How do you find a living God and spiritual community if you are a young adult? The Episcopal Church, especially its Young Adult and Campus Ministry, seek to answer this question in new and vibrant ways that meet young people wherever they are—in urban or rural communities, athletic fields, or office buildings.
In January, The Episcopal Church Executive Council approved $160,000 in grants to young adult and campus ministries from dioceses across the U.S. and in Cuba to engage in local partnerships. This year’s recipients include “Young Resurrection,” a project in the Episcopal Diocese of Cuba designed to strengthen lay and clergy ministry and the role of young people in creation care; Christian Athlete Circles, a progressive, LGBTQ+-affirming student-athlete outreach in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina; “Building the Relational Community,” a pilot program designed to help develop a narrative approach to campus ministry fundraising and development; and the Black Excellence Spiritual Collective in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, an effort by the University Episcopal Community to respond to needs of Black college students following the murder of George Floyd.
The Rev. Shannon Kelly, director of Faith Formation, notes, “Ministry with young adults is at a critical moment right now as we continue to respond to the complex needs of young people in these changing times.”