We are one step closer to populating the 18 seats of the Official Youth Presence. Two high school-aged teenagers from each of the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church will take seat and have voice in the House of Deputies this summer at General Convention. We accepted applications and nominations from December 1 through January 15 and then began contacting nominators for conversations about their youth. The nine Provincial Youth Ministry Coordinators gathered in New Orleans with Youth Ministries Officer Bronwyn Clark Skov ahead of the forma (formerly known as NAECED) conference to discern the final picks. Invitations were issued on February 6 and we now have email acceptance for all 18 youth. Please keep David, Sarah, Elisabeth, Grace, David, Isabelle, Ben, Nora, William, Julia, Emma, Cole, Laurent, Ruth, Ariana, Patrick, Darling, and Marlene in your prayers as we complete the final step of getting parent/guardian authorizations for each of these aspiring GCOYP participants.

As soon as we have forms completed we will introduce you to the group more thoroughly with full names, congregations, dioceses, and provinces. Notifications will go to Diocesan Bishops as well as Provincial Presidents and these young people will gather in Indianapolis the weekend after Easter for community building, training, and planning.

Thank you for your applications, nominations and prayers. We had 107 applications to fill 18 slots, which made for a highly competitive process. The adults engaged in discernment had fabulous candidates to choose from and we were able to invite a very diverse group from across the church in 18 different dioceses.

Questions? Contact Bronwyn

Filed under: General Convention, Misc