I’m one of those fairly unusual people my age who never really left the church. I was born into it and I have always loved it. During times in my life when my attendance was less than consistent or when I didn’t have a church that felt like my own, I have felt off-kilter. I once described church membership as important for keeping my “spirit rhythm” on the beat and I still think that’s a good image. The rhythm of my week and of my year needs the discipline and constancy of church time to keep me grounded and focused.
But rhythm wasn’t the only thing off-kilter when I wasn’t involved in a church. As a university student, living far from my family, I had few if any relationships with people under the age of 18 or over the age of 25. I firmly believe that humans need inter-generational communities to be healthy and whole – and a church is one of the few public places where they still exist. Admittedly, many churches these days aren’t as inter-generational as they’d like as we struggle to welcome younger members but the idea lives on. And happily, this is not a problem we face at the Cathedral where we rejoice in members nearing 100 and members who still count their age in months and a good smattering of all the ages in between!
The importance of marking time through worship and of growing in the context of an inter-generational community are two of the reasons that the Montreal Mission Interns will make the Cathedral their church home this summer. This internship, run by the Montreal Diocesan Theological College, is an intense 10 weeks of discernment in which the interns explore what it means to be called to join in God’s mission. The young adults will design and implement creative, hands-on mission projects (likely not at the Cathedral itself) and participate in theological reflection and study at the College.In the midst of all this, the Cathedral will offer the steadiness of regular, meaningful worship and a supportive and diverse community. It will be a safe and prayerful place from which they can explore the fullness of their calling and their identity, both as it stands now and how it will grow and change in the future.
And it gives us a front row seat on the wonderful work they will be doing. I am confident that, with their leadership, we too will hear the voice of the Spirit calling us out to join in God’s life-giving mission.
The deadline to apply to the Montreal Mission Internship is February 15. If you know any young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who may be interested in this unique (paid!) opportunity, please direct them to Rhonda or to the Montreal Mission Internship website
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Introduction to Montreal intern reflections | The Community says:
July 24, 2015 at 5:46 PM[…] the internship in various locations: in the Anglican Montreal (reprinted here), on the website of Christ Church Cathedral, and in the Anglican Journal Online. We hope that you will find all of these reflections […]