Printer Friendly
Email to FriendEpiscopal youth set to gather in San Antonio
"This event is going to have something to satisfy everyone," said Zibby Allen, from All Saint's Episcopal Church, Northfield, Minnesota, who is a youth member of the EYE design team.
"The young people attending EYE can expect to have a good time while connecting and growing with fellow Episcopalians. They can also expect the opportunity to grow spiritually and intellectually," she said.
The theme of the EYE 2008, "Sown in the Heart of Christ," which the design team discerned from the appointed Gospel lesson for Sunday, June 13, 2008, is inspired by a parable told by Jesus as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13.
According to La'Tonja Johnson, vice president and chief operations officer for the Jackie Robinson Foundation in New York and an adult member of the design team, there will be delegations from all nine provinces of the Episcopal Church with 37 youth and adults traveling from Province IX, which includes seven dioceses in Central and South America.
Johnson also reports that delegates will come from 87 dioceses, with Maryland sending the largest group of 46 youth and adults.
Thirty years of youth leadership
EYE 2008 will be the 10th triennial youth gathering of the Episcopal Church. The first "National Youth Event" took place August 2-6, 1982 on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana with the theme, "Unutilized Energy, Let's Hook up the Power." EYE previously met on the campus of Trinity University in San Antonio in 1987.
Each event has been planned by a design team comprised mostly of youth members from around the church. The design team oversees every aspect of the gathering, which is the largest official Episcopal Church event other than the General Convention.
The current design team, functioning through its four sub teams of hospitality, program, worship and communication, has been at work for more than a year preparing for the 2008 gathering. The sub teams will hold their final meetings on the morning of June 8 just prior to the start of registration that afternoon.
In addition, a music team, comprised of eight youth, was formed earlier in the year and has been at work over the summer learning nearly 50 songs, according to Jamey Graves, co-music director along with Sandra Montes. The music team met for its first rehearsal at St. James Episcopal Church, Wilmington, North Carolina over Memorial Day weekend and then met for an intensive seven-day rehearsal, June 13 to 20, at the Dayspring Conference Center in the Diocese of Southwest Florida.
Graves said he is particularly delighted that the 2008 "EYE Band" includes a member from Province IX: Roberto Vianco, from Ecuador.
Allen, who serves on the hospitality sub team, said serving on the Design Team has changed her life.
"It has been so exciting for me to meet and make connections with people from all over the church -- people that are and will continue to be such vital members of the church," she said.
"I have always been proud to be an Episcopalian and it feels great to be able to give back to the church that has done so much for me and my family."
Monna MacLellan, a staff member in the Office of Youth Ministries of the Episcopal Church, who has served on the Design Team for all 10 Episcopal Youth Events, says the experience has been rewarding for the adults involved, as well.
"The shared leadership on the design teams among youth and adults from across the church has been one of the many life-changing experiences for me and many others who have been part of those communities," she said.
MacLellan says she has stayed in touch with many of those "EYE companions" from the past 30 years.
Experiencing the breadth of the church
The Rev. Sue Von Rautenkranz, canon for youth ministry in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, has participated in all but three Episcopal Youth Events. Over the years she has accompanied youth from three different dioceses, served as official escort for the Presiding Bishop and, one year, organized hospitality for 60 participating bishops.
She says the greatest thing a young person attending EYE can expect "is to see the breadth of the Episcopal Church."
"So many youth are isolated in their congregations and even dioceses, seeing only what is typical in their part of the church," said Von Rautenkranz. "What they see and experience at EYE is how diverse a church we really are in all aspects, including ethnicity, theological perspective, style of worship and, to use an old word, churchmanship, yet all still being one in Christ.
"Most of the young people I have taken in the past have come home with new resources for programs in congregations and dioceses, a better understanding of what it means to be an Episcopalian, a deeper love for the church and an excitement in sharing in worship services with so many other young people from around the church."
Bronwyn Clark Skov, a canon missioner in the Diocese of Minnesota and youth ministry coordinator for Province VI, who will work in the area of hospitality as a staff member at EYE 2008, echoes similar expectations about the experience awaiting Episcopal youth in San Antonio.
"What I look forward to most at EYE is the opportunity that teens will have to experience our church in new ways with peers of different cultural backgrounds. It is a joy to witness them delighting in their differences while celebrating what they hold in common as Episcopalians," she said.
Skov says that for some participants EYE will be a dramatic departure from their assumptions about the Episcopal Church while others may acquire a sense of vocational call.
"Most will learn something about themselves in the context of the Gospel through witness given by their peers and their mentors," said Skov.
"I can't wait to get to San Antonio to help welcome teens and their sponsors from around the world!"
» Respond to this articleSearch
Browse by Topic:
