Accepting a first call to ministry and moving during a pandemic may not be ideal, but one thing is certain: the Rev. Katheryn McGinnis is following in the footsteps of a long line of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastors, including her grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather and great-great-great grandfather.
Los jóvenes adultos voluntarios (YAVs por sus siglas en inglés) participan por un año de servicio basado en la fe, en más de 20 lugares en todo el mundo y en los Estados Unidos, de19 a 30 años de edad, acompañando a las agencias locales, trabajando para abordar las causas fundamentales de la pobreza y la reconciliación, mientras explora el significado y la motivación de su fe en una comunidad cristiana intencional con sus compañeros y mentores durante un año académico que va de agosto hasta julio.
Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) engage in a faith-based year of service in over 20 sites around the world and in the U.S. YAVs, ages 19–30, accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation while exploring the meaning and motivation of their faith in intentional Christian community with peers and mentors for one academic year, August through July.
Simon Doong has always had an interest in international life. The Beltsville, Maryland, native graduated from the College of Wooster with a major in international relations and a focus on economics, minoring in Spanish and Latin American studies.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2018–2019 Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) class. This is the 25th anniversary of a program that is helping to shape the next generation of globally aware, faithful and passionate leaders.
Today, several congregations close to Stony Point Conference Center, many from the Hudson River Presbytery, will host the 2017-18 YAV class for Commissioning Sunday. This day acts as a reminder to both the Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) and our church that we “do not go alone” in God’s mission.
Eight years ago, a mission co-worker and YAV site coordinator visited a little church in Laramie, Wyoming, and met five students in the college group to share information about the PC(USA)’s Young Adult Volunteer program. Two of those students, Kendra and Karl, were fresh-faced 22-year-olds with dreams of teaching college mathematics (Karl) and designing the future infrastructure and skylines of the country (Kendra). Two years later, they were serving as YAVs in Northern Ireland. A year after that they served as YAVs in Tucson, Arizona.
Five core tenets—intentional Christian community, simple living, cross-cultural mission, leadership development and vocational discernment—resonate with participants at each of the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program’s 21 sites. To better show how YAVs engage in these principles, the YAV program has begun a series of Instagram account “takeovers,” where individual sites are allotted a 2-3 day period during which their images and stories will be featured at @yavprogram.
