We are now a year and some months into our shared ministry with Grace Episcopal Church in what has had several different names: Young Adult Ministry, The Road Less Traveled, and now Hope & Grace: College and 20/30s Ministry. Through these changes, one impulse has remained constant – to provide a meaningful gathering around a meal. Here are some highlights from the past year:
Thursday Nights – We began by offering a home-cooked meal and a time of taize song and evening prayer from 7-9pm on Thursdays, alternating between Hope Church and Grace Episcopal Church. In hopes to be more accessible to Hope College students, we moved our prayer time over to Graves Hall and added communion. Currently, we begin with a meal at one of the churches, and then move to Graves for song, prayer and communion — often followed by some social time.
Weekend Retreats – In February we invited Randy Smit, Hope Church member, elder, and Compassionate Connection facilitator, to guide us in a weekend of learning compassionate communication. We stayed at St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, and spent time praying with the monks as well. This fall, in early October, we once again went to Three Rivers. This time we stayed at an Episcopal Deacon’s retreat home and enjoyed meals, games, and conversation structured by daily prayer time at the Abbey.
Border Encuentro Trip – Last March during the college spring break, we took advantage of connections we have down in Harlingen, Texas to spend a week on a border encounter trip. We heard from local pastors on both the Mexico and Texas sides, and toured facilities designed to help refugees find their way. We were also treated to inordinate Texas hospitality in the form of BBQ.
Summer – Over the summer we kept our Thursday Nights going every other week with social gatherings. We had grill-outs, campfires, beach nights, and even took in a Whitecaps game.
I am grateful for the conversations that have been shared over the past year with members of this small community, and the way we have become friends. I’m also grateful for the support of our Steering Force and Hope College Faculty and Staff from both churches, and our pastors.
Ways you might be involved:
- Do you like to cook? We’d love to provide a home-cooked meal for our Thursday Nights gatherings, but Christian and I are not always able to do the cooking. We’d be grateful for several other volunteers who might be able to occasionally offer a meal for 8-12 people.
- After March our budget will change due to the pastoral resident position finishing — we are open to creative ways we can continue to offer this ministry. You may have access to a retreat cottage we could use, or be interested in sponsoring a participant on a trip, or something we haven’t yet thought of!
~Andrew Spidahl, Hope and Grace: College and 20/30s Ministry Co-chair