Back to school haircuts, school supply lists, tax-free weekend, new Sunday school lessons, meet the teacher, marching band practice, two a day football practice. These are the things occupying our minds this time of year and reminders that a new school year is quickly approaching.

As summer winds down, we’re looking forward to a year ahead filled with the promise of fresh starts, new challenges, and renewed friendships for our young ones. I was blessed to be able to spend my summer - summer camp and summer mission trip - surrounded by many of them – young ones preparing for a new school year.

Summer camp experienced our most fruitful year since coming back out of COVID. We served over 200 campers; with one of our weeks being just about full to capacity. Our summer camp crew (or staff) was made up of new and returning young people from a variety of faith communities. Our returning staff are both essential in helping recruit and build this team and tremendous in mentoring and guiding the newcomers. It’s exciting to see new counselors rising up from the ranks of camper. And we get to see young staff – our Jr. Counselors – dipping their toe in the proverbial waters of caring for, managing, and loving on campers all while getting to observe and experience leadership in action.

Our newest offering, A Taste of Camp, had its maiden voyage and in all was a success. We hosted about 20 young ones and many of them brought their mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa along for the fun. I look forward to seeing where the God takes this program. I am especially grateful to Fr. Rob Price, Fr. Craig Reed, and Laura Weeks for working with me to get this special offering off the ground.

One of the very exciting things about this summer was the diversity we enjoyed at All Saints. Our summer hosted youth, young people, and spiritual leaders from many cultural backgrounds. I believe this is the way of our future – the ministry God is calling us to.

As we approach this new year, I want to reflect on the summer’s experiences that impacted us and how we can take these experiences into the new year. Through the Holy Spirit, campers and/or mission trip participants received spiritual growth via two powerful themes. "For All the Saints" was our summer camp theme. And during our mission trip, we reflected on Deuteronomy 6:5, " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

"For All the Saints" from summer camp helps us connect with our identity in Christ. It reminds us that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to be set apart, or "holy.” We’re to understand that our identity as living saints – saints with a little “s” - means we are to strive to walk with Jesus daily, growing in personal relationship with him, and make him known to others. It doesn’t mean we have to strive for perfection. Rather being aware of our imperfection, we commit our paths to and walk with the One who is. It’s our call to model – as expected from a saint – what following God looks like. Following him with all our heart, soul, and strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength," served as a compass during our mission trip, guiding our actions, interactions and experiences. The community God brought together was one of diversity in culture, language, socio economic backgrounds, social influences, and family systems. This community represented young people from 6 different parishes from across our diocese and a young person from Louisiana. Our first call on this journey of loving God with all our hearts, souls, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself was to create a community – a community where we could live out this command. We had to submit to this among ourselves before we could take that into the world. And boy did this group face and embrace this call with everything they had. By the time we arrived in North Carolina – a 17 hour journey over 2 days – you wouldn’t know they hadn’t known each other since long before the trip began.

Part of this summer’s mission experience – in addition to the powerful physical witness we shared in doing major home repairs and landscaping as a Christian community of young people who love God and love our neighbor – was to reflect on the dual nature of our hearts, our souls, our strength, and our minds (added in Matthew’s gospel),

Our heart is not only a strong muscle responsible for keeping us alive with its steady, faithful pump. It also represents our wills, our understanding, and our desires. It drives our desires to love God and our neighbor in all we think, say, and do.

Our souls are what gives us life. It defines who we are. Loving God with our souls enables us to speak to the unique and distinct person He created us to be – overflowing with love for Him in a way that nothing else can.

Our minds are what refers to our intellect – our ability for thought and reasoning. This reasoning enables us to pursue God, ponder Him, and understand how our walk with Him is used to glorify Him.

Our strength is our stamina or muscle; that which brings our thoughts and desires to life. Manifested often through the gifts and talents God has given us. Our minds tell us that we can and should use these gifts to glorify God and our strength allows us to manifest our gifts: our time, money, talents, etc.

So now, thinking about the year ahead, how can we live into our call as saints and harness and direct our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our strength to glorify God and make Him known to those around us?

Let us begin by centering ourselves daily in our walk with our Savior. Perhaps rising each day to prayer, a quiet reflection on Him, or time in God’s word. Friends, our lives are busy, and the busyness will quickly take over pushing out time with God. As faithful, obedient, God-fearing people, we have to acknowledge this phenomenon and seek God in overcoming it. That’s what loving him with our minds and hearts looks like.

Loving God with our souls and strength reveals our selflessness. Living into creatures created to serve God and others. We please God by serving others. Let us enter this new school year with the heart, soul, mind, and strength of those who are committed to God with our entire beings. That EVERYTHING we think, say, and do be to His glory. Let us take time to notice, serve, and encourage others so that we magnify Christ as we live out our faith.

A number of us are returning to school with heavy hearts due to the tragedy that hit the summer camps in the Texas Hill Country. Let us walk with those who carry heavy hearts. Let us lean on the God of all peace and strength to be beacons of His love, compassion, empathy, and hope toward those who mourn.

Lord God, we beseech you to fill our young ones with the knowledge of you, help them feel and experience your presence in their lives, and equip them to live in this world pursuing their call to be saints in your kingdom. Bring them faithful parents, family members, teachers, pastors, coaches, friends, and neighbors to both model and be witnesses to what loving you with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength looks like. Amen.

In Christ,

Deacon Katie