Twenty-seven young adults representing 21 Episcopal Church dioceses are serving as missionaries in the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) for the 2015-2016 term in locales throughout the Anglican Communion. Andy Russell, from Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, will be serving in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Tanzania. Andy will be in Dodoma, Tanzania with The Carpenter's Kids
program, which provides education to children who have lost one or both
parents to HIV/AIDS. There are an estimated 40,000 of these orphans
within the diocese.
"This year we
witnessed the largest group ever of applications for positions as YASC
missionaries," said Bishop Stacy Sauls, Chief Operating Officer. "A
record 45 applications from 27 dioceses across all nine provinces in the
Church were reviewed. Of those, more than half have discerned to serve
as YASC missionaries. We are proud of our YASC missionaries and of this
remarkable achievement."
YASC is a ministry
of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society for Episcopal young
adults, ages 21 to 30, who are interested in exploring their faith in
new ways by living and serving in communities around the Anglican
Communion.
Bishop Sauls noted
that most of the YASC missionaries will provide ministry work in
education, youth work, social services, community development, and
agriculture. He noted that YASC missionaries will assist in expanding
the relationship with the Mission to Seafarers, will support an existing
diocese-to-diocese relationship (Virginia-Liverpool), and will support
mission initiatives in the northern region of Haiti by partnering with
Episcopal Volunteers in Mission who are serving in the area.
Each YASC missionary maintains a blog, detailing his/her service, reflections and adventures. Andy Russell's blog is Looking Out, Looking In: A Mission to Tanzania.
