Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

When I was in middle school, my dad refused to let me join the youth group mission trip.

He was worried, I think, about my safety, a young, suburban girl thrust into a week of poverty, in a neighborhood of crime.

His heart was with me, determined to protect me, but I think he was wrong. I needed to see life outside of my cocoon.

We’ve both grown quite a bit since then. He has taken four trips to Kenya and traveled deep into the country to help raise churches and build orphanages. I sanded drywall for days in a post-Katrina New Orleans.

As a parent now, I understand this struggle between protecting your kids and letting them explore. This dilemma unfolds in countless ways: When do we let the kids stay home alone? What movies are appropriate? Which friends will be good influences?

A couple of months ago, the middle school youth group at our church volunteered at the food pantry of another Episcopal church. Our church is in an affluent community, and requests for food or assistance are rare. But just 2 ½ miles away, the landscape changes dramatically, and the lines for the pantry snake out the door and around the corner.

The trip was planned as a one-time experience, a way for the young people to put flesh on the Gospel.

I learned last week that three members of the youth group have quietly volunteered at the pantry every Wednesday since the first trip.

I am privileged to witness this chrysalis, as these young teens learn about life beyond their middle-class neighborhoods. It’s probably scary sometimes – being uncomfortable, being in new situations, often is. But it’s a good reminder to me, as a parent, to loosen the grip on my children, so they can let out their wings.