There is a Balm in Gilead

“Sometimes I feel discouraged, and think my work's in vain, but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again”. This is the first line of the hymn, “There is a balm in Gilead.” I sang these words at the worship service that followed Pre -YE (ECMN middle school retreat) this spring, and they brought tears to my eyes. Two years ago, I was at a crossroads in my ministry. While our faith formation model had evolved in my 14-year tenure, I was no longer meeting the needs of our families. My concerns were twofold. First, our families were busy, and they could not commit to being present on a schedule that I set. While I am a believer in “quality, not quantity,” a critical mass is necessary for any program to be effective, and my reality was that with only 7 children in our program, I needed almost everyone present to get that critical mass. Second, our congregation had not had any middle or high school students in several years, so we no longer had a youth director. I had several opportunities in my career to stretch into Youth Ministries, but as a former elementary school teacher, I had the firm belief that my skills were better suited for children. As nearly half my population was moving into middle school, and my traditional program schedule wasn’t working, I was faced with this question: Is there a different way to approach my ministry or has this journey run its course? 

I spent most of the summer praying, discerning, and looking into different programs that I might implement to reach my few kids in a wide age range. Seeking advice, I reached out to Dan Miglets-Nelson, ECMN Minister for Children Youth and Families. In his infinite wisdom, he did not suggest that I go in any particular direction. Instead, he asked me a lot of good questions, about my families, my ministries, and the support that we have within our congregation. This led to a meeting with the parents and eventually a plan for faith formation.

We took the model of virtual Christmas pageants that I did during Covid and started our Recorded Bible Story Project. We worked with families and their schedules to plan 4 sessions throughout the program year. During each two-hour session, we discussed a Bible story, acted it out, and recorded it. This model lent itself well to having the children and youth working together - stretching me in a way that I could embrace.  We even invited adult members of our community to join us when we had more parts than kids. After editing the videos, I brought the kids back together to plan a presentation for the congregation. Here they shared their videos and led discussions about each one. This model provided us with an opportunity to deeply explore a bible story, engage with each other, and connect with individuals from our own faith community. They all enjoyed it so much, we did it again this year.

We all know that studying scripture is just one aspect of faith formation. And while I found a way to do this with children and youth together, I also wanted them to understand that they are part of a larger community as well as have age- specific opportunities.  I started reaching out to other Episcopal churches in the East Metro Mission Area. Collaboration began slowly, but we now have thriving relationships with several other churches. Our children and youth are getting to know kids and adults from around the diocese as we engage in local collaborations as well as ECMN events. While they are experiencing the beauty of being part of something larger than our own faith community, so am I.

Two years ago, I felt lost and frustrated. I was very passionate about my ministries, but I no longer felt effective. Now I have a thriving program in my own faith community as well as wonderful relationships with my peers in ECMN. So, as I sat in the pew at the end of my third pre-YE (youth event!) and sang, “Sometimes I feel discouraged, and think my work’s in vain, but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again,” I found myself appreciating the beauty of where the Holy Spirit led me.

Click here to see one of this year’s recorded Bible stories.