Episcopal Youth Ministry in ATL

Welcome to episode 2 of Youth in Leadership.  In this episode, Arianna has a converrsation with Tai Jackson. Tai is a sophomore, a member St. Margaret's Carrolton, and attended Steps to Lead 2020. Tai speaks about his passion project of creating a LGBTQ+ Alliance Club at his high school. He further elaborates on his faith, the challenges he faces in leadership, and how advocacy and being an ally is important work as a follower of Jesus.------------The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta is launching a new and innovative interview segment. “Youth in Leadership” will feature youth who have stepped up in evident ways in their call to embody Jesus’ work here on earth: to lead with love - especially during the pandemic. Using Bishop Rob Wright’s words “leadership is the capacity to mobilize others to address tough problems, especially problems we would rather avoid”, these interviews will highlight how youth and youth leaders thrive in leadership roles, the challenges faced, and how those around them inspire them and how they inspire others.Watch the series on YouTube.

Welcome to a very special episode of Episcopal Youth Ministry in ATL. We are excited to share a new project of our diocese that recently premiered on YouTube. We know we have a core audience of this podcast that will greatly appreciate a conversation on leadership between the young people we serve. ------------The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta is launching a new and innovative interview segment. “Youth in Leadership” will feature youth who have stepped up in evident ways in their call to embody Jesus’ work here on earth: to lead with love - especially during the pandemic. These interviews will feature young people and youth workers from across the Diocese of Atlanta. These people will be interviewed by Arianna Cantillo, Youth Intern for Digital Media, and will respond to questions of their faith life, leadership journey, and where along the road these two intersect.Using Bishop Rob Wright’s words “leadership is the capacity to mobilize others to address tough problems, especially problems we would rather avoid”, these interviews will highlight how youth and youth leaders thrive in leadership roles, the challenges faced, and how those around them inspire them and how they inspire others.Follow the Diocese of Atlanta Youth, @eycdioatl, on Facebook and Instagram to guarantee your engagement in conversations with various youth and youth workers in leadership in our faith communities.The pilot episode features Bailey Toms, a senior at St. Patrick's Dunwoody, that serves on her vestry and helps lead liturgies at her church through art and prayer.Watch the series on YouTube.

When the pandemic started, we paused on the episodes we recorded during last year's Rooted in Jesus Conference. With Forma21 in the rearview, we thought it was time to pull these out of the folder and get them to the people. Though some contexts will have certainly changed, there is still much to learn from these conversations with incredible leaders across the Episcopal Church. In this episode, our hosts have a conversation with 2 Campus Ministers about Campus Ministry, what serving their students looks like, what the identity of a campus ministry looks like, and so much more great conversation.The Rev. Clayton Harrington serves as the Campus Missioner for the Episcopal Center at the University of Georgia and as the Associate Rector for Youth and Young Adult Ministries for Emmanuel Episcopal Church located in Athens, Ga. Samantha Clare serves as the Director of Christian Formation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Previously, she served as the Campus Minister of The University of Arkansas. 

When the pandemic started, we paused on the episodes we recorded during last year's Rooted in Jesus Conference. With Forma21 in the rearview, we thought it was time to pull these out of the folder and get them to the people. Though some contexts will have certainly changed, there is still much to learn from these conversations with incredible leaders across the Episcopal Church. In this episode recorded during the Rooted in Jesus Conference in January 2020, we sat down with The Rev. Dr. Patricia Lyons. Our hosts has so much fun talking young people including their vulnerability and honesty, parents and technology, and of course, Harry Potter. Because that is what you when you have The Hogwarts Chaplain on a podcast! Listen in for the full conversation. Follow Patricia at The Hogwarts Chaplain on social media.The Rev. Dr. Patricia Lyons is currently serving as Affiliative Faculty and Director of Evangelism at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA. Prior to her current teaching at VTS, Tricia served in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington as Canon for Evangelism. Dr. Lyons is one of the most sought-after teachers, speakers and preachers across many mainline denominations. She was formerly a chaplain, teacher, and administrator in Episcopal Schools. Early in her career she began publishing and consulting with schools across the country on stages of moral and spiritual development, delivering keynote addresses to the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Episcopal Schools and other educational and religious institutions. 

When the pandemic started, we paused on the episodes we recorded during last year's Rooted in Jesus Conference. As we approach Forma 2021, we thought it was time to pull these out of the folder and get them to the people. Though some contexts will have certainly changed, there is still much to learn from these conversations with incredible leaders across the Episcopal Church. In this episode recorded during the Rooted in Jesus Conference in January 2020, we sat down with Canon Myra Garnes of the Diocese of Long Island. She serves as the Canon for Young and Young Adult Ministries. Myra and our hosts talk justice movements, giving young people their space to discover their own passion and call to service, leadership, and giving yourself grace.About Canon Myra:Myra B. Garnes is the Canon for Youth & Young Adult Ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. Prior to her arrival in NY, she was the Director of the Cathedral Scholars Program at the Washington National Cathedral in DC and also served as an Academic Class Dean and Director of Multicultural Education at the National Cathedral School in DC.  She was installed as an Honorary Canon to the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City on September 26, 2015.Canon Myra serves the larger church in several capacities as the Province II Youth Ministry Network Coordinator and as a former member of the Forma Board of Directors. She is a Youth Ministry Liaison for The Episcopal Church Office of Youth Ministries, a member of the EYE17 Mission Planning Team and was recently honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Office of Young Adult/Campus Ministry for The Episcopal Church during the church’s General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.Canon Myra is an experienced social justice educator with extensive training and experience on issues of diversity, multiculturalism, leadership, and student development. 

How are we doing however many days into the pandemics we currently face? What brings up feelings of self-worth and not-enoughness? Where do we find hope in God?When this time of isolation started, we all felt it would be a season that would eventually pass, but the reality is we have a tough road ahead and we aren't out of the woods yet. In this episode, our hosts along with special guest Samantha Clare, take a hard look at where we are and where we are going and share their own insights. This is a vulnerable look into the lives of those working with youth and we hope listeners find it encouraging to know we all struggle to find purpose in or out of a pandemic. Samantha Clare serves as the Director of Formation at St. Pauls in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She is passionate about equipping people to live full and authentic lives as the hands and feet of Christ in the world.Samantha serves on the Diocese of Arkansas Commission on Ministry, is an active member of Forma: The Network for Christian Formation where she serves on the Working Group for Antiracism, and is a collaborator on a variety of church-wide and denominational initiatives. Samantha lives a full and beautiful life with her husband, step-daughter, baby, two dogs, a cat, and a beautiful garden at their little house overlooking the White River in West Fork. 

Mental Health is an ongoing concern for all people during the pandemic. People are suffering, and it is important that we remember to talk about it. As Youth Workers, it is important to remember we serve young people that are being starved of meaningful connections during this time, and we have an opportunity to provide resources and techniques that might help.In this episode, the team has a conversation with Dena and Jason Hobbs on mental health with young people, warning signs, ending the stigma, techniques for self-care, and information from their new book When Anxiety Strikes. Listen in for the full conversation.Dena Douglas Hobbs, M.Div. served as a minister in the United Methodist Church for six years before leaving parish ministry to raise her two young children. She continues to preach, teach groups, and lead retreats and workshops in local congregations. Dena holds a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Georgia. She blogs at denadouglashobbs.com.Jason B. Hobbs, LCSW, MDiv, is a licensed clinical social worker in an outpatient mental health clinic. He has been in private practice for fifteen years in addition to having worked in hospice and homeless services. Jason also pastored a small United Methodist congregation near Savannah for three years.Jason has led mindfulness training groups in his practice using Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. He has been trained in Mindfulness and Cognitive Therapy in addition to other therapeutic modalities. He has also presented continuing education courses for the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Annual Meeting in Atlanta. These workshops were entitled Spiritually Sensitive Clinical Practice: Understanding and Honoring Diverse Religious and Spiritual Traditions and Mindfulness, Psychotherapy, and the Therapist: Knowledge and Practice for Clients and Clinicians and Integrating Spiritual Disciplines into Direct Practice. Jason holds a Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.Their new book When Anxiety Strikes is now available from all major and most local retailers.

Welcome to Season 3 of Episcopal Youth Ministry in ATL. In this season, the team will be providing a new format. Every other episode will be a "how-to" approach to youth ministry and opposite episodes will be a discussion will on a hot button and its context in youth ministry.In the premiere episode of Season 3, our hosts are talking about privilege. In youth ministry in the Episcopal Church, where do we see privilege in our congregations, the young people we serve, and the world? Privilege is something that can be challenging to identify and even more challenging to talk about. In this episode, our hosts talk about where they see it and what are some practical steps to take in the right direction. Listen in for the full conversation. 

No one would think we would be entering a fall with such uncertainty in the way we serve young people. How do we move forward with fall plans? What might some new experiments look like? In this episode, our hosts have a conversation about what we are still grieving, and where we can find hope. If we look hard enough, hope is still there calling for us to adapt in new ways as Youth Ministers forming disciples to serve one another and Jesus. Whether your meeting in person in smaller groups or meeting online, let's think of ways we can do ministry like small groups, bible studies, and even snail mail. Listen in for the full conversation.  Listen in for the full conversation. 

This episode features special guest Black Youth Ministers from across the church. Wallace serves as the primary host for the episode and has a conversation on with the following guests.Myra Garnes: Canon for Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Episcopal Diocese of Long IslandMarvin Mclennon: Director of Children and Youth Ministries at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock ArkansasSierra Gore: Christian Formation and Camping Ministry Assistant in the Episcopal Diocese of VirginiaIn this episode, our host and guests speak their truth of what their experience has been serving as a Black Youth Minister in our Church. They open up on the struggles, challenges, and where they see hope. They offer advice on what white people, especially church leadership, can do to be allies and do the work of undoing the systems we see in the world and our church.

These are challenging times for young people. As Youth Workers, we are also experiencing these challenges, but we have a responsibility for the well-being of our young people. The reality is if they don't have these conversations of racial healing in faith communities where they are loved, where will they have them?In this episode, our team sat down with Dr. Catherine Meeks, the Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing. Her work of racial healing is known far and wide across the Episcopal Church. What can we do as Youth Workers to help young people process these recent events? What can we share with them about allyship? How do we as Youth Workers walk alongside them knowing we must also work on ourselves? For responses to these questions and more, listen in. 

We have been at Youth Ministry in a Pandemic for a bit now. What have we learned from it? What has been challenging? Where are we seeing things that aren't sustainable? How are we practicing self-care? What the heck is summer going to look like? Our hope is this episode is both therapeutic and helpful. We are connected together and walking through this as best we can. Keep at it. You got this. 

In the last episode, we shared that we would be releasing some new episodes focused on how we serve as Youth Workers in a pandemic. We thought that all these episodes would be fresh out of post-production. We were wrong. We had the opportunity to sit down with Melissa Rau, the Episcopal Church Foundation's Director of Partnerships and New Initiatives, at Rooted in Jesus. The conversation focused on Sunday school and why the current model is broken. It is a hard conversation for churches to digest, but what we found in sitting with Melissa is that faith at home is the most important piece of the formation for our young people. When parents are equipped to be Faith Leaders in the home, it means that the place where young people spend most of their time can be a place where families come together to talk about tough questions of faith.Listen in to hear why faith at home matters and why this conversation matters more now than it ever has. Learn more about the Faith at Home program at forma.church/faith-at-home.

Let's be real about it. Things are challenging right now. We, as Professional Youth Workers that happen to have a Podcast, do not pretend to have any more wisdom than anyone else during these times. What we do know is we are better when we talk about it. And we feel like this episode is an honest conversation about how we are adapting to serve our young people. Let's keep at it. We are all connected together. #Churchisadapting

The EYE 2020 Planning Team met in Atlanta at the beginning of February. Host Matt Bowers was given the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation about all things EYE with 3 of the youth team members. Giovanna, Diocese of Northern California, Holly, Diocese of Northwest Texas, and Jackson, Diocese of Massachusetts, shared about the program, what it is like to work as a team across states and countries, and what Youth Workers can do to better support their youth. 

In this episode, our hosts sit and discuss updates on EYE20, Episcopal Youth Event, and other points of interest for Youth Workers with Bronwyn Clark Skov, the Officer for Youth Ministry of the Episcopal Church. 

In this episode, our hosts sit down with Podcast Producer, Easton Davis, to discuss how we use social media to connect with the young people we serve. Topics include different social media platforms, e-newsletter, how we as Ministers interact on social media, and best practices. 

This episode is an Open Source Session with our hosts. Each host presents a challenge in their current Youth Ministry and hears from their peers on how they might proceed. Each host presents a ministry challenge. 

This is a special Youth Ministry Short on the importance of discussing race with young people and what it means to become Beloved Community. A Brave Space with Dr. Meeks host, Chelsi Glascoe, sat down with Dr. Meeks during one of their recording sessions to capture this short for Episcopal Youth Ministry in ATL. We are scheduled to have Dr. Meeks for a full episode in early 2020. 

This episode is personal stories of mistakes made in youth ministry directly from our hosts. Our hosts each take a turn or 2 to talk what happened and what they learned from the experience. It is okay to fail sometimes as long as it is a learning experience. We hope you laugh as much as we did making the episode.