The Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for many young people with disruption to education and social life.
These last two years have also made clear the scope of the challenges that we face as a society. Climate change. Homelessness. Reconciliation. Racial justice. Food security. Migration. This is the world that young people are coming of age in and the one they will inherit.
Our sense is that young people emerging into adulthood at this moment are both driven by a desire to build a just society but also searching for ways to make meaningful change that aligns with their vision and values.
There are many young people who have inchoate sense of what the church would call vocation but lack opportunity to develop this call in the context of a supportive community of peers.
This is why Montreal Dio and our ecumenical partners in the Montreal School of Theology are relaunching the Montreal Mission Internship in the summer of 2022.
Last offered in 2015, the Mission Internship is a program geared specifically to young people (generally understood as 18 to 25 years old) that will enable participants to put their faith into action and discern their Christian vocation in our changing world.
This program takes what we know about theological reflection and discernment and extends and adapts it for young people who are not necessarily considering Christian ministry but have a strong sense of service in the world.
By providing opportunities for participants to engage in meaningful work in relation to an area of deep concern for them and do so within a community of peers, we believe that we can help participants begin to express Christian vocation at a crucial time in their lives.
Each participant in MMI will be placed in a social service placement for nine weeks during the summer. There are many faith-based service organizations in the city and we are looking forward to working with them.
Every week, the participants will meet as a group for learning, reflection, and community support, facilitated by the program’s director, MST faculty, and other guests. We’ll also work to connect these participants with church communities and encourage them to develop leadership skills in the church.
To make this program as accessible as possible to students from as many backgrounds as possible, this will be a paid internship position, with a stipend of up to $5000 for the nine-week program. We don’t want financial constraints to be an obstacle to participation.
We’re able to relaunch MMI this summer thanks to the recent grant we received from the Lilly Endowment, as well as additional funding from the Anglican Foundation of Canada’s Say Yes to Kids Initiative.
While this isn’t the goal of the program, some past participants have gone on to pursue ordained ministry. The Rev. Ben Stuchbery, a 2015 MMI participant and now curate in the Parish of Vaudreuil in this diocese, told us that MMI was transformative for his call to ministry: “The internship served as an invaluable period of discernment, coming as it did at a crucial moment in my young adulthood when the search for meaning and direction in my life was felt most keenly.”
You can learn more about the program on its dedicated website: www.montrealmission.ca. We also have printed publicity material to advertise the program or share with young people you think might be looking for a program like this. Just be in touch and we’ll send it your way.
If you have suggestions or ideas about this program, we would love to hear from you. You can reach me at [email protected]. The best advertising of all is word-of-mouth so please do spread the word about this program.
We’re excited to be relaunching this program and provide this opportunity for more young adults to find their calling as they emerge into adulthood.
