Weekly Reflection - 9/25/24

Weekly Reflection – 9/25/24 - St. Mary’s Reflection: Mike Stafford, Youth Director

Youth Mission Trip Preaching on Sunday, September 29

This Sunday the people of St. Mary’s are in for a real treat: at each of the services on Sunday morning, youth who participated in the Mission Trip to Eureka will be preaching about their experiences on the trip.

The Youth Mission Trip is an important part of our communal life. As we have been hearing in the Letter of James over the last few weeks, God calls us to express, explore, and deepen our faith through service to the world. And every year, a team of youth and adults from St. Mary’s goes out and does just that. The Mission Trip is all about experiencing the abundance of God’s love and grace in our lives and sharing it with others. For about two weeks the youth on the trip get to experience that abundance in all that they do: travel together, meals together, service together, conversations together, prayer together, fun together.

We are incredibly grateful to the parish for the continual support that we get for the trips. Donations and prayers make the trip possible and sustain us throughout. Which is yet another reason the trip is an important part of our communal life: the whole parish is involved in making it happen, not just the youth and adults involved.

Finally, it is Important to hear the voices of the youth as they reflect on their experiences and journey of faith. The preaching is not just a summary of what happened, it is a chance for the youth and the community to reflect on the transformational journey that happens to all of us when we open our hearts to God’s love and grace. And it speaks volumes about our community when the youth who are preaching see a church packed with people who love and support them.

So we look forward to seeing you in church this Sunday for what will be a joyful and Spirit-filled event!

Mike Stafford,

Youth Director