Young people are looking for spiritual life and they’re looking for spiritual life made for them. At St. Barnabas, we’ve had the gift of young adults seeking a rich tradition of worship and faith pour through our door. Nearly every week, there’s a new young adult wandering into our hall with a story about seeking a richer faith. Just as often, we see that young adult coming to our next event and joining our growing community.
Our St. Barnabas young adults’ group, newly minted “Sanctum,” is led by young adults for young adults seeking a rich tradition of faith. The Anglo-Catholic tradition offers young people a tie to a deeply sacramental expression of Anglicanism. It offers something real and tangible in a world consumed by image and performance. As young people seek identity amidst the fractures, the sacramental life offers a connection and belonging that nothing else can. We believe that fostering scriptural and theological integrity connects people.
Every week, we gather a little differently. Our mainstay is our theology study group, in which we discuss scripture, theological integrity and faith practice. The key point for outreach is our biweekly social group. Oftentimes, we meet in local pubs or around kitchen tables. Other weeks, we’re having campfires, dinner parties and hiking excursions. Regardless of what we do, we focus on ministry and creating a place where people feel they belong.
Holy Week is a special time of year where we see our church communities near constantly. While the commitment to attend Thursday through Sunday is daunting, we found our group willing and eager to put in the effort. More exciting still, we had several of our group baptised or confirmed into the Anglican Church. Baptism and confirmation are significant commitments and to see young people commit themselves to God is beyond thrilling. After the busyness of Holy Week, we hosted one last event, an Easter dinner. What was meant to be a small gathering quickly overgrew the apartment we usually host in. At the last minute, we were kindly offered to use the St. Barnabas rectory… thank goodness!
We pray to continue having this “problem,” and we pray that we are ready to serve this growing community. God is working here and we are excited to see so many young people seeking God through the sacramental life. As newcomers continue to come in the door, we’re excited to walk alongside. For those returning after time away, we’re excited to watch faith reignite. For those making our group a weekly habit, we’re grateful.
As we continue to foster a young adults’ ministry here in Victoria, we ask your prayers that our new members find a place in our community. Please pray for the growth of this ministry. St. Barnabas is one church of many in the world seeing this revival in young people and we ask your prayers that we navigate this momentum with grace.
If you’re curious about what we do or looking to connect, we would love to hear from you. If you’re a community member who is interested in supporting the work we are doing (we always need somewhere to host!), we would love to hear from you too. There is momentum here and God calls us forward.
Please feel free to email one of the Sanctum co-leads, Sarah Evans [email protected] or Josh Hawkenson [email protected]! We’d love to hear from you.
