From June 29 through July 1, about 50 young people and their adult chaperones from Province 1 and beyond participated in the first-ever Climate Justice Youth Event (CJYE), held at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor, Maine. Funded in large part by a $17,000 Provincial Youth Event Grant from The Episcopal Church Office of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries, in addition to a Sowing Seeds of Mission grant from Province I and a gift from the Faith Formation Network of Province I, the event offered an unparalleled opportunity for teens to learn about climate change and faith-based advocacy within the spectacular setting of Acadia National Park.
The schedule was packed with activity, but still allowed time for connection and quiet reflection. Rangers from Acadia National Park’s SEA (Schoodic Education Adventure) Program led hands-on, in-depth investigations of specific plants, animals, and environments, while church leaders focused this inquiry through a lens of faith. Participants learned about phenology, photojournalism, and mapping; they completed tide pool explorations and citizen-science initiatives on the paths around the Schoodic Institute. Many young people chose to wake at dawn to watch the sun rise over the ocean; others opted to stay out at night for stargazing. The group shared creation-focused worship throughout the week—all outdoors—and a deer joined one of the campfire Compline experiences! The event culminated with a ferry ride from the Schoodic Peninsula to Bar Harbor, where all enjoyed a sailing tour of Frenchman Bay.
The Episcopal Church has regularly hosted an annual, church-wide summer youth event, which is currently undergoing revisioning. During this interim period, the Church has made grants available to provinces for hosting regional events. The Province I Faith Formation Network jumped at the chance to expand an idea Episcopal Diocese of Maine Faith Formation Director, the Rev. Emily Keniston, was already exploring: bringing youth to the SEA program to explore the intersections of creation care through faith and science. Together with the Rev. Rachel Field from An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice, Linden Rayton from Living Water Nature Programs, Kiwenik “Kyle” Lolar—a consultant for Indigenous knowledge and cofounder of Kiwenik & Kasq Indigenous Knowledge Institute, Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, and Acadia National Park rangers, the P1 Formation Network and Episcopal Maine were able to partner in creating this new event.
“CJYE was only a dream until we came together to make it real here and now, responding to God who is alive and working in our midst,” says Keniston. “Each of us gave thought, time, resources and prayer to make it possible. Some hosted traveling youth groups en route, some worked to secure grant funding to defray costs, and some took time off of other jobs to be present with our young people. Some donated resources, some created and offered music and liturgy with a creation care focus, some fund-raised with bake sales and advocated for the importance of youth ministry in their parishes, and some worked to connect young people and their households to this new idea of community partner-based youth events.”
Because its focus is on understanding and responding to climate change in Acadia and beyond, the Schoodic Institute—where CJYE participants could work hands-on with science educators on the rocky coastline and in wetlands and forests was an ideal location. “Young people of faith need scientific climate information alongside spiritual development and healthy community to equip them for the work now and into the future,” says Keniston.
“This week I’ve felt such an amazing connection to the land and its people, past and present,” wrote Autumn Warner, a chaperone and lay leader from the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna, in an email. “The genuine love, kindness, support I experienced was like being in the presence of God, seeing his vision for all of us in action.” Warner hopes that the event will be repeated. “The impact you all have made on these young people is priceless!,” she wrote. “The seed was firmly planted. They will take this experience with them and share it with others. If that isn’t God’s love I don’t know what is.”
