As the department of College and Young Adult Ministries (C&YA) progresses through its third school year, college and young adult ministry across the diocese looks vastly different than it did almost two and a half years ago. At the start of the 2024 Fall semester, the diocese, through the work of diocesan staff and local congregations, now has a ministry presence on six campuses:
Hannah Orendain Joins C&YA Ministries Interim Regional Campus Missioner
Hannah Orendain has joined our diocesan ministry as Interim Regional Campus Missioner to the Rio Grande Valley, where she has begun gathering students and young adults from University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and the upper Valley.
We are seeking a Regional CampusMissioner to the Corpus Christi visit dwtxorg/jobs to apply
College & Young Adult Ministries Collaborates with Diocesan Parishes
At the parish level, several churches around the diocese have invested their own resources in creating scholarships for local students in their communities, putting together treat bags for students during finals season, or even hosting “Study Days” at their church. Other churches have made donations to the diocese to help offset the cost of registration for the College & Young Adult Retreat(s). Three young adult parish ministry groups continue to thrive, and two others are being reimagined or created from scratch.
A Corpus Christi church has prioritized developing ministry to Del Mar College and Texas A&M Corpus Christi as part of their parish planning and has continued to go to campus to make contact with students. For those students who need access to something different, the diocesan staff host a weekly Zoom Bible study for students and young adults - wherever they may be.
Events, Workshops and Visits:
- Since Spring of 2023 - C&YA Adult Ministries has gathered students and young adults at Camp Capers and Mustang Island Conference Center.
- In May 2025, we will be traveling to Spain with a group of students to walk the Camino de Santiago! Our team and students are excitedly anticipating the trip. In preparation, the diocese hosted a San Antonio Missions Walk on November 2.
- FAFSA & Scholarship Workshop: Bryan Gonzalez, youth minister at St. Luke’s in San Antonio assisted the diocese in hosting this workshop for students of all ages.
- Fall Campus Visits: Walt Buzzini, C&YA Ministries Campus Missioner, and I made visits to The University of Texas - Austin, Texas A&M - College Station, and Texas Tech to feed and connect with Diocese of West Texas students, encouraging them to get involved in their campus ministries.
- The Episcopal Church’s (TEC) Young Adult & Campus Ministries Conference: Walt and I attended TEC’s conference with other chaplains and ministers from around the greater church.
Supporting our Diocesan Ministries and Parishes
- Each summer, we make regular visits to get to know and show support for the Camps and Conferences summer staff at their various sites. I joined the group of Camp Capers staff chaplains and am a new member of the Diocese of West Texas Discernment Committee. Walt sits on the Happening Board and has formed working relationships with the youth ministers serving churches across the diocese.
- C&YA Ministries supports churches in finding students/young adults to hire for various positions, encouraged students/young adults to participate in opportunities like Manos de Dios missions, and re-introduced “pages” to Diocesan Council.
What’s Next for College and Young Adult Ministries?
With the guidance and vision of Bishop Read, we continue to dream, discern, and creatively imagine what College and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of West Texas could be in the future. We are in the business of connecting with students and young adults, gathering them into safe and meaningful communities where they can continue to explore the transformational love of Christ, and be empowered to begin discerning God’s call upon their lives. College-aged students and young adults consistently hold a universal priority - spending time with each other. They are yearning to make meaningful connections with their peers. Connections that are formed in community and doing life together. Our task is to help them create communities such as these that are still anchored in the love and knowledge of Christ. We anchor them to the church in ways that they are comfortable with as they begin their journey to independence.
As members, they are encouraged to take ownership and become leaders to sustain their communities. They become gatherers, learners, and prayerful participants in what the Holy Spirit is up to in their groups. These communities mirror what life in the greater church could look like for them. This model empowers them to carry these leadership skills into their continued journeys of faith. It is easy to see a correlation between the decrease of resources and support of college/young adult ministries and the decrease in young adult parishioners, young adult lay leaders, and young clergy across the greater church. It’s time for that trend to change. It is time to reinvest our time and talents in our younger generations and help raise up the leaders we want to see leading God’s church.
What can you do?
At the 2024 Diocesan Council I provided diocesan churches with a call to action, inviting all churches in the diocese to get involved in simple but tangible ways. A list of ideas was provided to all churches’ clergy and delegation. If you haven’t already, there is no better time to start than now. Make a list of all young people 18-30 that consider your church their “church home” or who are in any way connected to your church community. Is there a student that has been involved in Happening, Camp Capers, or any other diocesan ministry because they were invited by someone in your church? Add them to your list. If, somehow, you cannot think of anyone who has connections to your church, ask Tami or Walt for some names of people to adopt! There are plenty of students and young adults who don’t have a home church. Commit to doing one or two simple things (original ideas or from the provided list) throughout the semester for your list of people. It doesn’t have to be complicated. We don’t have to overthink it. Jesus’s love was simple yet powerful, so ours can be too.
Learn more on our College and Young Adult Ministries web page and sign up for our newsletter.
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