Dear Beloveds,
This Sunday, June 30th at 7am, eight youth members and four adult chaperones will begin making our way to Chiloquin, Oregon for a week of service. This year we are once again participating in the Sierra Service Project (SSP), a youth group tradition that has been on pause since COVID. Originally founded in 1975 by several United Methodist church ministers, SSP is now an independent non-profit guided by the mission to “build faith and strengthen communities through service to others.”
Two things I appreciate about SSP are their commitment to empowering youth and young adult leadership, and their awareness and transparency regarding their ongoing need to grow in anti-racist practices and policies, particularly as an organization that has historically been white-led working in indigenous and rural communities. The legacy of white Christian colonization has been a part of youth group discussions as we prepare for the trip, both as we discern what service means to each of us and as we learn about the Klamath Tribes whose land we will be visiting.
During our week of service, we will be living in community and working alongside five other youth groups. We will be experiencing daily spiritual practices, working on home repair projects for residents so it is safer for folks to age in place, and gathering for meals and fellowship with the local community. We look forward to sharing learnings and experiences with our church family on Sunday August 25 during FCCA’s youth-led service project worship.
Please hold our whole group—youth participants Andrew, Evelyn, Luke, Marie, Matei, Miles, Nate, and Sahara, and chaperones Karen, Kristi, Scott and Rev. Lacey—in your abundant prayers. May we be a presence of God’s love in the world and may our hearts and minds be open to the presence of God all around us.
In communion,
rev. lacey
