This past month, I lost a dear friend and mentor when Ellie Cleary died after many years living with Alzheimer’s. Ellie and her husband Ken were the leaders of our high school youth group, or United Methodist Youth Fellowship, when I was growing up in the small town of Wilmington Massachusetts in the early 1980s. Their own kids were grown when I joined the youth group, and I wondered why a middle-aged couple would choose to spend every Sunday night and often another night during the week hanging out with a bunch of teenagers.
It turned out Ken and Ellie didn’t just hang out with us. They changed our lives. Our weekly meetings became my lifeline as a self-conscious, shy and nerdy teen. At youth group, I wasn’t “the smartest kid in the class” or “the kid who came in last in the cross country meet again” I was, as Mr. C began to call me , Di. I became a leader in the group, participating in and then coordinating our weekly discussions and quarterly weekend retreats. I spent a ton of time at the C’s house with other kids who became my closest friends. And through the Clearys I learned the practices of empathetic listening and unconditional love.
My own ministry began when I was a sophomore in college and I came back to my home church every weekend to lead that very same youth group, using the same ideals and methods that the Clearys had taught us. I went on to lead youth groups in Chicago and Cleveland Heights, answering my call to full time pastoral ministry in 1997 with a strong emphasis on ministry with youth. Although I have not been able to spend as much time with youth here at Christ, I remain passionate about sharing the good news especially with vulnerable teens like I was.
How can we make our own church a haven like the one I found at Wilmington United Methodist back in the 1980s? How can we be the people with whom others feel safe and loved? How can we share the good news of God’s unconditional love with others?
All of us are called to serve. How is God calling you today? I hope you will consider the impact you can have when you share God’s great Good News!
Fear Not
Pastor Dianne
