Reflection on Ecc 4:9-16

Over the past few months I have found it hard to commit to my weekly sabbath ritual mostly because I have been doing it alone. I invited members of my congregation to join me for the ritual during lent and no one joined me. I was really disappointed. Day after day I feel more and more isolated and disconnected from my life, my ministry and people on this team and I don't think I'm alone (Maybe it's the weather, or maybe not). Regardless of the reason isolation has always been a struggle for those of us in leadership with Youth and Young Adults.

In the Ecclesiastes passage I am reminded of the importance and value of friends especially in Youth and Young Adult Ministry. I do not feel like we are a three fold cord as the scriptures suggest we should be. I believe that we are connected with God, but I do not always feel like this ministry is connected to the wider ministry of the church -- through no fault of our own. Part of the frustration is that we don't often fit into the structure as it is defined. We struggle to find our place within the institution.

As usual, I found wisdom and inspiration on this struggle in the writings of Henri Nouwen. In his book, Bread for the Journey the April 14th entry, Nouwen reflects on the importance of relationships and leadership. He captures the advocacy role of leadership in Youth and Young Adult ministry in the image of the "Good Shepherd." He writes:

"Good Shepherds are willing to lay down their lives for their sheep. As spiritual leaders walking in the footsteps of Jesus we are called to lay down our lives for our people. This laying down might in special circumstances mean dying for others. But it means first of all making our lives -- our sorrows and joys, our despair and hope, our loneliness and experience of intimacy -- available to others as a source of new life."

As leaders in Youth and Young Adult ministry there have been many who have laid down their lives in advocacy for the youth and young adults of the church, and it hasn't been for nothing. The fruits of these sacrifices have been seen and heard at General Council 39 in 2006 where the prophetic voice of youth and young adults across this country of ours were embraced and listened to by the wider church. But how do we keep this from being an isolated event?

I take comfort in the words from Ecclesiastes as we continue to struggle to find our place in The United Church of Canada. In Ecclesiastes it says, "Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who will no longer take advice...I saw all the living who, moving about under the sun follow that youth who replaced the king."

How do we let the wise youth be the Shepherd who leads the sheep (the church), who lays down their life for our church? The gift of youth and young adults is their honesty, energy, willingness to risk, doubt, compassion , and passion for justice. How can we, the church, allow ourselves to be embraced by the youth? How do we create a space for youth and young adults within this church? How do we learn to embrace each other and keep each other warm? How do we grow in trust with each other? How do we move from being independent to being interdependent where we ensure that the wise youth are respected and heard? What do we as a national church need to let go of in order to give the land a time to lay fallow?

Gracious God, I long for the church to be open to being filled with your grace, your wisdom, your patience and your love. I am reminded that taking time to honour your gift of the sabbath makes space in our lives for you, it makes space for people to connect in body as well as in spirit with others.

I wonder how the practice of sabbath could enrich our faith at the National level, how could honouring the sabbath as an institution bring healing to the people called to lead us as a church? How can sabbath free us from isolation and bring us back to the table together to feast and honour each other? Imagine what ministry could be if we were intentional with the advice in Ecclesiastes:

If two work together there is reward -- abundance

If two lie together there is warmth -- compassion & love

If two stand together there is strength -- justice.

It's time to stop being single strands of thread and instead twist our three fold cord together. Blessings my friends, Karen