their 20s and 30s do offer special gifts and face challenges unique to their age group, but these particular considerations must be complemented by a universal vision of the church as the Body of Christ.

The Rev. Douglas Fenton, who leads the national church’s Young Adult and Higher Education Office, also spoke of the need for a comprehensive approach to young adult ministry. Specialized programs such as campus ministries and parish young adult groups, according to Fenton, “Take young people seriously, allowing them to ask questions such as ‘how do I want to express myself in this faith community?’ and ‘what is authentic worship?’”

However, Fenton also said that it can be challenging for young adults to move from specialized young adult ministries to “authentic membership” in parish communities. What is needed, in his opinion, is both young adult ministries and parishes that fully integrate 18 to 30-year-old members.

General Convention Resolutions
The Episcopal Church took a major step in this direction at the 2003 General Convention, which passed several resolutions relating to young adult and higher education ministry. The combination of the resolutions has much to do with “20/20,” a movement that seeks, among its other goals, to double the average number of Episcopalians worshipping each Sunday by the year 2020. Prior to the convention, the 20/20 Task Force called for a renewed emphasis on ministry with the “Next Generations,” or children and young adults, through campus ministry; network building and the exchange of ideas; young adult leadership development (lay and ordained); and communication to individuals in the 18 to 30 age group through radio and television commercials.

General Convention resolutions approved reflected that emphasis. They adopted a vision of trained young adult leaders in every congregation and at every college campus. One million dollars was allocated for the training and development of such leaders, as well as for the creation of internships and leadership opportunities. $750,000 was allocated for radio and television advertising intended to attract unchurched young adults to the Episcopal Church. General Convention also authorized and encouraged bishops to utilize campus ministries and other similar groups as discernment communities for ordained ministry. In the past, only parishes could raise up potential candidates.

In practical terms, the resolutions have resulted in programs such as the Young Adult Ministry Network, as well as internship and service opportunities for young adults. In addition, the Episcopal Church will launch a television and radio advertising campaign aimed at young adults in late August, and campus ministries are beginning to sponsor candidates for ordination.

The Young Adult Ministry Network, a project of the Young Adult and Higher Education Office of the National Church, has three priorities: Advocacy, Resource Clearinghouse/Development, and Relationships (establishing networks and meetings). The Network first met in Atlanta in October 2004, with representatives from 28 dioceses attending. This September, the second Young Adult Network meeting will occur in Denver. At present, delegates from 60 dioceses are registered.

The Diocese of Massachusetts’s Micah Project is a 9-month internship program for recent college graduates involving service, Christian community, and discernment. Micah Project predates the 2003 General Convention, but is exemplary of the young adult leadership programs held up by the convention resolutions. Interns divide their time between an unpaid internship, paid work, and communal prayer and discernment.
For the Rev. Noah Evans, who heard about the Micah project through a friend he met at Washington University’s (St. Louis) Episcopal campus ministry, the internship allowed him the rare chance to slow down and ask himself what he wanted to do with his life after college: “With my Economics major, I could have gotten a job in the business world, but I also felt called to ordained ministry. I think I still would have ended up as a priest even if I hadn’t participated in the Micah Project, but it would have happened 10 or 15 years later. I needed a year to dwell in all of the questions that I had.”

Slowing down and finding a quiet space to dwell with life’s questions are also the themes of the Episcopal Church’s late August/early September television advertising campaign. Aimed at Generation X viewers and those unaffiliated with any church, the spots depict the church as a sanctuary from the turbulence of everyday life and a place to find understanding and reconciliation.

Emily K. Sieracki is the first individual in the Episcopal Diocese of New York to be sponsored for ordination by a campus ministry since the canonical amendments made at the 2003 General Convention. She is co-sponsored by Columbia University Episcopal Campus Ministry and St. Mary’s, Manhattanville. At present, Sieracki attends Manhattan’s Union Theological Seminary.

All these developments are hopeful signs that the actions of the national church and General Convention are having a real impact on the lives of young adults. According to Fenton, mission, not institutional maintenance, needs to remain the focus of the church’s ministry with young adults: “We must minister with young adults because they represent the Gospel in a particular way, not out of fear that the church may die. Young adults desire this type of integrity, and that is what keeps me going in this work.”

Young Adults

Parish 20'S/30'S Groups

Campus Ministry

Worship and young adults

Aging out: a 30-something looks at 40