I have always been the sort of person who likes to know exactly what they are getting into before starting something new. I spent most of my first day of kindergarten observing my classmates from the corner of the room, desperately trying to figure out exactly what everyone else was doing before I dared to try to join in. Before starting college, I spent so much time researching schools, majors, and potential career paths that I was essentially a walking course catalog by the time I set foot on campus. And back in August of 2020, I did something that was extremely out of character for someone who always wants to dip a toe into the water before diving in: I agreed to serve as Plymouth’s Interim Director of Christian Formation for Youth in the midst of a pandemic and with absolutely no idea of what the year might hold.

To my great surprise, many of my fondest memories from this year came from the moments of greatest uncertainty. When it looked like we might not be able to hold our traditional Sleepout in December due to the pandemic, an incredible team of youth and adult volunteers found a way to put together a drive-in vigil and at-home Sleepout that raised nearly $30,000 for Neighbor to Neighbor. When the pandemic reached its peak and we were forced to transition our weekly youth groups from in-person to virtual meetings, our youth continued to show up each week with energy and optimism even in less-than-ideal conditions. And even though I often found myself feeling like an unsuspecting audience member who had been chosen from the crowd to join an improv troupe, I also found that being forced to operate without the usual “playbook” only served to magnify the joy of the many unexpectedly wonderful moments that the year had to offer.

Now, armed with the confidence I’ve gained after a year of diving headfirst into the unknown, I am about to take yet another leap of faith: tomorrow will be my last day as Plymouth’s Interim Youth Director, and in a few weeks, I will be heading out to Indiana to begin a new role as a Student Success Coach at Purdue University. I may not know exactly what this next step will look like or what challenges lie ahead, but if this year has taught me anything, it is that an unknown future is something to be celebrated rather than feared. In the wise words of Corrie Ten Boom, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

Here’s to whatever unexpected and exciting future lies ahead of all of us!

All the best,
Alli

Of the many “minor” holidays we celebrate each year, I have always had a soft spot for Earth Day. I view it as a yearly reminder to celebrate the incredible gift of creation and to reflect on my role as a steward of that creation. In that spirit, our middle and high school youth groups decided to spend the month of April learning to become better stewards of our planet by focusing on issues related to climate change and sustainability. For me personally, climate change has always been a daunting topic to address--how do you even begin to approach a problem so massive, so urgent, and with such potentially devastating consequences for humanity and for all of creation? And furthermore, how do you approach this topic with young people who have inherited a planet on the brink of devastation and who have grown up acutely aware of the reality that they will likely be the ones forced to solve this problem that was not of their making?

Rather than face the behemoth of discussing climate change as a whole, we opted to begin by talking about simple ways that we as individuals can live more intentional and sustainable lives. Our youth offered ideas ranging from the familiar (like using less water and recycling whenever possible) to the creative (such as researching microorganisms that could potentially digest plastic or other materials) to the… slightly out of the box (including an impressively detailed plan involving windmills, space lasers, and colonizing the Moon--the creativity of middle schoolers truly knows no bounds!). To put our ideas about sustainable living into practice, we collected old t-shirts that were destined for the landfill and converted them into reusable shopping bags that could replace single-use plastic bags. As we emphasized throughout our month of exploring climate change and sustainability, even the smallest efforts to be more intentional and sustainable in our daily lives can add up to big changes.

Ultimately, solving a problem as immense and multifaceted as climate change will require a lot more than making reusable bags out of old t-shirts. It will require a lot more than recycling, using less water and electricity, and even creating space lasers and Moon colonies. In the end, our efforts to live more sustainably as individuals can only work if we also collectively put pressure on the governments and corporations who truly have the power to help reverse the effects of climate change on a global scale. But if there is one thing I took away from this month’s discussions with our middle and high school students, it is that their generation possesses everything we need in the fight against climate change: an awareness of the issues we face and the scope of the problem, an endless amount of creativity and unique ideas, and perhaps most importantly, a genuine optimism and belief that this problem, immense though it may be, is not insurmountable. I have no doubt that our youth are ready to fight for the health and longevity of their planet, and I can only hope that the rest of us are prepared to follow their lead.

Alli

For me, 2020 started out almost impossibly perfectly: I rang in the new year in Rome, watching fireworks over the Coliseum and eating the twelve grapes that Italian tradition states are supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead. Maybe I accidentally forgot a grape, or perhaps I misunderstood the old man explaining the tradition to me, but “lucky” isn’t exactly the first word that comes to mind when I think of the way this year has progressed since those first few perfect moments.

I was supposed to spend the entirety of the 2019-2020 school year in Spain on a Fulbright scholarship, teaching middle and high school students who were absolutely overflowing with energy, enthusiasm, curiosity, and more than a little bit of sass. I treasured every single day that I got to walk into school and engage in the perfect combination of insightful conversation and chaotic shenanigans that can only happen when you’re working with youth. When I was forced to evacuate Spain in March as COVID-19 hit the country, it felt like I was leaving a huge piece of myself behind. In an instant, the deep conversations, the one-on-one moments when students would let their guard down and truly open up, and the riotous laughter when low-stakes games somehow became life-or-death for the students were replaced with long stretches of emptiness and the lingering question, “Now what?”

However, if there’s one thing that I’ve found to be true in my 23 years on this earth, it’s that the universe seems to have a funny habit of working itself out in the most unexpected ways. Taking on the role of Plymouth’s Interim Director of Christian Formation for Youth has in many ways been the answer to an unspoken prayer: a prayer for connection, for growth, for helping others to navigate these unprecedented times and for allowing them to help me as well. As Plymouth’s youth face a year unlike any other, I feel so blessed to be in a position to help provide a sense of community and grounding in the midst of so much uncertainty. During my own middle and high school years, youth group at Plymouth was always a welcome source of laughter, conversation, and connection, and I hope that it can continue to be an oasis for our youth in this exceptionally strange time.

This year may not have been exactly what I was expecting, but it has turned out to be more of a blessing that I ever could have imagined. Maybe I did eat those grapes correctly after all.

Alli