One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of last summer’s Episcopal Youth Event was watching an entire house being built on-site. I vividly remember being at Bethel the day the home’s trusses were delivered, which resulted in the fun picture at right. It was an exciting moment full of anticipation and potential.
The house we built was literally life-giving to the recipient family and symbolically life-giving to everyone participating in EYE. Through the construction of this house we broke new ground for the Episcopal Church, demonstrating the power we have to change lives when we work together.
This year, inspired by the good work of EYE, the Episcopal Church in Minnesota is setting out to build a house from the ground up next summer on White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. It’s part of their annual Mission Project initiative – and by far their biggest undertaking to date. (Check out the Mission Project 2012 site, www.episcopalmission.org.)
With a project of this magnitude, they are welcoming all sorts of collaboration – from volunteer groups to help with the build, to folks with construction expertise to provide site management, to any and all donations.
Summer is just a few months away and I believe this is a great opportunity for Episcopalians – youth groups, intergenerational groups, mission groups – to experience the Church in one of its most remote locations.
I’ve spent time on White Earth and know the spiritual groundedness of the place and the welcoming spirit of the people. Folks who visit White Earth return transformed by the land, the culture, and the magnitude of life on the Reservation.
If you have a group that is looking for a mission opportunity, I encourage you to consider making the trip to White Earth. For more information, contact Wendy Johnson, Missioner for Communications for the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, at wendy.j@episcopalmn.org, 651-428-9052.
If you are an organization or a diocese with a mission opportunity to offer to youth groups across the church, please write a blog post, include a picture and contact information, and send it to me for posting here!
Filed under: Mission Opportunities