By Alex Devin Ellis, St. Andrew's, Newport News
Every three years, in accordance with General Convention
Resolution #1982-D079, the Episcopal Church convenes an international
youth event so "that the energy of the youth of the Episcopal Church
can continue to be utilized in active ministry as members of the Body
of Christ." This year, the 2017 Episcopal Youth Event (EYE17) welcomed
nearly 1,400 participants, workshop leaders, speakers, and volunteers
to the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond from July
10-14. Southern Virginia sent seven youth and two adult leaders to the
EYE17 event. Below, Alex Devin Ellis, a youth participant from St.
Andrew's, Newport News, shares his experience of EYE17. In the coming
weeks, you can look forward to stories from the other EYE17
participants.
EYE was a special experience, one that I will cherish for my lifetime.
It was great to meet people from across America. I had a blast learning
new games and hanging out with them. I made a ton of friends that I
still talk to, though unlike one of the bishops I don't think I found
my true love at EYE. Throughout the week I got to know my fellow
Diosovas (other members of the Diocese of Southern Virginia) and really
felt a strong bond grow between us. Nicholas Sears and I are like
brothers and will be friends for life. We even have plans for a cross
country road trip along Route 66 in eight years. Caroline Tyler and I
had a great time playing cards and getting to know each other and our
new friends. Capitalism is a great game that most other states didn't
know how to play and is now my favorite card game. It was great having
people that I knew there like the members of my EYC board Clare Harbin
and Anthony Alfano, but it was equally as great getting to know new
faces of our Diocese, like Peter Hood and Allie Sears.
 |
 |
|
Alex Devin Ellis at EYE17.
|
Though I had a great time with friends, it was also a deep
and moving week. Tears were shed but hope was all around. We went
around Oklahoma City and viewed different Museums, but when we got to
the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum I already knew it was going to be
hard to get through. It was a very tragic event that took the lives of
many innocent people. Going through the museum I saw many things that
brought tears to my eyes. There was a clock that had stopped at the
exact moment that the bomb went off, that Caroline had pointed out.
When I saw it I just thought of how much more that stopped at that
exact moment. Though as the day went on you could feel the love and
hope for a better world. As we sang and praised God, in both English
and Spanish, you could definitely feel the presence of God.
I went to different sessions during the time at EYE where
you could learn about different things going on in the church or about
God. On the first day, I went to a session where we could talk to
Bishop Curry and ask him question after he talked about the Jesus
Movement. On the next day that they had these sessions I went to one
where they talked about Kids4Peace and how they are trying to make
peace and how you can set up one in your area. Kids4Peace is a where
you bring kids from different faiths together and talk about
differences and similarities and what is going on the world or in our
lives. The second session I went to on that day was about a reflection
on the week.
I will always remember EYE17, with all the ups and downs.
The pain and the hope, the tears and the love, the fact that I lost my
favorite water bottle and how I met amazing people and could have them
in my life.
