I've been thinking about this meeting, it was hard for me to participate because I could not see your faces. But I have a few thoughts to share:
Hiring young adults
In the last year we have seen growth of young adults on staff. This really is a new thing. Most of them are even empowered in some way as leaders. It used to be just me and Aaron, and two others who were working as Admin Assistants. By hiring more than one young adult you eventually bring more. Kim came from a connection from another young employee in WA ELCA. The two new staff in DC, Jon and Dan, basically came from me. But you have to hire more than one to get that snowball effect, and they can't be only in the lowest paygrade or interns, and should have opportunities for growth and leadership in their positions.
"Conservatives mentor new leaders, while progressives have interns"
This phrase keeps me up at night, and is from a chapter of a book called Born Again, the Christian Right Globalized. I am going to fax this chapter to Mike and hope that he passes it around the unit.
Start the network and database now
We all have young adults we work with, and their email addresses, what if we began to compile a database as it relates to CS/advocacy. Databases often grow faster than we think they will, and this will serve as a way to review our collective "assets". For example, I have the contact info of the 14 young adults we took to the Intl. AIDS Conference, and of a string of interns the office has had. This could be a starting point.
Have young adult only discussion on this topic
I think having this discussion again among the young adults of CS would generate different results, and that we should try it.
Support Kristen Glasses work
Because her capacity is so limited, if we focused on how we could help her efforts as they relate to social justice, this would make the best of our resources. Particularly, we should look at her ELCA young adult network on Facebook, and help her make it more active. Young people use facebook like crazy, and it has some unique capabilities.
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2 comments:
Thanks for this post, Emily. I will watch for the chapter of the book you referred to. I agree that we need to talk with Kristen and see how this group could support her... that's why she was hired in the first place, right?
Emily et al,
So you know, Chris Carpenter, Nancy Michaelis and I have been working with Kristen for over six months now on a project focused on young adults and hunger. It uses conversation-as-method philosophies to avoid the usual churchy approaches. We've piloted it in the Northwest and Upper Midwest and will bring the project to three or four more synods this fall. So you also know: We have a winner here, I think, because the project is based on appreciative inquiry and asset-based approaches to people and ministry. It also joins younger and less-younger generations, something I hope we don't lose sight of. "Accompaniment" approaches to mission strongly suggest that we all learn from each other, as well as keep each other from harm.
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