Earlier this month, we said farewell to our Abiding Presence Summer Interns. These eleven college-age students spent eight weeks with us engaging in ministry, building relationships with one another, wrestling with scripture and discerning how God might be calling them to use their gifts in the world.

As we say “thank you” to our interns, I want to give you a glimpse of a few of the many things they worked on this summer:

• Savannah spent time writing and editing various pieces. She wrote fabulous articles about members of our congregation living out their faith such as “The Impact of an Everyday Skill” and “They Never Threw Anything Away” as well as a piece featuring our Iron Men Ministry.

• Lillian worked on racial justice by co-leading our “All are Welcome” book group. She also created a list of racial justice resources for children, teens and adults for us to share on our website as we seek to further live into our core value of being a church where “All are Welcome.”

• Lexy and Katie identified mental health resources to be shared on our website and the Mental Health Facebook page. They researched future ministry possibilities and supported the work of our mental health ministry team.

• Oliver worked on the website, designed graphics and created the Sunday morning announcement slides before worship.

• Peter organized the church archives filled with pictures, papers, scrap books and much more. He created a “History of Abiding Presence” PowerPoint presentation that will soon be shared with the congregation.

• Emma worked behind the scenes on all sorts of random projects we tossed her way. She organized electronic files, supported the launch of our Neighborhood Groups, updated the website and posted events on Facebook.

• Scott updated our weekly worship plan and livestream page while supporting our Sunday morning livestream service.

• Peyton and Ally helped to lead our digital Vacation Bible School and Summer Camps by packing grab bags, offering “stretch breaks” and leading online craft sessions.

• Erika supported our food ministry in every way imaginable! She was especially involved with bag packing and volunteer scheduling.

In terms of a “pandemic pivot,” I think that launching the Abiding Presence Summer Internship Program was a win! As one of our interns shared with me:

In the midst of a summer where all my plans and expectations for my senior year of college were flipped completely upside down, Abiding Presence gave me an incredible opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. I am deeply thankful for the racial justice ministry that I focused on as well as the weekly cohort meetings to grow in my faith, and I look forward to however I can get involved in the future.

Your continued support of Abiding Presence helped to make our summer internship program possible. Thank you!

As we look ahead to the fall, I cannot wait to see how the Holy Spirit keeps stirring in our midst in more powerful ways.