Commissioning Service and YAV Orientation

On Sunday August 21, 2011 First Presbyterian Church Tallahassee, Florida commissioned me during the worship service to my year of mission in Atlanta. I have been an active member of First Pres Tallahassee my entire life, including being both baptized and confirmed in the church. My Pastor Brant Copeland invited me to read the scriptures for that Sunday. After I finished the readings and sermon was preached Brant asked me to join him in the front of the church. He shared with the congregation where I was going to serve and what I would be doing throughout my year in Atlanta. Next he asked my parents to come forward for the commissioning prayer and what Brant did next turned out to be very powerful. Brant asked any member of the church who had been connected in any way to my spiritual learning to come forward as well. Almost half the church stood up, all my old Sunday school teachers, confirmation class leaders, middle and high school youth advisers coming to lay hands on me. This is the point when it hit me that I was about to embark on something special and I knew that I was not going into this year alone. My church family has always been a big part of my life, and to have all the hands of people who have not only loved me but shaped me in God’s image was an indescribable feeling. It was in the moment that each and every member of the congregation, both living and dead showed how they lived out the promise made to me during my baptism. It was a perfect way to end my time in Tallahassee and head out into my year of service.

On Monday August 22, 2011 a day after my commissioning service I jumped on a plane and headed for Stony Point, New York for YAV orientation. There I joined 70 other young adults who were soon to be serving all around the globe! During the week we were all exposed and asked to think about a lot of different experiences and situations. Some examples of classes/meetings we had were: Critical Cultural Competency, Self-Care, What makes you Tick?, Globalization, as well as safety and housing talks. In the beginning of the week we were separated into small groups. Throughout the week we got together to discuss and discern any thoughts or questions we were feeling. Each night we would all gather for a small worship service know as vespers to sing, hear stories, and pray. One part of the vespers that really stuck with me was a couple verses of Psalm 139 that was turned into a song:

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there you hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

It was one afternoon while sitting on a dock, looking over a lake surrounded by mountains that something clicked inside of me that I had made the right decision. At this point in time my decision to leave the hotel business was still very fresh and I was still unclear if I had made the right choice. On that day while sitting on the lake with Psalm 139 playing in my head everything just felt right. This feeling is something hard to explain but was a very special moment as I was discerning my decision. During the week of orientation I was lucky enough to meet some very great and interesting people.  It was in the laughter but also the deeper conversations with these people that helped prepare me for the unknown. It is very refreshing to know that these 70 young adults that I now call friends are representing a great cause all across that globe. So to all the fellow YAV’s reading this I wish you all the best of luck!