This summer was packed with opportunities for families, including a Diocesan Youth Mission Trip to Navajo Nation and Vacation Bible School!
Read more about these events below:
Mission Trip
written by Br Alex Swain, Assistant for Intergenerational Ministries
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”—Hebrews 13:15-16 Service trips are amazing opportunities for youth to learn new skills, experience new places, become friends with new people, and deepen relationships with existing peers. They radiate with themes of the Christian life—community, service, humility, giving, and sharing. Service trips are some of the most formative and significant group events that we as a church can participate in!
On Sunday, June 28, a group of 12 youth from Saint Philip’s along with adult chaperones Fr Alex, Sally, and Angel departed from the parking lot at 5:45am to travel 7.5 hours north to Teec Nos Pos, a town in Navajo Nation just a few miles south of the Four Corners. We were participating in a service week alongside Dayspring UMC from Tempe and Claremont UCC from Claremont, California, through the Sierra Service Project (SSP), which equips volunteers with home repair skills for community-based projects.
We stayed in the Teec Nos Pos chapter house, sleeping in their large, central main room. We learned from the Chapter President about the Navajo Nation, Navajo Culture, and a bit of their history. Each work team consisted of people from every church, and on our first day we learned how to safely use power tools which would be needed at our job sites.
Learning a bit about Navajo culture from the Teec Nos Pos Chapter President & Vice President, Kenny Victory and Verma Francisco.
Learning how to use power tools! And, a group working on sawing new wood decking for a roof.Teams consisted of 6-9 youth from each of the churches, alongside 1-2 adults supervising, and a project lead from SSP. Projects went to elders in need, and were either roofing repair work or constructing accessibility ramps so people can age in place with dignity.
The daily schedule!We woke up early every day at 6:00am (5:00am Tucson time). We worked outside in the heat of the day from 8:00am-3:00pm. It was sweaty, hot, dusty work. It was hard work, labor intensive, and required a lot of communicating and coordinating between the many different parts of the job—from removing roofing, to replacing decking, to putting tarps down at the end of each day with sand flying in our faces.
One of the work teams building an accessibility ramp, and another working on the roof!It was also incredibly fulfilling work. Watching our youth rise to the occasion, problem solve, and make a difference in the lives of people is a gift to bear witness to. Our evenings consisted of cleaning off the grime of the day, free time, dinner, song time, and an evening reflection led by one of the work groups. We were in bed by 9:00pm, and some of the youth even slept outside under the stars!
A group of adventurous volunteers sleeping under the stars! The theme of the week was “wonderfully made and wildly connected.” Watching friendships blossom in just a few days, fostered by shared experience, learning new skills, and supporting one another, while having fun in the process, is an exhilarating experience!
Gathered at a vista during one of the evening programs called Spiritwalk.It was like living into that early church experience outlined in Acts 4, “all the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32). We shared in the hospitality provided to us by the Navajo in Teec Nos Pos. We shared in the experiences of doing good for people in need. We shared in the joy and hardship of working together, and working outside in hot, blustery climates. We shared in giving thanks to God for the opportunity to serve, and grow, and deepen our friendships with people familiar and new. And in all things, we lived into what the author of Hebrews writes, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16). Thanks be to God for this opportunity, and for the deep mystery which is that we are all wonderfully made and wildly connected! Yours in Christ, —Alex+
Vacation Bible School
written by Kate Appel
Last week we welcomed 39 children ages 3-10 to campus. We creatively used the air conditioned spaces available to us to provide a morning of outside play, storytime, music/theater, crafts, snacks, and lunch.
The theme was Creation so we were able to cover many aspects of the world that God has made by looking at nature books, animal songs, crafts with water, planets and animals, Bible and nature stories, and even themed lunches.
We had both returning and new participants and it was a joy to see the kids grow more comfortable and have so much fun as the week went on. We concluded the week with a performance for parents and grandparents on the last day.
This was only possible through the amazing efforts of a dedicated team of adult and teen volunteers. Thank you all!
We also received a grant from the Diocese of Arizona which helped fund scholarships so all who wanted to could attend.
