The Mythical Episcopal: Youth in Church

I grew up in the Episcopal Church. We had a sporadic youth group and I thought that Church involvement meant singing in choir and showing up for the occasional potluck or evening course that my parents were doing (which meant that I got to sneak food and roam the church campus with a little band of adult education orphans whose parents were also sitting in the class). Beyond the red doors and stone walls I had no idea that there was an entire world of gatherings and programs for people my age who happened to be participating in a life with God through this community called The Episcopal Church.

It is probably not news that youth and youth groups are in a tight spot these days. Sports, afterschool groups, and a million other pressures pull the attention of both kids and parents to basically anywhere that is not the church. This dynamic has more than a few youth ministers (and rectors too) wringing their hands and asking, where are the kids?

The issues are complex, and there are many ways of attempting to navigate these concerns. There definitely doesn't seem to be one single foolproof program that will magically save the youth group and bring children streaming into our buildings from the streets. In the South Central region of Connecticut different communities are trying a variety of approaches depending on their local context. Here is a snapshot of things happening around the region:

Christ Church Quaker Farms
I visited Christ Church for an evening worship service with the youth group that meets there. I was greeted by an usher (who is one of the youth group members) and invited to sit. What followed was a contemporary service that incorporated youth group members into the leadership of the worship. CCQF has an active group of high school students that gather frequently in addition to their summer vacation bible school which meets for one week during the summer.

St Luke's New Haven
A couple of weeks ago pictures started popping up on Facebook of a group of high school kids from St. Luke's who turned out on a rainy Sunday afternoon to walk in order to raise awareness for victims of suicide and suicide prevention. Whether it's working in the St Luke's Services Clothes Closet, making blankets for young people at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, or supporting those who have been housed after participating in the Columbus House Inc. program, the St Luke's Youth Council embodies the belief that people are vessels of change and important participants for doing God's work in and out of the church.

Saint John's North Guilford
St John's is experimenting with starting a group for middle school students. This is a new venture so they are exploring how to build community and participate in God's mission out in the world by sharing faith in Christ with each other. Sometimes this looks like a meal, fellowship, collecting food, creating scarves for Chapel on the Green, or worshipping together the Compline service. On Sunday mornings St. John's tries to reach out to youth by encouraging youth participation in the services, there is frequently a small herd of toddlers in the pews that are integrated into the larger congregation. Children are given so much permission to be present in the shared action of worship that they sometimes get carried away and circle back to altar for seconds and thirds of Communion!

ECY and Trinity in New Haven
Earlier this year the Episcopal Church at Yale realized that its building was going to be out of commission for an entire year. So, how to be the church without their building? The students went on a tour of New Haven churches and settled on the space at Trinity. Many of the students do not attend regular Sunday services, but that's OK with Trinity! The hope is that in sharing the space seeds of community are sown so that those college aged students will continue to thrive in their lives in Christ wherever life after graduation takes them.


If you are interested in learning more about any of these opportunities please feel free to reach out to me, Rachel, (rfield@episcopalct.org) and remember that all CT youth are invited to participate in Happening at Camp Washington on March 24-26. For more information on Happening please contact Bart Geissinger (bgeissinger@episcopalct.org).