Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | Page 27

I went to Virginia Commonwealth University and joined
the campus ministry, which consisted of five to six people.
I’ve valued my time as a camp counselor at Shrine Mont
and loved every minute of being a member of Parish Youth
Ministries committee.

As an adult, my experiences with the Episcopal Church
have not been as moving. I’ve struggled to maintain a
relationship with the church as a whole. My struggle to find
a place in the Church as a single, 30-something adult has led
me to have a crisis of faith.

I want a relationship with members of our faith, and
I want to feel as though I am an important part of the

church community. I want something longer lasting and
more meaningful than the annual outreach events our
congregation hosts. I want my congregation to do more
outreach in the community surrounding our church. I want
to feel as though my participation has made a difference
in someone’s life. I want something to look forward to. I
don’t want to feel like going to church or participating in
activities is a chore. I want to have meaningful discussions
and conversations in places other than the church basement
(like youth-group!). Grown-up activities with some faithbased dialogue tossed in would be an awesome and welcome
addition in my life. t

Ask Not What Your (Church) Can Do For You
The Rev. Greg Syler
Syler, rector of St. George’s Church in Valley Lee, Md., offered
this reflection to the Episcopal Church Foundation’s “Vital
Practices.” He explores a new way to consider young adults in
the Church today.
Last year, about this time, I was walking around the downtown
square of our county seat with Jason Evans, the new young
adult missioner [for the Diocese of Washington]. He was new
to the diocese and had just come down to spend a few days in
St. Mary’s County, to get to know the folks and, literally, the lay
of the land. We wrapped up a productive lunch with some lay
leaders from the local parishes and were taking advantage of a
warm December afternoon to talk about that evening’s dinner
meeting with 20 or so young adults.

“What do you want to talk about tonight?” Jason asked. “I
want to figure out their level of desire and what they’d like to
be involved in,” I said, “but I feel like we keep asking the same
questions, over and over, and getting the same results.”

He nodded in general understanding, said he’d give it
some thought, and we talked for a bit more before I dropped
him off at his hotel so he could have a few hou