This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It's prom season here in Columbia and I have loved seeing pictures of our juniors and seniors dressed up and being out and about. A sadness of the pandemic was that these rights of passage were unavailable to some of our youth. I am so happy that they are being restored. I love seeing the joyful smiles of both our parents and our youth. I hope that this joy is infectious, because one of things we will be doing soon is hosting a "Parish Prom."

Yes, you read that right. As a fundraiser for their Camino De Santiago pilgrimage, our youth are throwing us a parishwide dance party. It will be a chance to simply come together, raise some money for the pilgrimage, and have fun doing it. St. Martin's former rector, the Rev. Sally Johnston, will be a guest of honor as she is leading the adult portion of the pilgrimage.

The St. Martin's pilgrimage to the Camino De Santiago represents for us a step forward in our post-pandemic lives. It also represents our commitment to children and youth ministry. It is not a tourist trip; it is a pilgrimage -- one in which people will have an ample amount of time to walk and to pray. Time to be shaped by the roads that pilgrims have traveled for over a thousand years.

With 30 people from St. Martin's going to Spain, I suspect our entire community will be shaped by what they learn as they walk. Fifteen of our travelers will be youth. I suspect that their lives will be shaped by this experience. My experience is that we expect our young people to graduate from high school and know what they want to do or what they want to study. It is also my experience that we, as adults and a nurturing community, rarely give our youth the space they need to think about life's big questions. This pilgrimage is our church's way of providing some of that space in a life-shaping way. I pray you will support our pilgrims, particularly our youth, and come have fun with us at our parish prom.

In Christ,

Mitch+