Youth!

A Happening experience

By Taylor Jackson, diocesan youth

“I

was rector of Happening 53 so I was stressed out. I really wanted everyone

to have a spiritually fulfilling weekend. It was late Sunday afternoon. The Eucharist was over. We were almost done cleaning up. I was freaking out so much that day that I never made it up to my room to pack my things. As the sun started to set and with only seven people still at camp, I headed to my cabin to figure out what to do with all my stuff. I walked into my cabin. On my

bed was my sleeping bag all rolled up and my three bags entirely packed and waiting for me. I almost started crying, I was so

“I credit it to the love, friendship, compassion and selflessness that Happening inspires in all of us.”

relieved. When I got home and opened my bags, I saw that someone had lovingly hand-rolled and placed each and every piece of clothing inside. This time I did start crying. To this day, I don’t know who did this for me. I credit it to the love, friendship, compassion and selflessness that Happening inspires in all of us. It is things like this that inspire me to be truly like Jesus.” X

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Youth Retreats Thriving: Happening and

New Beginnings are retreats for high school students and middle school students, respectively. This year, the number of registrants increased by 25%, something attributed by many to the work of the Holy Spirit.

PENTECOST Continued from Page 1

Episcopalians find a new, vibrant, meaningful life in Christ or to renew an old commitment.

Happening in our diocese is remarkable because it has attracted visitors from other dioceses to learn how our youth leaders facilitate such successful weekends. While the original Happening weekend began in Texas in the mid-1970s, it petered out in many dioceses, but not in San Diego! Our diocese has held a Happening weekend every year for the past 30 years. With two weekends held per year, we arrive at the name of this year’s event, “Happening 54.”

Not only have members of other dioceses attended our Happening weekend to learn from our staff, they have brought many teens with them to participate. The Diocese of Los Angeles brought about a dozen people to the Happening weekend in 2009 and in March 2010, we hosted the Diocese of Arizona to the tune of 20 new faces!

The connections made during a Happening weekend strengthen the bond of teens across diocesan lines.

“Teens were able to see youth outside of our own diocese,” said Alex Tuttle, Happening organizer. “It’s important for them to connect with teens beyond our diocesan borders and to get a sense of their place in a larger church and a larger world.”

Alex Tuttle reports that there has been an increase in reciprocity among the various nearby diocesan youth contingents.

“When the Diocese of Los Angeles asked us

to help staff their weekend, there wasn’t room in the van to fit all the people who wanted to help,” she said.

The ultimate effect of this kind of enriching experience is one of instilling a vision for the future of our church.

Greg Tuttle shared a compelling story to illustrate just that effect.

“I accompanied two high school students to General Convention (the once-every-three- years meeting of the whole Episcopal Church) in Anaheim last summer. We walked into the House of Bishops and were escorted to a VIP section with prime viewing of the conversation on the floor. After a few minutes, I noticed that our youth were whispering to each other. I leaned forward and asked what they were talking about. ‘We’re figuring out where we’re going to sit,’ they said. Meaning, they were figuring out where they were going to sit when they become bishops of this church! It’s exciting to know that I’m a part of that lifelong formation, that I was there and gave support and encouragement and said, ‘Yeah, you can do that.’”

New Beginnings

A similar weekend is held every year for 6th- 7th- and 8th- graders. The tenets are the same as those for Happening, but high school students lead the weekend and serve as support staff for the middle schoolers.

“They led music at our Sunday 10:30 service and that, too, was a gift to us all. We want them back - and several people said, ‘Can they just stay?’”

In 2007 leadership for New Beginnings stepped down, letting the weekend lie fallow for almost three years. On the first weekend in May of this year, a breath of the Holy Spirit re-enlivened New Beginnings. New leadership stepped up and provided structure for the weekend retreat at Good Shepherd, Hemet.

“In addition to all the usual energy around Good Shepherd, the vibrant energy of the diocesan youth made Saturday and Sunday even more of a blessing,”

said the Rev. Hugh Tudor-Foley, interim rector of Good Shepherd.

“They led music at our Sunday 10:30 service and that, too, was a gift to us all. We want them back - and several people said, ‘Can they just stay?’”

“The vestry and volunteers were great to work with,” said Greg Tuttle. “Father Hugh Tudor- Foley encouraged a combined Eucharist with the kids participating on Sunday morning.”

During Sunday morning worship, an older volunteer who had supported the event throughout the weekend said that that this kind of weekend in his own youth would have prevented the twenty-year hiatus he took from attending church when he was a young man.

The next New Beginnings will take place in 2011. Photos from this year’s event are posted on www.edsd.org in the photo gallery. X

One high school student recounted this story about the ways students change and

grow: “I remember one very hesitant girl. She was convinced she was not good at praying and thus was nervous the first time she prayed over one of the speakers. On the last day of the retreat, she came up

to me and thanked me for teaching her how to pray. By that time she had started volunteering to pray over people, at grace, etc. I don’t remember doing anything to create this change. In my opinion, it was the work of the Happening Spirit.” X Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8