As usual, Fall Gathering was nothing short of great. Our theme was "Jesus Who?" and focused on finding Jesus in different situations and in everyday life. Geared towards middle and high school aged groups, the emphasis on finding hope and a positive outlook is very fitting.

Need a stocking stuffer? Tired of giving toothbrushes and coal? The Diocese of Kentucky and Youth Programs are proudly opening Summer Camp registration early to help your holiday shopping this year. Summer camp is a gift that every child enjoys. And now parents can enjoy the added time to make payments. To register and receive a Christmas ticket to put in your family members stocking, visit our website (http://www.episcopalky.org/For-Ministries/youth.html). Registration should be up in early December. 

Do you have a culture of giving at Christmas that extends beyond your family? Then consider donating money towards our Camp Scholarship Fund. Every dollar ensures another child is able to experience the love and community of Christ at camp.

It was Saturday night of Fall Gathering, and I had just asked the kids in the dark around the glowing campfire, "Do you know the difference between labyrinths and mazes?" Hands shot up in the firelight excitedly. A boy answered, "Mazes have more than one exit and entrance, and it is made to trick you. A labyrinth has one entrance and exit, and it is not made to trick you." "That is correct," I said. "A labyrinth gives you space to concentrate on prayer and listening for God's voice. If you are struggling with something, you can carry an object in with you that you can pray with along your journey. The moment of still prayer in the middle is a space to set down your struggles for Jesus to help you with, or for Jesus to take up."

We all headed up to the pavilion quietly where I admitted the youth into the labyrinth one by one. All you could hear was shuffling of their feet in a rhythmic pattern. I watched them weave in and out for a short time before I decided that I too would enter the labyrinth for prayer.

 I took a deep breath and entered. I noticed right away that the paint was fading and it was hard to see in the dim light of the pavilion. I began weaving in and out of the circuits when I became unsure of myself. I couldn't see where I was going and just then 8-10 youth came directly at me seemingly knowing where they were headed. It was unnerving to feel so unsure when a group was moving so deliberately. I started to feel oddly confused, and even scared. Before I knew it, the circuit I was in, had me exiting the labyrinth without ever having made it to the middle. A laugh escaped my mouth on my way out of the labyrinth, but admittedly, I was a little unnerved. This was not supposed to happen. I sat for a moment taking the experience in and even shared it with our priest for the weekend, the Rev. Benjamin Hart. He teased and said please don't share that experience with anyone.

 I decided a second attempt was needed.  Again, I entered the labyrinth with the fading paint in the dim light. Though this time the youth were working their way out of the labyrinth. I felt as if I needed to hurry to catch up.  No sooner had I entered in, I found myself in a circuit that had me exiting again. This time I laughed and teared up at the same time. Why was I having such a hard time?

 I immediately entered into the labyrinth again and this time a friend entered in with me. Their presence gave me security, after a couple of minutes though, they walked out of the labyrinth, and I was alone again with the fading paint and dim light not really knowing where I was going, squinting my eyes to see up ahead. I wondered if I was going the "right way"?  Why did I care? Wasn't this just an exercise? Only, it meant more to me. I had been here before. I had felt lost and anxious before. I knew what it was like not to be able to see the path before me and to be going in a different direction than the crowd. Wondering if I would get where I was suppose to be. I have felt alone in these times and have called on Jesus to guide me, or walk beside me.

 I did eventually make it into the middle of the labyrinth and had a moment of calmness, prayer, and rest. Then it was back out into the faded labyrinth. I wish I could say that I did not struggle after that but, that is not what happened, and that is not what happens in real life.

 We all have these moments in our lives in which we feel lost and feel seemingly alone, even in the midst of a group. My labyrinth experience was mimicking life and that is what made me so uneasy.  In the midst of our dark moments in life, John 8: 12 says, "Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'" We have the light of life if we learn to trust that Jesus is with us in these moments of darkness when we feel lost and alone. This notion may not light the path before us, but like the friend who entered into the labyrinth with me for a short time giving me comfort, so does Jesus comfort us by walking with us every step of the way. Jesus walks with us the length of labyrinth, which is something that I did not trust at the beginning of my journey but tried to trust on the way out. Which in essence lit up the path for me. 

Convention is a time of celebration. Celebration of ministry, celebration of life together in community, and a quick look at our past as we envision the future. This year's theme was "More than we can imagine!" Pushing us to be creative in our imagining of the future. 

There were three youth representatives this year: Bar Jor, Kenya Tovar, and Charlie Bond all of Louisville representing the youth of the Diocese in vote and voice. These brave young people represented the youth with dignity and grace. Thanks to this year's representatives!

Kenya Tovar also had the privilege of being a lector Friday night at the opening Eucharist and ordination of the now Rev. Cortney Dale. This was special, as Cortney had grown up within the Diocesan youth programs. Tovar did a wonderful job!

I remember the day like it was yesterday.  We lived in England and were walking home from school picking blackberries along Dog Lane.  We were laughing and talking about nothing in particular when out of the blue my then 9 year old son said, "Sometimes I hate God. Sometimes I don't even believe in God." 

You know how you have those moments where everything freezes?  Those moments when you know what you say or do next can have a lasting impact?  This was one of those moments.  This son often liked to say things to stir things up-to get a reaction, so I considered perhaps this was one of those times.  But I knew I couldn't assume that and respond as though that were the truth, because I knew to my very core that if this was something else how I responded and in what tone I responded mattered.  I couldn't take that risk.  So I took a deep breath and said, "That's okay. God is big enough to handle that."  He just looked at me.  And then came the follow up question, "Do you every feel like that?"  In that instant flashbacks of times I'd been so angry at God filled up my mind.  I stopped, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Yes."  That was all he needed; he didn't need my stories; he just needed to an answer and to know he wasn't alone.  I inhaled and exhaled deeply as he ran down the road gathering blackberries and shouting over his shoulder, "This is going to be the best blackberry crumble ever."

It's frightening when our children ask us questions about faith or make statements about faith.  It's unnerving to not have all the answers.  We're the parents; we're supposed to have all the answers and we're supposed to always be in control.  At least that's what culture tells us-never let them see you sweat.  But faith is a journey; a journey we are all on and sometimes the questions are the most important part.  Sometimes our children are far more brave than we are because they verbalize some of our deepest doubts and fears, doubts and fears we are afraid to express because of what people might think.  I believe when our children ask us the questions they are asking us to journey with them, and I believe our journeys of faith will deepen because of them.

Did you grow up in the Diocese of Kentucky?

No, I grew up in the Diocese of Chicago. Though I went to college in Danville, KY - Centre College, and that was my earliest tie to Kentucky.

When did you feel the call to ministry? What was your journey to seminary like?

I worked at an Episcopal Boys home in Chicago after college. The home was for children that were emotionally disturbed from the tough side of Chicago. There was just about a fight everyday due to the tough environments that they came from. I was shocked that kids grew up this way. There happened to be a chaplain since it was an Episcopal Boys home and we would have coffee periodically and touch base. During those meetings with the Chaplain we would have conversations and I would ask lots of questions. The chaplain said that I asked good questions and said that I should go to seminary so that I could search for the meaning. We ended up going to Virginia Theological Seminary as my wife could get a job, and it was in the South (my wife is from the South). My Bishop was open to where we felt we should go and said that he was willing to support us through our time in school. My wife and I were married in July and we left for seminary in August, our life and marriage ended up being built around the church.

How did you come to Kentucky?

Well in seminary my wife and I played tennis regularly with the school Chaplain. His brother was a Bishop of Tennessee and after school I took a call to the Cathedral in Memphis Tennessee. During my time at the Cathedral, I had been to a conference at Kanuga and met some people from St. Francis in the Fields church in Kentucky. St. Francis was looking for an Associate and they spoke of me to the rector at the time (Rev. Steve Davenport). St. Francis called. I wasn't sure about the church and had never heard of Harrods Creek ,but I called some friends and asked about the church. They all said it was a nice church and had a great reputation, so I accepted the call.

How did you get involved with the then newly instituted Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry?
I have no idea? I was young, early 30's, and it was a natural fit.

How long were you involved and in what capacity?

I have no idea. I became head Rector after Rev. Steve Davenport. Back then the Associates could follow or become the head rector, after the old rector retired or took a call elsewhere. At that point we had an idea to work the Diocesan model on a parish level.

What did you learn from these experiences? How did it shape your beliefs in the area of this ministry?

My appetite in the area of youth ministry had been wetted and it was not satisfied. I wanted to get youth ministry going on the parish level and allow it to expand over time. In time, a lot of what didn't work taught me. In the beginning I did a lot of scissor and paste ministry, such as part time here, and interim there. The Presbyterian seminary had different ways to do field work for seminarians and I worked as a supervisor and offered workshops at the time so we would get seminarians to help for a period of time.

Can you tell me your own philosophy on youth and young adult ministries? How did your previous experiences influence this?

Mistakes brought vision. Commitment and consistency was important to the growth of youth ministry. To develop a strategy we talked about the importance of youth. We looked at where they were. We found them to be wealthy kids that did well in school, but were impoverished spiritually. So, we targeted the High School kids who were vulnerable in spiritual formation and development. There was no Biblical Foundation. We started asking questions like Who and How? We started at the parish level with the leadership and started getting commitments to the ministry, and eventually the whole congregation started to support this ministry due to the mission and the intentionality of how we were linking things together. Youth liked to Acolyte, they would get to church to acolyte and after church we had Christian Formation, as there was no way they would get up for Christian Formation before church. The attention to youth ministry also helped in a tough time in the church with the division felt with the creation of The New Prayer book and Women's ordination. It gave us a new focus that brought us all together despite our differences. The focus on youth was important for families and brought an emphasis closer to home.

Can you tell me about your ministry with Raleigh Langley and how it has grown?

Well, I was knocking on doors at the Presbyterian seminary for a youth minister, but I was getting a 1 year interest out of them. So, I turned to the Baptist seminary. They had incredible training for youth and family ministry. As I started to pick and choose a minister it seemed like a stretch as they couldn't even say Episcopalian. Then Raleigh came in and I ended with, all I want is for you to teach kids the Bible and model the love of God. Raleigh said, "I can do that!" Raleigh started part time and as he was ready it became a full time position. He has been working with us for 24 years. Now he has a child and his new vision has grown to involve the family. Within the ministry he started thinking that a child has siblings, and parents (some are divorced), and Grandparents.  We need to think about ministry as a family unit. It is important to teach the culture of church and spirituality to the family unit, so spiritual practices and culture feeds into the home. So, we teach how to witness. Our vision statement comes to us from John Wesley, "Every home is a little Church".

Looking back on your work as a priest what are you most proud of?

Youth ministry. So, many parishes have declined through the years because they did not place an emphasis on the importance of youth. St. Francis has many young families. We don't idolize the young like culture does but we wanted to have a place for the young to sit at the table and to develop spiritually.

Looking back on your ministry as a priest are there any regrets?

My regret looking back was not travelling. My wife and I raised 4 boys and we had no money for travel. We realized this when we had dropped one of our sons off on a trip. I was however awarded a Lilly Grant for a 5 month sabbatical later and we went to Greece and we followed the footsteps of St. Paul and went to Corinth and toured it and read the letters and it came alive. Afterwards, we went home and talked to the parish about it. They asked us to take them. Then we started taking trips that had Biblical ties. It made the Bible and the history come alive for all of us. We travelled to Israel, and to England. Through travel I also found a great connection between art and religion and finally wrote a book about my travels.

Looking back through your work as a priest, what experience has shaped you most as a person?