Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

My earliest church memory is from Easter 1960: I sang in the Cherubs’ choir at both the 9:00 am and 11:00 am services at William Street Methodist Church in Delaware, Ohio. I remember distinctly the musty smell of the basement room where moms handed around yellow choir robes to find ones to fit a roomful of variously shaped five- and six-year-olds.

I also remember clearly the wonderful breakfast we shared with the youth choir and chancel choir in the parish hall between services. We were worship leaders.

Built in 1888, our church building was a towering structure in town. It was a neo-Gothic castle where we young people ran wild and played mightily. A long-standing joke went that the Methodist’s waited until the Catholics completed St. Mary’s, then built their steeple three feet higher.

I remained a leader in that church from age 5 until I left for college. We young people owned the place. Plays, retreats, youth group car washes, lock-ins, and sometimes they would actually let us lead worship. Our youth services were harrowing, wonderful experiences for our long-suffering parents and the whole church. They knew we were Christians by our love.

That wonderful church burned to the ground the coldest night of the winter of 1971. The aftermath of the fire led me to the Episcopal Church. (St. Peter’s Episcopal Church hosted us as our church rebuilt.)

From my early years at William St. Church I learned two things that are important for connecting young people to their church:

• When I think back on my earliest experience of church I remember first and foremost my friends. Having enough other young people my own age was crucial to my Christian experience.
• I also remember the physical space. My church. While I have vague memories of several teachers and a few youth leaders, what I remember of William St. Church was that it was mine. I knew every nook and cranny of that building. So did all the kids.

So be sure to introduce your own young people to your church buildings (as if they haven’t already cased the whole joint . . .). Let them be leaders. And don’t be afraid to let them roam wild and make the church their own. This is one important way to renew our church. An Easter Egg Hunt – inside – might be just the way to do it.