"Bring it to the High Plains. Tell the people who I am."

This statement was adapted from Timothy, and was the theme for the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) in Laramie, Wyoming on July 23-28. Thirty-three youth and adults from the dioceses of New York and Long Island took part in an incredible week of music, worship, and inspiration. When we went to the first group program in the auditorium and the music started, we had to check to make sure we were in an Episcopal Youth Event. That auditorium was rockin’! It was clear from the start that the Holy Spirit had certainly chosen to be in that place.

The EYE staff asked the NY group to present two "Hot Topics." A hot topic is a means for discussion on topics that have an effect on the lives of the youth of today. The hot topics that were assigned to NY were Dealing with the Events of September 11, 2001 and Matthew Shepard, the openly gay student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten and killed. It immediately made sense for New York and Long Island to present the hot topic about 9/11, but the question was raised as to why NY was presenting the hot topic around the Matthew Shepard story? When we arrived in Laramie, the answer to that question became apparent to all of us.

It order to prepare our Hot Topics, the Rev. Christopher King, diocesan youth coordinator, and Brooke Johnson, director of youth ministries for the Diocese of Long Island, made plans for the group to stay at the University of Denver the weekend before EYE to allow time and space to do the work around these topics.

Lily Acunzo, St. Andrew, Staten Island, remembered the event: “To be quite frank, in the beginning I wasn’t too happy about having to participate in the Hot Topics. I chose 9/11 because I had a personal connection to it, as opposed to Matthew Shepard, who I didn’t remember much about. About three months after 9/11, I got really sick of people talking about it and bringing it up all the time. It was something terrible and I didn’t want to have to think about it. So I detached myself and put my feelings into a drawer in my brain and locked it and threw away the key. I desensitized myself. As work on the Hot Topic got more in depth as we went from Denver to Laramie, that drawer became looser and looser until it popped open. I couldn’t control my emotions and I was overcome with sadness and grief. What this meant to me was that I needed real closure.”

She continued, “At the end we showed a PowerPoint presentation that the Cathedral of Long Island had created as part of its healing process. This PowerPoint was one of the most powerful audiovisual presentations I’ve ever seen. As the PowerPoint was coming to a close, I asked God for strength and got up. My knees were weak, and my eyes were full of tears, but I got up there and by the power of the Spirit, words flowed out of my mouth. I was so surprised at myself! I gave that closing statement and BOOM! I wish I could remember exactly what I said, but I felt my closure. I spoke, and there it was. It’s so hard to explain that feeling. All I can say is: that was what I needed to do, and I did it. I was too choked up to say the last prayer, so I handed it to Ruth-Ann, and as she finished, people began to clap. Everyone in the room stood up and clapped for us. A standing ovation! It was amazing to be part of something that powerful. Everyone could feel the energy in the room. Afterwards, everyone who had a part in the presentation got a huge hug from all 100 people in that room. I had people come to me that I didn’t even know hug me and tell me ‘This has made my EYE. I’ve been coming for seven years and this was the best workshop I have ever been to. Thank you.’ I was so happy. Everyone in our group was so happy with how it went.”

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Elizabeth Schroeder, Zion, in Wappingers Falls, took the other Hot Topics subject. She recalled: “I chose to be in the Matthew Shepard group, and I am glad I chose that topic; 9/11 was just too emotional for me, and turned out to be for everyone.”

These Hot Topics turned out to be the most popular ones at EYE. The team presenting the 9/11 topic brought the audience of 200 people from all over the country and the world through the whole event. It lasted about two hours. As each story progressed, and each reading was read, the sniffles got increasingly louder and more widespread. It got emotional for everyone in the room. Schroeder said, “I had forgotten how awful everything was, and this just brought it all back. It took a lot of hugs and reassurance before everyone settled down.”

A few days later, the other team presented the Matthew Shepard topic. After taking a bus tour of Laramie we soon realized why we, supposed strangers, had to present the Matthew Shepard Story. You know when you drive along a highway or busy intersection you sometimes see areas that have been decorated with flowers? Very often you see a plaque or even a stone with someone’s name on it. These places are usually the spot where someone was killed in a car accident. The day we took the tour of Laramie, one of the spots that was to pointed out to us was the place where Matthew Shepard had been beaten and hung on a fence to die. Our tour guide didn’t know where the spot was. The beating and death of Matthew Shepard by two residents of Laramie was an embarrassment to the town. It was almost like they wanted to cover it up. Yet, our responsibility to ourselves and to the youth at the conference was to enter into dialogue about topics just like this one. This became evident to us and to EYE when so many people showed up they had to be turned away because there was not enough room. During the run through, the Bishop of Wyoming, Bruce Caldwell, was so impressed that he asked if he could say a few words as part of the presentation.

The group agreed that the whole experience of EYE was unforgettable. The next EYE will take place in three years.

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