DIOSWVA Youth's Weblog

Stop Hunger Now Meals are helping Haiti

dioswvayouth — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:45:07 +0000

On March 14th 2010 I was at Phoebe Needles ending a Youth Ministries Team retreat. I awoke to a practical joke….ya’ll know who you are! My day did not begin the way that I had planned thanks to some pranksters! But…it did turn out to be exactly what I thought it would be and much more. March 14th was the day that thousands of folks from Roanoke- from different walks of life and different faith and beliefs came together to help Haiti. The “much more” from my statement above is evidenced in this video link here. Please take the time to watch and see what amazing things human beings can accomplish when they choose to put aside their differences and help those in desperate need.

Roanoke Valley Stops Hunger

Something important I forgot to tell you about…

dioswvayouth — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:28:59 +0000

YMT holds meetings every so often throughout the year. The last meeting where we were together in large numbers was in September. To begin our meeting I asked the youth to brainstorm words that describe their experience with YMT and the diocese. We were on our way to writing a new mission statement. I loved listening to the words they used to describe their experience with YMT and how they experience God’s presence in our midst. We selected a group of wordsmiths to take our brainstorms and fashion a mission statement.

And now for it’s unveiling…drumroll please…
“We are a ministry of youth, joyfully creating an uplifting community through a lifelong journey of servanthood, radical hospitality, and just action. We strive to build bridges among parishes and the diocese to reflect the communion of God’s kingdom.”

Amazing huh? Yeah- they make this diocesan youth coordinator very proud! Now- how could I have forgotten to share that with you?!

Benevolent shopping…

dioswvayouth — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:17:07 +0000

We had a wonderful visit in the diocesan office the other day by a fascinating woman- Terry Parsons. She spoke at our annual council a few years ago. The other day she was driving through Roanoke and asked if she could stop by for a spot of tea. I was taken from the moment I sat down. Terry likes to talk about stewardship. She talks about it very well. In fact- she got me all fired up while we were talking. She mentioned a new way of being good stewards- shopping with benevolence…in other words…we all have shopping to do (like Christmas…) so why not shop with a purpose. Shop so that it will benefit others.

With that in mind- let me introduce you to Bluepew.com. Shop all your favorites all while benefiting our diocese. It is fascinating!

Register now in time for your Christmas shopping! The check the diocese receives in January from your shopping through Blue Pew will go towards meeting our diocesan goal for Nets for Life. Monies given beyond our goal will used to fund the individual gifts and donations line item in the budget. Happy
shopping!! (Itunes and Gap are on there!!!)

http://bluepew.com/videos/howitworks.html

There is another form of benevolent shopping available. If you haven’t visited Native Grace in downtown Roanoke then you are missing out on a wonderful and unique experience. Every item in the store if fair trade. It is the perfect place to find meaningful and unique gifts while benefiting those who need it. Shop at Native Grace during the Christmas shopping season and 10% of your purchase will go toward our Nets for Life campaign. Just print this coupon and shop away!

What’s all this talk of a three legged stool anyway?!

dioswvayouth — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:04:59 +0000

We seem to pride ourselves in being called Episcopalians. We crack jokes all the time quipping “Well….we are Episcopalians.” But- what does it really mean to go by such a title? What sets our church apart? How does this affect our theology and spiritual journey? The Rev. Phyllis Spiegel will be joining us and in her wonderful creative way share with us the beauty of being called Episcopalian. Please plan on joining us! If you are currently in grades 9th-12th you are welcome to attend. Please visit www.youth.dioswva.org for registration forms and further information.

Just to get ya nostalgic…here is the slideshow from last year!

Like our new look?

dioswvayouth — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:39:31 +0000

Hey folks…so as I said before…I have missed our blog! It is time to get it going again and get some constant communication going….I hope to post lots of pictures and also hear alot from all of you about what is going on around the diocese.

I love this pictue with the sun shining so brightly....reminds me of the youth of this diocese.

So- what has been going on? Last weekend was MOM VII at Sherando Lake outside of Waynesboro. Beautiful place- perfect weather and great company. Honestly- the turnout was a little smaller than we have had in the past thanks to Homecomings and such. Oh well. Those of us who were there loved it. Except for Arden screaming in the middle of the night I would say it was a great time!

Check out the slideshow below…

…And we’re back!

dioswvayouth — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:26:35 +0000

So… I have been thinking…I have missed the Dio SwVa Youth blog. I miss it’s spontaneousness. I miss the easy feedback and the Flicker photos…ahhhh..so much to miss! So here goes….

I am writing this post on the heels of Happening #2 With My Own Two Hands. Molly Willis was the rector- amazing! I can’t believe a week ago we were preparing for the participants to arrive. One of those participants being my own son. How excited was I that he was coming and how glad I am that he had a memorable weekend.

I can’t really share what happens at Happening…sorry guys…you’ll just have to find out for yourself. What I can tell you is that I think we have taken a national event and put our own DioSwVa spin on it and kept it healthy and unique.

Elly Roller will be our next rector and it will be “happening” sometime in March or April…stay tuned so you can mark it on your calendars…