Youth Missioner in Germany!

I am back and adjusting to what time it is here in WNY after an amazing trip to Frankfurt Germany.  I went there at the invitation of the Youth Commission of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.  Each year they hold a retreat for youth leaders where they can network, learn, share and have some fun together.  This year I was asked to be the leader of the program portion of the retreat.

What I discovered is that we share many challenges with our brothers and sisters in the various congregations scattered over Europe.  There are 8 parishes (Paris - the Cathdral, Waterloo Belgium, Frankfurt, Munich and Wiesbaden in Germany,  Florence and Rome in Italy and Geneva in Switzerland) plus another 7 missions (Clermont-Ferrand, Rennes and Gironde in France, Nuremburg, Augsburg and Karlsruhe in Germany and MŸhlbach am Hochkšnig in Austria).  So that's 15 churches in 6 countries.  Makes our drive times between congregations look pretty easy, doesn't it?  Most of them are fairly small with volunteer youth leaders.  Some have active youth ministries, others not so much.  Again lots in common with us here in WNY.

On the other hand they have multiple languages to deal with routinely.  Not everyone who is a member of a Convocation church is a U.S. citizen (If you remember the it used to be the "Convocation of American Churches in Europe" I think that is part of the reason for the change) but they are Episcopalians.  They may speak any of several languages (in Switzerland there are no less than 3 official languages - German, French and Italian, plus one unofficial language Romansh!) and come from very different backgrounds.  Imagine trying to create a "diocesan" youth event when you have to coordinate school calendars from possibly 6 different countries!  Because many of the folks involved are there as part of the American business, military or diplomatic connections they often are around for only limited amounts of time.  Consequently leadership roles are much more fluid than we usually deal with here in the States.

With all that said I met a wonderful group of Spirit filled, dedicated people who want the best for the young people in their congregations.  They laughed and prayed and sang and kept me on my toes.  We shared learning and ideas, hopes and dreams.  Their dreams include increasing the number of youth events in Europe to 5 per year in the very near future.  It was wonderful to be around the energy and excitement that they have for what they're doing.  They also kept me up way past my bed time almost every night I was there!

The cultural experience for me was profound as well.  It was my first trip to Europe and only my second trip out of the United States beyond trips into Canada.  Being in a country where I was almost totally reliant on other people to deal with day to day details because I speak effectively zero German was awkward.  It makes you feel incompetent and less than adult because you can't "take care of yourself".  Meanwhile it seems that large portions of the German population would be able to come to the States and not have this problem because they have at least a working understanding of at least English.  I heard of many people over there who were competent in more than two languages including at least one who spoke 5!  I need to think about how that makes me feel about some of the decisions we make in educating ourselves in this country.  Things in Germany were both very familiar (McDonald's, Coke, Burger King) and unfamiliar (there were these crazy green signs with a running man on them all over the place.  Turns out those are the emergency exit signs.  Where ours designate ways to get away from danger theirs are about how to get to safety.  Two sides of the same coin results in two very different images). In the midst of it all I got the chance to worship at Christ the King Episcopal in Frankfurt.  As it so often is for those of us born and raised in this tradition it was coming home.  Familiar prayers, familiar hymns, a familiar rhythm of worship.

It was a great experience and one that I will remember for the rest of my life!