Food for Thought

By Noah Kilian

Saturday evening I had the great pleasure of attending a meal provided by Abundant Table. I went knowing only that I would be taught about sustainable living. What I experienced was more than I ever could have hoped for, as I received food for not only my body, but also my mind and soul.

The event followed the general form of a Holy Eucharist, with readings about food, farming, and sustainability. Those present heard the staggering statistic that most of the food here in the United States travels on average 1500 miles to reach our tables, and that if U.S. families ate just one meal a week comprised of all local produce it would cut the U.S. oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per week. If such a small amount could do so much it is a wonder that we have not adopted this as a common practice.

Then came the meal itself, which was put together of entirely locally grown products. In an atmosphere of fellowship those dining were encouraged to share their individual experiences with food in their lives. It was eye opening to witness the amount of diversity present just in that room with regards to food. Many experiences were represented, from the family that always had abundant home cooked meals, to the family that ate out all the time, to the family that struggled to put food on the table.

As the meal reached its close we ended with a prayer and left the room full in all aspects. I know that I will be taking what I’ve learned home with me to Portland, and I hope to make improvements in my own life and stop taking my food for granted.

Noah Kilian is from the Diocese of Oregon.

The Young Adult Presence

By Charis Hill

I fortunately found myself a visitor in the House of Bishops the day the official youth presence was invited to share. As the two speakers made their way to the front of the room to a standing ovation, a few Young Adult Festival buddies and I found ourselves a bit jealous. Here we are, right smack dab in the middle of two groups: the “youth” (younger than me?) and the “adults” (older than me?). While I believe I am part of both of these groups as a young adult, I feel the official group (young adults) of which I am part is often overlooked, especially while we are in the midst of transforming our lives as we transition through college, graduation, and beginning careers and families – very big, stressful events. And we do not get a voice in front of the House of Bishops like the official youth presence. Their voices are heard. Do you know we are here as well?

During the past two days, I have often wondered how those who are part of the official youth presence will feel when they pass the age cutoff for being a “youth” and become a young adult. The privileges they have as official youth will suddenly change as they become “one of us” as we sing together, “stuck in the middle with you.”

What I want to happen is a growth of support for the in-between groups. I am so happy we have such a powerful and supported youth presence; this should not ever go away. What happens, though, when the youth grow up? They become young adults, and find, perhaps suddenly, that the voice they had so recently is now gone, or dramatically scaled back, because they now occupy a completely different position within the church.

Please hear our voices, and try to find a way to treat us as the young adults we are. Like the youth, we have special needs and desires. We want to share them with the Church, with General Convention, and we want to be embraced. The Church will grow if it is able to sustain and support the rising members of the Church. We must continue to support the youth, yes, but when the youth become young adults, please do not forget us. Please do not trust that we can support ourselves. We need nurture and care; we need the Church to be a constant in our lives. We need to hear that we, as young adults, have a supported place in the Church, so that the youth have something more to look forward to when they “age-up.”

Charis Hill is from the Dioceses of East and North Carolina.

The View From Here

By Molly Stitsworth

I've come to this convention not only to enjoy the YAF, but to work on behalf of Vocare International. I spent yesterday at our booth, greeting people from all over the world. Whether or not they stopped to talk, each and every person gave me a smile. It was very encouraging, especially when my feet went numb after hour number three. The people who did stop to chat about this great young adult ministry showed genuine interest and support. People are really taking notice of us, realizing that we're the future of the church -- it’s so refreshing! Keep it going. The young adult community has arrived.

Molly Stitsworth is from the Diocese of Arkansas.

Red Earth

By Rachel Ost

Adam, creation of the Most High

as is the ground from where

he came

Mountains, like chiseled muscle

Rivers, like beaded sweat running down

Bluest sky, the twinkling eye

Ground below, reddest earth

Both His creations

Both His to cherish

but one

only one earning

the death of His Son

a new Adam

so that the Adam

of today

might live

abundantly

Rachel Ost is from the Diocese of West Missouri

No Language Barriers at YAF Workshop

No Language Barriers at YAF Workshop

By Moises Quezada

In the Community Expressions workshop I thought that language was going to stand in the way of what they were going to be sharing, but I was wrong. Even though the songs were in different languages, I had a great time dancing and singing. You could feel the excitement in the praises and with the djembe. I realized that it doesn’t matter where I am coming from and the language I speak, every time we are praising God, He hears us. I also felt linked to the African culture because we use some of the same instruments like the djembe and the güira to rejoice when singing to the Lord. I invite you to look for a space, find time and the instruments to do it, too. For God, there are no barriers.

Moisés Quezada is from the Diocese of the Dominican Republic.

No Hay Barreras de Lenguaje en el Taller de los Jóvenes Adultos

Al entrar al taller “Community Expressions” pensé que el idioma iba a impedir que pudiera entender y sentir lo que allí se iba a compartir, pero me equivoque, mi experiencia fue excelente, ya que danzamos y cantamos; a pesar de que las canciones fueran en diferentes idiomas, pude sentir la emoción que proyectaba el Reverendo y mis hermanos con las alabanzas y el tambor, me di cuenta que no importa de dónde soy y el idioma que hable, siempre que estemos adorando al Señor, Dios nos escucha. También me sentí identificado con la cultura Africana ya que donde yo vengo utilizamos algunos instrumentos como el tambor y la güira, los cuales nos sirven para regocijarnos cuando cantamos a Dios. Te invito a que busques el espacio, el tiempo y los instrumentos para que empieces hacerlo, ya que para Dios no existe barreras.

Moisés Quezada es de la Diócesis de la República Dominicana.

Issues of Equity

By Eileen O’Brien

Issues of equity are receiving consideration in a variety of committee venues.  Today, the Church Pension Fund unanimously approved a proposal for a denominational health plan which will give lay and clergy employees greater parity in terms of access to health insurance.  Resolution A177 will be considered by the House of Bishops tomorrow and has a strong foundation of support.  Resolution A138 also addresses lay and clergy employee parity by putting muscle behind the establishment of a mandatory lay employee pension system, which was resolved in 1991 but not universally enacted across the dioceses. 

What does this legislation have to do with youth and young adults in the church?  By improving clergy and lay parity in terms of compensation and benefits, the church validates its lay professionals and makes traditional lay employee roles (such as youth and young adult ministries) into viable career paths for qualified and called individuals.  Youth ministries in particular suffer from high turnover rates because leadership positions are seen as transitional jobs.  This legislation is a start on the path towards developing a better equipped lay leadership for the church.

Legislation to Follow: B033 & Beyond

The operational theme for General Convention 2009 seems to be reconciliation – reconciliation between humanity and creation, global and ecumenical reconciliation, and reconciliation within our own communities that face the strains of, not only the economic crisis, but a deeper crisis of identity. 

On Thursday, the Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music Committee held hearings on a slew of resolutions dealing with blessings of same sex civil unions/holy unions/marriage.  This hearing was an opportunity for the committee to hear from clergy trying to provide compassionate pastoral care for their parishioners, young people urging the church to model openness and diversity for their communities, and GLBT advocates who called for the church to recognize the grace and blessing of all monogamous, loving relationships.  While the majority of voices at the hearings articulated support for the development of rites for blessing, it was acknowledged that in the church as a whole, there is a lack of broad consensus around the thorny theological issues at the heart of this debate. The House of Deputies will meet in plenary to have a conversation about the same issues on Friday morning.

Friday afternoon, another important piece of legislation related to global reconciliation in response to the Windsor report will be examined through hearings in the World Mission committee.  Resolution D020 calls for the provisional commitment to abide by the Cambridge-Ridley draft of an Anglican Covenant and the commendation of the covenant to dioceses for study and comment.  While it is unlikely that this resolution will pass as written, it would be surprising if it were not commended to the dioceses for study and comment over the next three years.  In effect, dioceses and congregations would be called into a study process which gets at the heart of our identity as a catholic (with a little “c”) denomination.  The Covenant recognizes our interdependence as a global communion and sets up some specific mechanisms for conflict resolution, but will it really serve as “an instrument of unity” or will it simply define more clearly who is in and who is out?  It is naïve to think that such a document can mitigate the need for continued work at reconciliation and relationship across the communion, but will it provide a helpful springboard into the next phase of this process? 

What do you think about the Anglican Covenant? Share your comments at episcopalcommons.org/yaf and track these resolutions throughout General Convention online at episcopalchurch.org/gchub.

Eileen O’Brien is from the Diocese of Texas.