Well, we've been at General Convention for 25 hours now and the youth are warming up. Two of the diocesan nine youth I brought to observe General Convention also attended the last one, so they knew what to expect. The other 7, not so much. And I think we all underestimated how much energy the travel would take out of us. But I tell ya, it did my heart good late yesterday afternoon when the youth jumped at the chance to take a nap and I actually didn't need one.
But today is a new day with new experiences and fresh energy. Lexi & Zach attended a committee hearing at 7:30 this morning that addressed human trafficking, labor trafficking, prison reform & same sex unions. Then they told us all about it at breakfast. Lexi shared her copious notes with us and took her report very seriously. Zach respectfully clarified some things and added his 2 cents.
Their sharing about same sex blessings led to a GREAT discussion about whether and when we should "modernize' (the youths' term) our understanding of the Bible and Christian doctrine & ethics as times change. The youth asked insightful sincere questions and no one was judged for their questions or their opinions. I was SO PROUD! Occasions like this really remind me how blessed I am to be engaged in ministry with our young people!
I'm on my way to meet them now as we join our deputation for its daily debriefing. I'll fill you in on more later!
Yours in Christ,
Kai
Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministries
