Given EAM's long history of working with young people in work camps and the church's concern for attracting and retaining young people between the ages of 17 - 25, the Board set working with that age group as one of its priorities. To get some direction for this work, diocesan representatives and young people were invited to meet at St. Mary's Conference center in Sewanee, Tenn. in late February. The Rev. Bude Van Dyke, EAM's work camp director, is a former associate chaplain at The University of the South and current chaplain at St. Andrews-Sewanee School. He invited young people from the two schools; five from the University and five from SAS were able to attend. There was a good mix of young people in all stages of spiritual life and seekers. Scott Brown, a seminarian from the Diocese of Texas, was engaged as facilitator based on the work he had done in helping institute a student vestry at SAS. The aim of the weekend gathering was to hear from the young people what they thought the church should be, do, and offer. The diocesan reps were asked to respond and all were charged with dreaming together about ways to address these concerns. Most of the diocesan reps were surprised to find that the young people did not feel the need for additional "youth ministry programs." Most of the diocesan reps were surprised to find that the young people did not feel the need for additional "youth ministry programs". Rather, the young people were very clear that although they thought there should be a young group and college ministry, just as there are men's groups and women's group in the local church, they were more interested in being accepted as a full member of the church/congregation - recognized as ministers with gifts and talents to offer and as already fulfilling ministries. Another learning was that youth groups and campus ministries are not "one size fits all" affairs. Some people want the fun and games and ski trips, others would prefer a place where they can share their lives and talk in a real way about the issues they care passionately about or are facing in their spiritual growth. Another surprise was how outreach/mission/ministry oriented the young people are. Many will be spending their spring breaks and/or summer doing mission work. They felt very strongly that the church needs to work in the world. It was also interesting that the older group was even harder on the church than the young people. But it was telling that in response to the fill-in-the-blank question "The church is ____", one of the first answers from the younger group was "Old people." The young people urged the diocesan reps to share the information from this gathering with others in the church as a guideline for ministry development. As one young woman said, "I've been an Episcopalian all my life, but no one has ever sought my opinion about what should happen in the church before. Scott Brown has written up the process that was used for the gathering and a copy will be sent to all member dioceses' diocesan youth directors and college chaplains, as well as to all EAM Board members. Copies can be requested from the EMA office. Copies of the full summary report and a transcription of the newsprint can also be requested. The process is a simple one of calling together people from different age groups and backgrounds, setting some ground rules for common courtesy and respect, and asking some questions to start a discussion of what the church should be, do and offer. Much of the work is done in age or interest groups, with the ideas posted on newsprint to be shared in a non-threatening and more impersonal manner. The gathering uses the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer to see what the Church says about what it is. Bude Van Dyke and some of the SAS students are compiling a manual or study guide for discussions of difficult or conflict-producing issues based on material he uses at SAS. This method helps keep the discussion issue based and allows everyone an opportunity and a safe space for sharing. EAM will provide this as a resource upon completion. For most of the participants this was an awe-inspiring experience. Each group was surprised at the trust that built between them, the honesty, the acceptance and the depth of thought and feeling that was shared. Many said it was the most interesting and satisfying conference they had ever att
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