Dear Caldwell,
One of the first people to ever encourage me to consider ministry was the late Jack Tate. A banker and civic leader, Jack also had a deep passion for the future of the church. He organized a group of business, civic and church leaders to help identify college students who showed gifts for the ministry and pay for their first year in seminary. This movement became something called “Church in Vocation.” Jack’s grandson, Austin Tate, is a Caldwell member. Jack’s son, John Tate, and his wife Claire, are close friends of Caldwell.
Today was the annual luncheon of those friends of Jack who sustain Church in Vocation. We get an update on the 20 years of graduates who accepted the offer of a year in seminary. Many went on to parish and other ministry full time. Our speaker, Craig Dykstra of the Lilly Foundation (a leading think tank and resources-provider focused on religion), talked about the best ways to interest today’s young people in the vocation of ministry. One line of his talk stuck with me. “The pathway to ministry is the long, slow nurture of faith in a community.”
As we travel from Sunday to Sunday this week, all of this made me think: Which young people in our midst demonstrate the gifts for ministry and leadership in the church amid today’s – and tomorrow’s – fast-changing religious landscape? Are we, as a community of faith, nurturing them, encouraging their faith and their witness?
It’s not easy being a Christian these days, especially in our younger generations, where skepticism abounds. In some circles, belonging to a church carries negative baggage. In others, some promote a religion of closed-minded judgment and exclusivity. We might ask: How are the amazing youth who led us in worship two weeks ago doing “out there” in the world away from our campus? May God open our eyes to the future church leaders among us, and may God strengthen all of us to provide the “long, slow nurture” so many of us have experienced.
Our preacher this Sunday is in the business, you might say, of providing nurture and encouragement. I’ve known Mary Nell McPherson since we worked as “young adults” in service at Covenant Presbyterian Church in the 1980s. Others at Caldwell know Mary Nell as the former executive director of Seigle Avenue Partners, an after-school program for at-risk youth in the neighborhood around Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church. She has always been my “Charlotte big sister,” an inspiration.
She now leads Freedom School Partners, the next iteration of Seigle Avenue Partners. Its mission is to engage, educate, and empower children to succeed in school and in life through quality, year-round educational enrichment programs. This summer, Caldwell is blessed to host a Freedom School funded through QC Family Tree. (You can read more volunteer opportunities for that here.) Mary Nell is a Presbyterian elder (yes, elders can PREACH), a quiet hero in our community and an inspiring speaker. You’ll want to be in the pews Sunday.
But first, we picnic!!! More details to come in tomorrow’s CTW, but the basics are: aturday, Noon to 4, Veterans Park on Central Avenue. Bring a side dish or and dessert – and a new friend!
Yours in Christ,
John