Good Morning.
Let me start off by saying that Redeemer has been a huge part of my life since birth, so thank you to everyone who has influenced me to be the person I am.
Father Fred who baptized me, Father Marsden- who got me through confirmation, Father Chris, who has been the youth minister for what seems like forever, Father Wilson, all of my Sunday school teachers, and everyone else, thanks.
Thank you to the parishioners from my parents’, grandparents’, and even great-grandparents’ generation who are genuinely interested in me and want to help me in my church life. When I think about the adults in our community who have taken an interest in getting to know me, almost every single one of them is a member of Redeemer.
Redeemer has brought me closer to God in ways I can’t possibly explain to someone who hasn’t shared similar experiences. Some of my memories include: being a student in, and then volunteering for Vacation Bible School, serving as an acolyte for as long as I can remember, Confirmation with Father Marsden, going to St. Mike’s Conference with many of my friends at Redeemer, and then being fortunate enough to be able to go with those same friends to the Dominican Republic every year for the past three years.
Of course, being a part of the youth group here means I attended LOGOS when I was in elementary school, and then EYC through middle, and then high school. Even though I enjoyed LOGOS, I remember being so happy to move up from LOGOS to the middle school EYC. A quick story about one night at EYC (you may have heard this story before- as it was told by Fr. Chris during a sermon a while back):
So, we were in EYC, and we were playing a bible trivia game, one team against another. I remember Father Chris asking, “what was special about Jesus’ mother, Mary?” Caroline Devitt, on the other team, answered, “she was a virgin” and that was of course correct. And all of us, being extremely intelligent at the age of 11, agreed. So, being the “all-knowing”, yet curious sixth grader I was, I followed Caroline’s answer up with another question and asked Father Chris, “Well, I’m a virgin, so what’s special about me?” Father Chris then went on to make sure I understood that I haven’t given birth to Jesus Christ.
It’s moments like that which will make me look back at my time in the Redeemer youth group with fondness, remembering all of my friends I’ve had here. Of course, going to the 9 o’clock service on Sundays is where I’ve spent most of my time at Redeemer. Being able to hear the word of God, surrounded by friends and family, gaining more and more understanding of Jesus Christ.
Church of the Redeemer means a lot of things to me: it means meeting new people and seeing old friends who share a common goal of strengthening their relationship with Jesus. It means helping people, whether they are in Sarasota, a few hours away, or in a foreign country. And it means having the opportunity to learn about and know God, which is why I’ve been happier to be here than I would be anywhere else.
Thank you for that and thank you for your prayers as my friends (the other seniors) as I start this part of our life.
Youth Sunday address by Will Morton
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
6 Easter
6 May 2018