Last spring a group of leaders on a monthly Zoom call asked Bishop Jennifer to re-establish diocesan youth ministry. Through a partnership with Ministry Architects and with leadership from across the diocese, that process is now underway, prioritizing a staff search, ministry renovation, and prayer.
A significant reinvestment in this ministry includes establishing a new full-time position of Diocesan Youth Minister to serve as a member of Bishop Jennifer’s staff. The search to fill this position launched Thursday, November 17. That process will be shepherded by the Search Team, which includes: Isaac Buzzard-Cooke, Chapel of the Good Shepherd, West Lafayette; Aimee Formo, St. Timothy’s, Indianapolis; Aaron Morrison, St. John’s, Crawfordsville; Leigh Anne Naas, Trinity, Indianapolis; the Rev. C. Davies Reed, St. Francis-in-the-Field, Zionsville; and the Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher, St. Paul’s, Evansville. Ministry Architects search consultant Martha Whitesides facilitates the group. The Search Team will recruit, review applications, conduct initial interviews, and make recommendations to Bishop Jennifer.
The Renovation Team began its work with a two-day orientation on November 14-15. This team will focus on accomplishing practical recommendations from the October 2022 assessment report. Monthly meetings will provide ongoing momentum and accountability through the process. The Renovation Team is comprised of: Mizraim Lorenzo-Aguilar, St. Timothy’s, Indianapolis; the Rev. Dr. Joél Muñoz, St. Francis-in-the-Fields, Zionsville; Kelly Nickson, Bishop’s Staff; Tyler Regnier, All Saints, Indianapolis; Barbie Russell, Good Samaritan, Brownsburg; and the Rev. Samuel Vaught, Grace Unlimited Campus Ministry. Ministry Architects consultant the Rev. Heather Patton-Graham serves as primary consultant with this team.
A foundation of prayer is essential to all that we do as church. With that recognition, we are grateful to our Diocesan Youth Ministry Prayer Team: The Rev. Ed Bird, Episcopal Campus Ministry at Indiana University; Meghan McConnell, Trinity, Indianapolis; Jennifer Moore, Good Samaritan, Brownsburg; Lydia Rutherford, St. John’s, Mt. Vernon; and the Rev. Allan Wallace, St. Paul’s, New Albany. This group has committed to pray for the young people of the diocese, for their families and leaders; for our Bishop, staff and diocesan leadership; for the Search Team and the search for a new Diocesan Youth Minister; and for the Renovation Team, as they redevelop the infrastructure that will help this ministry flourish.
Through this search and renovation process, diocesan ministry with young people continues:
- Presiding Bishop Michael Curry met with a group of 22 youth prior to the liturgy of confirmations and ordinations as part of the Presiding Bishop’s diocesan visitation on June 5.
- The Rev. Megan Miller organized children’s and youth gatherings at Diocesan Convention on November 5, with support from Meghan McConnell. Young people took part in a mystery party, wrote the Prayers of the People for Eucharist, and led the prayers in convention worship.
- The Rev. Ed Bird served as chaplain for a weekend gathering of Leaders-in-Training and Counselors-in-Training at the newly renovated Youth Lodge at Waycross, November 18-20.
- Justin Samson, leader of youth and college ministry at St. Paul’s, Evansville, will lead a high school mission trip to New Orleans, June 3-11, 2023. Register here.
- Ministry Architects consultant Mary Beth Abplanap facilitates ongoing monthly meetings on Zoom for volunteer or paid, lay and ordained youth ministry leaders across the diocese. This virtual youth ministry cohort for the 2022-2023 school year provides collegial support, fellowship, and professional development. Sign up here.
We invite all members of the diocese to support this process with prayer. Watch the newsletter and diocesan social media for regular prayer requests. As the first of these requests, please pray the Collect for Young Persons from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 829, with particular care for the young people of central and southern Indiana:
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
