J2A - Journey to Adulthood

Seeking open-minded, engaging, and spiritual volunteers to facilitate conversations with St. Paul’s high school church school class- Journey to Adulthood.

The ideal volunteers are:

• Experienced in working with high schoolers and enjoys their unique energy and perspectives.
• Comfortable with facilitating conversations about faith and willing to share about their own path to Christianity, spiritual practices, and journey to (and through) adulthood.
• Committed to listening to and supporting young people with an open heart and mind.
• Very familiar with and/or willing to learn about the Book of Common Prayer and Bible stories.

Description

St. Paul’s in-house Journey to Adulthood sessions uses the Socratic seminar model- semi-formal conversations about a text that is presented at the beginning of each session. The facilitator uses open-ended questions to shepherd the discussion and encourages each individual in the discussion to state a belief or conclusion at the end of the session. This year the curriculum will somewhat mirror the Adult Forum series by focusing on the seven sacraments- these are the seven outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace given by Christ. The group will spend a few weeks exploring each sacrament by studying scripture and the Book of Common Prayer, serving the community, comparing other traditions with similar beliefs, and discovering cultural and literary interpretations of the sacraments.

Adolescence is a BUSY time. Our high schoolers are committed to elite sports teams, SAT tutoring, earning scout merit badges, perfecting skills on musical instruments, and more. Still, they make time to join us on Sunday mornings to serve and learn. It is imperative that J2A teachers honor our young people’s commitment to their faith lives by serving with dedication, earnestness, and love.

Adolescence is also a time of exploration. Many of our youth are grappling with their belief and are curious about other religions. The J2A facilitators should approach each discussion with clarity about their personal beliefs and the beliefs of the church (which will always be provided in the lesson plans). During the discussion, the facilitator should be able to listen to the teens with an open mind and heart, regardless of their alignment with the church’s beliefs. The priorities are always 1.) maintaining relationships with the students and 2.) explaining the beliefs of the church. Facilitators must never insist that the youth conform to the beliefs of the church because it could damage their spiritual journey.

Requests

• Volunteers are asked to dedicate 5 hours a month for the church school year, September 11, 2022, through May 22, 2023. (Each volunteer is asked to teach two times a month. Every lesson takes about an hour to learn/prepare. Each class period is an hour long and requires approximately 15 minutes of setup and/or 15 minutes of clean-up.)
• Volunteers are asked to learn the lesson plan and set up the materials before class on Sunday morning
• Volunteers are required to take Safeguarding God’s Children an Episcopal Church training course that teaches church policies and best practices to ensure young people’s safety.
• Volunteers are asked to find their own replacements if they have a scheduling conflict.
• Volunteers are asked to serve with an open heart, mind, and tenderness for our teens who are walking their own spiritual paths.