Youth

GETTING READY FOR 2022

by Matthew Bowers 2022 DaySpring Camp registration opens, and youth retreat steering committees get ready to build.

There's a popular phrase in youth ministry - “the youth aren’t the future of the church, they’re the church today.” That is a noble thing to say, and something that we can all agree with. However, I believe there is a massive difference between making that statement and living that statement. As we move into 2022, I want to encourage our diocese to live more into the idea that our youth are the church today. The mission of the diocesan youth ministry in our diocese will always be to offer opportunities to expand faith, leadership abilities, and perspective in new and meaningful ways. Starting in the new year, our diocesan retreats will be operating with a fresh leadership structure. Our goal is to get the youth involved in making meaningful, significant, and sometimes tough decisions for our retreats. We’ll be forming a Steering Committee for New Beginnings which will be comprised of six youth, three adults, a lay director, and a priest acting as spiritual director. This group will meet before and after each New Beginnings retreat to reflect on the retreat, select and organize the next team, and prepare for upcoming retreats. As for Happening, we are in a state of rebuild. Bishop Smith and I recently made the decision to postpone our Happening program to intentionally focus on rebuilding it over 2022. To be clear, where we are now does not discredit any of the good of previous Happening weekends or the work that has been done. Coming out of the pandemic, we want to build on this strong foundation and establish a fresh direction. High school youth now have the chance to apply for the Happening Rebuild Team. The team will consist of youth, a small group of select adults, the Rev. Whitney Burton-Smith as our Spiritual Director, and myself. Over 2022, the youth will meet to discuss Happening in our diocese, participate in Happenings in other dioceses during the year, and then work to rebuild our own Happening program with a launch date of December 2022. This is going to be an incredible experience and opportunity for our youth to have a real impact on our retreat programming. 2022 is a big year for youth ministry in our diocese. Our goal is not simply youth involvement, but youth engagement. To do that, we are preparing to find ways to engage our youth in their faith and leadership development. This includes things such as our New Beginnings Steering Committee, our Happening Rebuild Team, but also the way we engage our campers at DaySpring Summer Camp. The result will be a diocesan youth ministry that is on fire for God and serving God’s kingdom in the world.

Bottom: Diocesan youth attend New Beginnings in October 2021. Top: Youth attend six in-person sessions of the 2021 DaySpring Summer Camp. 12

LEARN MORE

Find out more about our New Beginnings Steering Committees and Happening Rebuild Team by visiting

dioswfl.org

Youth/Young Adult Section

@EYCofSWFL

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