As the Team Leader for Formation and Vocation Ministries and Youth Missioner of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Mission Society (DFMS) of the Episcopal Church, I am appointed to serve as a staff liaison to Executive Council’s Committee for Local Mission and Ministry (LMM).

In this capacity I have the honor of reporting our staff’s activities and the privilege of being at the table as resolutions are created and considered by this interim leadership body for the Episcopal Church. The role of liaison is simply to report, keeping the flow of communication moving through our various networks.

This morning during a joint session of three committees I joined my colleague David Copley to report on the work to date in the new Mark of Mission #3 Initiative: Respond to human need in loving service.

Here are the some brief points about what’s happening with the plan to date:

• In 2013 we increased the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) participation from 16 in 2012/13 to 28 for 2013/14. A United Thank Offering grant has been awarded for the support of our Province IX YASCers.
• We are launching a thorough study of YASC alumni to determine demographics, development, and continued progress of this growing Episcopal population and their longer-term impact on the church and the world.
• In planning to establish a Gap Year program for 18-20 year olds, the Formation and Vocation Ministries Team and Global Partnerships Team will convene a meeting of several authorities, stakeholders, and practitioners to discern and determine a model Gap Year Program to be implemented in 2014/15 as a pilot program.
• A new resource with the working title “Episcopal Youth in Mission Manual” is being developed for free distribution in the fall of 2013.
• The Global Partnerships Team continues to host conversations with the Mission Networking Offices regarding the expansion of our mission opportunities for short-term mission, older adults, and youth and college groups eager to volunteer their time in God’s service in the world. Some of this dreaming and planning is taking place in the context of planning for the Episcopal Youth Event taking place in Philadelphia and Villanova July 9-13, 2014.

We will continue to report out possibilities as they develop.