GR Episcopal Youth

Christian Formation - Grand Rapids Episcopal Youth

Grand Rapids Episcopal Youth: G.R.E.Y

G.R.E.Y. is a joint youth program between St. Mark’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Churches for 6th-12th grade youth, which also welcomes youth from other Episcopal churches in the Greater Grand Rapids area. We strive to connect the youth of our diocese to each other, our communities, and Christ through weekly formation, monthly social events and outreach activities. We serve breakfast every fourth Sunday to our neighbors at the St. Mark’s Breakfast Cafe, volunteer at Soup’s on For All, and Family Promise, participate in Access of West Michigan’s Hunger Walk, go to movies, attend the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE), and visit fun places like Cedar Point and Craig’s Cruisers.

Here's what's ahead:

Wednesday Night Oasis

Our weekly youth group meetup is Oasis.

Oasis will not meet November 20th and 27th, but will return for a special Advent series: Hope for the Present, beginning December 4, when we will join with our friends from St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on 4 Mile and East Beltline with programming for all ages. Youthin 6th-12th grades will explore Journeying the Way of Love: Advent Curriculum from the Episcopal Church.

Please note the dates and locations for the series:

12/4 at St. Luke's

12/11 at St. Andrew's

12/18 at St. Luke's

The schedule for the evening is as follows:

5:30-6:15 p.m. Dinner

6:15-7 p.m. Program

7-7:30 p.m. Evening Prayer service

Come join us!

Advent Retreat: Where am I Going?-December 7-8

Middle and high school aged youth are invited to go on an Advent Retreat, Where Am I Going?, December 7-8 at Plainsong Farm in Rockford. Plainsong staff will lead portions of this retreat, along with myself, the Rev. Joel Turmo, (St. Timothy’s, Richland) and additional chaperones.

We will learn the importance of taking time to reflect on where we have been to discern God’s plans for us going forward. Time will be spent observing the farm at rest, reflecting on the past growing season and how that informs planning for the next. All serving as a reminder for us that Advent is a season of prayerful preparation and anticipation of what's ahead.

There will be times to play and pray, along with good food and good friends.

We will be sleeping in the community house at Plainsong. Adult mentors and parents are welcome to attend as chaperones (they must have taken Safeguarding God’s Children and have been background checked).

The retreat will begin at 10am on Saturday, December 7th at Plainsong Farm and will end at 11:30am on Sunday, December 8th at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Belmont.

The Great Lakes Gathering is an opportunity for groups of high school aged youth (grades 9-12) and young adults (ages 18-25) to experience a weekend of faith, service, leadership and community.

This specific registration is open for Episcopal Youth from the Dioceses of Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Michigan - we will join our ELCA Lutheran neighbors Living Water Ministries in Kalamazoo for this event.

This event is designed to walk alongside participants as they connect faith and life in ways that unlock their specific gifts and interests. It is our hope that each member of the Great Lakes Gathering community become an agent of change in a hurting world as they experience and learn to share the radical, transformational, and countercultural love of Christ.

The 2020 program will offer Faith Tracks. Each activity-based Faith Track will be facilitated by a team of experienced mentors and provide an opportunity to connect faith and life around a specific topic of interest throughout the entire Great Lakes Gathering.

High School Faith Tracks in 2020:

Faith & Jesus
Faith & Service
Faith & Worship
Faith & Peer Ministry
Faith & Justice
Faith & Science

There is also a young adult event for young adults between 18-25 (who have graduated high school) that integrates with The Great Lakes Gathering but also offers programming for young adults that is unique and separate.

Our Episcopal delegation to this event will be led and coordinated by McKenzie Bade, Facilitator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Diocese of Eastern Michigan and the Rev. Joel Turmo of St. Timothy’s Richland will be our Diocese of Western Michigan representative attending.

Please find more details at the link below. Note, that I would like to have any Grand Rapids Episcopal Youth registered by December 1, so we may take advantage of the early registration rate. Please reach out with any questions regarding registration.

Junior High Charge! Event-March 20-22

Middle school aged Episcopal youth are invited to join our ELCA Lutherans friends from all over the state for an event hosted by Living Water Ministries at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. We have attended this event the last three years and it is always a memorable time.

The Junior High Charge will bring youth together in the hopes to energize and form faith through worship, small groups, and more. Through "skill-shops" emphasizing service opportunities, leadership development, and community building, youth will return home ready to make change in the world in the name of Christ.

Participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy the amenities of Great Wolf Lodge, including the waterpark!

Our Episcopal delegation to this event will be led and coordinated by McKenzie Bade, Facilitator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Diocese of Eastern Michigan and I will once again be taking our group from the Grand Rapids.

Movie Night, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker-Friday, December 20 at Celebration Cinema North (middle and high school event) Details coming soon.

Looking Ahead:

(Please note that the applications for the Provincial Youth Event and Episcopal Youth Event have been published by the Diocese Of Eastern and Western Michigan. They can be found at the links below. As participation in these events is through an application process, there will be additional, and lengthier, forms, once an applicant is selected. Please reach out to me with any questions.)

Provincial Youth Event-Friday, February 28 (evening)-Sunday, March 1 (late-afternoon), Bellwether Farm, Wakeman, OH (high school-with application process)-Application Due February 1

Episcopal Youth Event (EYE)-July 7-11, 2020 at Howard University in Washington D.C. (high school event-with application process)-Application Due January 1

Peace,

Jeff

Jeff Brown

Director of Youth Ministries

St. Mark’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Churches-Grand Rapids, MI

jeffatgrey@gmail.com (616)304-7604 www.stmarksgr.org standrewsgr.org