In 2015, the UTO Board launched the Julia Chester Emery internship program for young adults in honor of the countless women who served as UTO missionaries. The 2021-2022 internship will be a collaborative effort between The Episcopal Church’s Reconciliation, Justice, and Creation Care team (RJCC) and the Johnson Service Corps House, an affiliate of Episcopal Service Corps, at one of its two locations: Chapel Hill, N.C., or Durham, N.C. Additionally, the intern will serve with the Reconciliation, Justice, and Care of Creation (RJCC) Team on the Presiding Bishop’s staff.
“The UTO Board is so excited to continue to deepen our relationship with the RJCC Team by working together to provide this unique internship which we hope will encourage a young person to think critically about creation care, justice, race, and gratitude and help us grow in new ways from their ideas and questions,” said the Rev. Canon Heather Melton, UTO staff officer.
As a part of the work with RJCC, the intern will support programs such as Sacred-Ground: A Film-Based Series on Race and Faith, providing input on the development of materials for youth and young adults. The intern also will work with staff on the Racial Justice Healing Inventory, the Episcopal Asset Map, and get gain experience with grant processes both through UTO and Becoming Beloved Community, in addition to collaborating on new initiatives for UTO. The intern can also choose projects of interest to them as they consider their future. The hope is that the work with the RJCC Team and this internship will build skills, capacity, and résumés.
“We’re excited about this partnership and believe that it will be a wonderful opportunity for a young adult,” said Andrew Hudgins, Johnson Service Corps (JSC) program director. “Through JSC, you will live in an intentional community of your peers, deepen your faith by learning new spiritual practices, and receive training on a variety of social justice topics. Our program will provide a supportive environment to make this internship a deeply meaningful experience.”
Storytelling, through writing, is a key focus of this internship. Successful applicants will enjoy writing and be excited about telling the stories of what Episcopalians are doing to address racism, justice, creation care, and gratitude. They must also show a willingness to participate on a team. Applicants will need to be proficient in Microsoft Office programs, collaboration software, and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Due to the pandemic, travel will be limited to attending the 2022 General Convention.
People of color and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
The internship begins mid-August 2021 and includes housing at one of the JFC houses, travel costs for General Convention, a monthly stipend, trainings, and intentional mentoring. To apply for this internship, please visit https://episcopalservicecorps.org/2021-2022-esc-application/, select the Johnson Service Corps House, and then the UTO Internship.
To learn more about the Johnson Service Corps, visit https://johnsonservicecorps.org. To learn about the work of the RJCC team, visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/racial-reconciliation/, https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/creation-care/ or www.episcopalchurch.org/uto.