Urgent Letter from the domestic Site Coordinators of the YAV program
To supporters and friends of the PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer program:
Grace and peace to you from the Site Coordinators of the seven US-based YAV sites.
Representing more than 75 years of ministry through the PCUSA’s flagship program for young adults, the Young Adult Volunteer program, we are writing this letter to share our current crisis and to call for urgent action. Even in the midst of our 2022-2023 program year, we are looking forward with fear that the 2023-2024 program year might be our last, due to underfunding and under enrollment over the past 3 years. We have called on the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) to take bold steps to acknowledge the importance of the YAV program as part of PCUSA’s Matthew 25 ministry movement, as a key part of sustaining the church, and as a decades-long partnership between the denomination and local YAV sites. While this conversation is ongoing, we have heard clearly from PMA representatives that YAV sites need to look outside of the institutional structure for sustainability. We write collectively today in a spirit of transparency and community connection, to build awareness of the situation within the wider community and activate supporters for action.
The past three years have seen a dramatic decline in the number of YAVs enrolled in the program - from more than 50 in 2019-20, 26 in 2021-22, and 21 for the current 2022-23 program year (the in-person YAV year was canceled for 2020-2021 due to the pandemic). We know that this is a time of transition and change at PMA, including the latest mandate from the PCUSA General Assembly for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) to merge. We empathize with the challenges. This time of transition could be an opportunity for the church to move from a sense of scarcity to abundance, to see the power of nurturing young adult leadership, and to reinforce support for the development of current and future church leadership through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Instead, we have seen a pattern in PMA of de-prioritizing the YAV Louisville office, cutting YAV program budgets, and leaving a critical YAV recruitment staff position vacant for more than 18 months.
Local sites do not receive sustaining annual funding from the PCUSA - the biggest portions of YAV site budgets generally consist of YAV fundraising, contributions from the organizations where YAVs work during their year, local Presbytery support, and individual donors. The current per YAV funding to national sites from PCUSA is only $2500 per YAV, despite the fact that YAVs themselves raise $4000 to participate in the program.
Historically, responsibility for overall sustainability and health of the YAV program as a whole has been held primarily by the YAV office in Louisville and the institutional church represented by PMA. Given the trajectory of the past three years, we worry that PMA is no longer able to fulfill these commitments.
Local sites are working hard to imagine new and renewed ways to host young adults exploring mission service. We are committed to the PCUSA and celebrate our Presbyterian roots even as we navigate the changes within the denomination and seek other partnerships. Please sign up to receive further updates as we continue to strategize, plan, and serve.
We know that there are still young adults who long for the growth, discernment, and service that YAV offers. We pray that this moment of crisis will be a catalyst for new creativity, connection, and growth. To live into this calling, we need your help.
Please take action:
Peace,
Young Adult Volunteer Program National Site Coordinators
Luke Rembold, Albuquerque, abqyav@gmail.com
Selena Hilemon, Asheville, handsandfeetavl@gmail.com
Jack Mattingly, Chinook, jack_mattingly@yahoo.com
Dan Wally Lang, New Orleans, dan@pbysouthla.org
Maureen Anderson, New York, wmrsanderson@gmail.com
Alison Wood, Tucson Borderlands, tucsonborderlandsyav@gmail.com
Blair Moorhead, Washington, D.C., dcyavprogram@gmail.com
Grace and peace to you from the Site Coordinators of the seven US-based YAV sites.
Representing more than 75 years of ministry through the PCUSA’s flagship program for young adults, the Young Adult Volunteer program, we are writing this letter to share our current crisis and to call for urgent action. Even in the midst of our 2022-2023 program year, we are looking forward with fear that the 2023-2024 program year might be our last, due to underfunding and under enrollment over the past 3 years. We have called on the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) to take bold steps to acknowledge the importance of the YAV program as part of PCUSA’s Matthew 25 ministry movement, as a key part of sustaining the church, and as a decades-long partnership between the denomination and local YAV sites. While this conversation is ongoing, we have heard clearly from PMA representatives that YAV sites need to look outside of the institutional structure for sustainability. We write collectively today in a spirit of transparency and community connection, to build awareness of the situation within the wider community and activate supporters for action.
The past three years have seen a dramatic decline in the number of YAVs enrolled in the program - from more than 50 in 2019-20, 26 in 2021-22, and 21 for the current 2022-23 program year (the in-person YAV year was canceled for 2020-2021 due to the pandemic). We know that this is a time of transition and change at PMA, including the latest mandate from the PCUSA General Assembly for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) to merge. We empathize with the challenges. This time of transition could be an opportunity for the church to move from a sense of scarcity to abundance, to see the power of nurturing young adult leadership, and to reinforce support for the development of current and future church leadership through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Instead, we have seen a pattern in PMA of de-prioritizing the YAV Louisville office, cutting YAV program budgets, and leaving a critical YAV recruitment staff position vacant for more than 18 months.
Local sites do not receive sustaining annual funding from the PCUSA - the biggest portions of YAV site budgets generally consist of YAV fundraising, contributions from the organizations where YAVs work during their year, local Presbytery support, and individual donors. The current per YAV funding to national sites from PCUSA is only $2500 per YAV, despite the fact that YAVs themselves raise $4000 to participate in the program.
Historically, responsibility for overall sustainability and health of the YAV program as a whole has been held primarily by the YAV office in Louisville and the institutional church represented by PMA. Given the trajectory of the past three years, we worry that PMA is no longer able to fulfill these commitments.
Local sites are working hard to imagine new and renewed ways to host young adults exploring mission service. We are committed to the PCUSA and celebrate our Presbyterian roots even as we navigate the changes within the denomination and seek other partnerships. Please sign up to receive further updates as we continue to strategize, plan, and serve.
We know that there are still young adults who long for the growth, discernment, and service that YAV offers. We pray that this moment of crisis will be a catalyst for new creativity, connection, and growth. To live into this calling, we need your help.
Please take action:
- Sign up for our collective mailing list to receive more updates and information as this situation develops.
- Can you connect with your Presbytery or Synod to bring local and regional funding to bear in support of local YAV ministries? Contact your nearest local YAV site for specific advocacy requests.
- Presbyteries and churches: we have heard clearly that World Mission listens to your voices. Can you email Rev Mienda Uriarte (mienda.uriarte@pcusa.org) to ask for the hiring of a permanent, full-time recruiter for the YAV program?
- Can you recruit for the YAV program? A robust 2023-2024 YAV class is critically important to the survival of local YAV sites
- Can you donate directly to local YAV sites? (hyperlinked below)
Peace,
Young Adult Volunteer Program National Site Coordinators
Luke Rembold, Albuquerque, abqyav@gmail.com
Selena Hilemon, Asheville, handsandfeetavl@gmail.com
Jack Mattingly, Chinook, jack_mattingly@yahoo.com
Dan Wally Lang, New Orleans, dan@pbysouthla.org
Maureen Anderson, New York, wmrsanderson@gmail.com
Alison Wood, Tucson Borderlands, tucsonborderlandsyav@gmail.com
Blair Moorhead, Washington, D.C., dcyavprogram@gmail.com
Site Coordinator Annual Report, 2020-2021
It was supposed to be a quiet year for the ABQYAV program. When the PCUSA YAV office determined that sites wouldn’t run for the 2020-2021 program year, we knew that the pandemic had claimed one more piece of life and vitality from us. Without YAVs on site, our community and presbytery loses just a little energy, enthusiasm, and excitement. And yet, despite the sense of loss and grief in not being able to offer to YAVs this transformative experience, the ABQYAV board got to work to use this unexpected break well.
While disappointing to not have YAVs, there was still much work to be done. In some ways, a break three years into a new program served as a unique sabbatical, an opportunity for reflection to change and develop our programming and process. Over the course of the past year, we have developed a new tagline (Encounter Transformation), written a local manual of operations, and developed long-term recruitment relationships with conference centers and college groups. With the help of local church members, we installed a new concrete patio behind the YAV house, and continue to enhance the YAV house property with other landscaping projects. With the denominational Louisville YAV office understaffed, we offered our gifts in rewriting the YAV handbook, continued to build relationships with sibling YAV sites around the world, and offered our gifts to cover recruiting gaps. While certainly a different experience, this past year has yielded unique fruits we might never have otherwise had the time or opportunity to develop.
That said, it was with great excitement that we welcomed our newest cohort of YAVs to Albuquerque in late August. Emma, Peter, and Savannah are just a month into their experience, and yet their presence is already palpable, their gifts and energy already making a difference in our communities. While some of our programming is still limited as a result of COVID-19, we have already been able to explore so many pieces of what it means to be in this new place, from the history of the Doctrine of Discovery to the close relationship between land and spirituality. This fall, we’ll have the opportunity to join our sibling site in Tucson on our annual border delegation to Douglas and Agua Prieta with Presbyterian border ministry partner Frontera de Cristo. We look forward to continuing to explore New Mexico, and visit our churches throughout the presbytery, in the months to come!
This year also marks an important benchmark for the ABQYAV program, as we approach our 5th birthday! While you may have seen the letter I sent out to individual churches, we are inviting congregants, churches, and other friends of the program to donate as led in honor of that 5th birthday--$5, $50, $500….even $5000! We have already seen incredible response and are grateful for the many gifts this presbytery provides for this program. This anniversary is also an opportunity for us to give thanks to those who planned, dreamed, and fought for Albuquerque as a YAV site for years before I arrived. For those that don’t know, so much of this program exists because of the tireless efforts of Nicole Stansifer (Covenant Presbyterian) and Drew Henry (Immanuel Presbyterian), both YAV alums who saw the potential for the ABQYAV program, and worked to make that dream a reality. And, as always, I am thankful for board members past and present, who continue to accompany this program with grace, sharing their talents and wisdom, and giving selflessly of themselves.
If your church or organization is interested in learning more about the ABQYAV program, or would be interested in a visit (in-person, or virtual), please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Submitted by Luke M. Rembold,
Presbytery of Santa Fe Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator,
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
While disappointing to not have YAVs, there was still much work to be done. In some ways, a break three years into a new program served as a unique sabbatical, an opportunity for reflection to change and develop our programming and process. Over the course of the past year, we have developed a new tagline (Encounter Transformation), written a local manual of operations, and developed long-term recruitment relationships with conference centers and college groups. With the help of local church members, we installed a new concrete patio behind the YAV house, and continue to enhance the YAV house property with other landscaping projects. With the denominational Louisville YAV office understaffed, we offered our gifts in rewriting the YAV handbook, continued to build relationships with sibling YAV sites around the world, and offered our gifts to cover recruiting gaps. While certainly a different experience, this past year has yielded unique fruits we might never have otherwise had the time or opportunity to develop.
That said, it was with great excitement that we welcomed our newest cohort of YAVs to Albuquerque in late August. Emma, Peter, and Savannah are just a month into their experience, and yet their presence is already palpable, their gifts and energy already making a difference in our communities. While some of our programming is still limited as a result of COVID-19, we have already been able to explore so many pieces of what it means to be in this new place, from the history of the Doctrine of Discovery to the close relationship between land and spirituality. This fall, we’ll have the opportunity to join our sibling site in Tucson on our annual border delegation to Douglas and Agua Prieta with Presbyterian border ministry partner Frontera de Cristo. We look forward to continuing to explore New Mexico, and visit our churches throughout the presbytery, in the months to come!
This year also marks an important benchmark for the ABQYAV program, as we approach our 5th birthday! While you may have seen the letter I sent out to individual churches, we are inviting congregants, churches, and other friends of the program to donate as led in honor of that 5th birthday--$5, $50, $500….even $5000! We have already seen incredible response and are grateful for the many gifts this presbytery provides for this program. This anniversary is also an opportunity for us to give thanks to those who planned, dreamed, and fought for Albuquerque as a YAV site for years before I arrived. For those that don’t know, so much of this program exists because of the tireless efforts of Nicole Stansifer (Covenant Presbyterian) and Drew Henry (Immanuel Presbyterian), both YAV alums who saw the potential for the ABQYAV program, and worked to make that dream a reality. And, as always, I am thankful for board members past and present, who continue to accompany this program with grace, sharing their talents and wisdom, and giving selflessly of themselves.
If your church or organization is interested in learning more about the ABQYAV program, or would be interested in a visit (in-person, or virtual), please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Submitted by Luke M. Rembold,
Presbytery of Santa Fe Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator,
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
Announcing the Cancellation of the 2020-2021 In-Person Program Year
August 26, 2020
Friends and supporters of the ABQYAV program,
It is with a heavy heart that I share that the PC(USA) YAV program has decided to cancel all in-person programming for the 2020-2021 program year, instead offering a virtual cohort for interested participants. While this is disappointing for us locally, we do recognize that this is made in the best interest of keeping prospective YAVs safe in an ever-changing and unknown world.
In the YAV program, when sites take a year off, we call them “fallow” years. In agricultural terms, this is the year to rest, to enrich our soil, to prepare for the next planting. So, after three years of walking alongside YAVs as they experienced the Land of Enchantment, we will spend this year reflecting on our experience so far, and preparing for the future.
We ask each of you to come alongside us on that journey. Without YAVs present locally, we plan to use this time to dig into our relationships with the presbytery, with community partners, with local young adult communities, and with supporters afar. We hope to use this time to strengthen our local relationships and partnerships in ways that will serve us for years to come. I hope this time can be used to meet with congregations, share with mission committees, and share sermons and minutes for mission.
From the start of this program in 2017 (and the years of planning before that), we have been blessed through the support of so many of you, through your prayers, your presence at ABQYAV events and fundraisers, and your financial gifts. We ask for that ongoing support--that you hold the ABQYAV program in prayer, that you invite us into your (virtual) midst, and that you continue to give as you can through this unique season of our program life. We look forward to again welcoming YAVs in the future, and greatly appreciate your support in this uncertain time.
We grieve with so many of you in the many losses of this challenging COVID-19 world, but also hope to live into the creativity of the Spirit as we seek our path forward. So, we choose trust in a time of fear, and seek your partnership on that journey.
Peace,
Luke M Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator, PoSF Staff
On behalf of the ABQYAV board
Friends and supporters of the ABQYAV program,
It is with a heavy heart that I share that the PC(USA) YAV program has decided to cancel all in-person programming for the 2020-2021 program year, instead offering a virtual cohort for interested participants. While this is disappointing for us locally, we do recognize that this is made in the best interest of keeping prospective YAVs safe in an ever-changing and unknown world.
In the YAV program, when sites take a year off, we call them “fallow” years. In agricultural terms, this is the year to rest, to enrich our soil, to prepare for the next planting. So, after three years of walking alongside YAVs as they experienced the Land of Enchantment, we will spend this year reflecting on our experience so far, and preparing for the future.
We ask each of you to come alongside us on that journey. Without YAVs present locally, we plan to use this time to dig into our relationships with the presbytery, with community partners, with local young adult communities, and with supporters afar. We hope to use this time to strengthen our local relationships and partnerships in ways that will serve us for years to come. I hope this time can be used to meet with congregations, share with mission committees, and share sermons and minutes for mission.
From the start of this program in 2017 (and the years of planning before that), we have been blessed through the support of so many of you, through your prayers, your presence at ABQYAV events and fundraisers, and your financial gifts. We ask for that ongoing support--that you hold the ABQYAV program in prayer, that you invite us into your (virtual) midst, and that you continue to give as you can through this unique season of our program life. We look forward to again welcoming YAVs in the future, and greatly appreciate your support in this uncertain time.
We grieve with so many of you in the many losses of this challenging COVID-19 world, but also hope to live into the creativity of the Spirit as we seek our path forward. So, we choose trust in a time of fear, and seek your partnership on that journey.
Peace,
Luke M Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator, PoSF Staff
On behalf of the ABQYAV board
Announcement on the 2020-2021 YAV Program Year
June 30, 2020
Faithful supporters of the ABQYAV program,
Grace and peace to you in this midst of these unprecedented and challenging times. We pray for each of your health and safety as we seek to navigate this constantly changing world together.
ABQYAV will look different for the 2020-2021 program year. As a response to the COVID-19 crisis, the denominational office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has instituted a travel ban on PCUSA staff and volunteers until December 31, 2020. As a result, Young Adult Volunteers will not be able to travel to ABQ until January 2021, serving with us here through July of 2021.
This shorter term of service will change much of how we approach the experience of our Young Adult Volunteers here in ABQ. We remain committed to engaging YAVs in New Mexico’s diverse cultural history, exploring racism, colonialism, and privilege, and walking alongside YAVs in their own discernment as to where God is calling them next. Yet, we grieve the loss of half of our time with this group of YAVs. In the midst of instability, we seek to respond with creativity and grace, keeping our eyes and hearts open that the Spirit might lead us forward in new ways.
Knowing there are no guarantees, we pray that this is a temporary adjustment for the upcoming program year, and that fall of 2021 will find us welcoming YAVs on our normal timeline in early September. We welcome your prayers and support in this unique season of the ABQYAV program, and look forward to continuing to engage with our many supporters in the months to come.
If you have questions, concerns, or would like to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ABQYAV site coordinator Luke Rembold at abqyav@gmail.com, or 505-226-2928.
Peace,
Luke M Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
On behalf of the ABQYAV Board
Faithful supporters of the ABQYAV program,
Grace and peace to you in this midst of these unprecedented and challenging times. We pray for each of your health and safety as we seek to navigate this constantly changing world together.
ABQYAV will look different for the 2020-2021 program year. As a response to the COVID-19 crisis, the denominational office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has instituted a travel ban on PCUSA staff and volunteers until December 31, 2020. As a result, Young Adult Volunteers will not be able to travel to ABQ until January 2021, serving with us here through July of 2021.
This shorter term of service will change much of how we approach the experience of our Young Adult Volunteers here in ABQ. We remain committed to engaging YAVs in New Mexico’s diverse cultural history, exploring racism, colonialism, and privilege, and walking alongside YAVs in their own discernment as to where God is calling them next. Yet, we grieve the loss of half of our time with this group of YAVs. In the midst of instability, we seek to respond with creativity and grace, keeping our eyes and hearts open that the Spirit might lead us forward in new ways.
Knowing there are no guarantees, we pray that this is a temporary adjustment for the upcoming program year, and that fall of 2021 will find us welcoming YAVs on our normal timeline in early September. We welcome your prayers and support in this unique season of the ABQYAV program, and look forward to continuing to engage with our many supporters in the months to come.
If you have questions, concerns, or would like to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ABQYAV site coordinator Luke Rembold at abqyav@gmail.com, or 505-226-2928.
Peace,
Luke M Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
On behalf of the ABQYAV Board
Announcement on Responding to COVID-19
April 5, 2020
Dear family, friends, and supporters of ABQYAV,
We live in challenging times. Responding to the current reality of this global pandemic, the ABQYAV program has pivoted our normal operating procedures in order to follow CDC guidelines and keep the Albuquerque YAVs safe. Even before New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 24th, ABQYAV created a set of guidelines to help YAVs navigate the flood of information regarding hand-washing, social distancing, and mental health in the midst of crisis. We prepared the YAV house with a 14-day quarantine supply in the event our YAVs need to be quarantined at home. Some YAVs have shifted to working from home for their work placement partners, while others are engaged in “essential” services as designated by the governor, continuing to work in direct service with marginalized populations. Those leaving the house are closely following health and safety procedures as outlined by the CDC to best ensure they will not operate as vectors transmitting the virus between their home and work placement, or vice versa.
YAVs are continuing to engage together in community days on Mondays, sharing meals and checking in with one another as they navigate this unique crisis. YAVs are also able to meet virtually with their spiritual directors, counselors, and other resources to best support their mental health in this time. The Albuquerque YAV site coordinator is checking in with the YAVs at least once a week, in addition to being available for phone calls, texts, and general support as needed.
As parents, friends and supporters of these young adults, we ask that you continue to lift both our YAVs and the communities they serve in prayer. We know that some of you hoped to visit YAVs this spring/summer--please postpone any trips to Albuquerque until we hear from health officials that it is again safe, and only reschedule those trips after consulting with the YAVs themselves to ensure that your travel will not endanger YAVs or the communities they serve. Finally, please consider a gift to the ABQYAV program--the ABQYAVs have been working diligently to meet their group fundraising goal, but with the restrictions on group gatherings in place, have had to alter their strategy.
Caitlin, Nate, Nathan, and Tristan are doing incredible work, both as individuals to take ownership of their health and well-being, and as a community to support one another through this epidemic. ABQYAV is also incredibly grateful and proud of the great cloud of witnesses near and far that support these young adults on this journey-thank you! If you have concerns or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Luke M. Rembold, ABQYAV Site Coordinator, or board chairs Dennis Plummer and Nelson Capitan.
Peace to you, and prayers for the journey forward together,
Luke M. Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
Dennis Plummer
Nelson Capitan
ABQYAV Board Chairs
Dear family, friends, and supporters of ABQYAV,
We live in challenging times. Responding to the current reality of this global pandemic, the ABQYAV program has pivoted our normal operating procedures in order to follow CDC guidelines and keep the Albuquerque YAVs safe. Even before New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 24th, ABQYAV created a set of guidelines to help YAVs navigate the flood of information regarding hand-washing, social distancing, and mental health in the midst of crisis. We prepared the YAV house with a 14-day quarantine supply in the event our YAVs need to be quarantined at home. Some YAVs have shifted to working from home for their work placement partners, while others are engaged in “essential” services as designated by the governor, continuing to work in direct service with marginalized populations. Those leaving the house are closely following health and safety procedures as outlined by the CDC to best ensure they will not operate as vectors transmitting the virus between their home and work placement, or vice versa.
YAVs are continuing to engage together in community days on Mondays, sharing meals and checking in with one another as they navigate this unique crisis. YAVs are also able to meet virtually with their spiritual directors, counselors, and other resources to best support their mental health in this time. The Albuquerque YAV site coordinator is checking in with the YAVs at least once a week, in addition to being available for phone calls, texts, and general support as needed.
As parents, friends and supporters of these young adults, we ask that you continue to lift both our YAVs and the communities they serve in prayer. We know that some of you hoped to visit YAVs this spring/summer--please postpone any trips to Albuquerque until we hear from health officials that it is again safe, and only reschedule those trips after consulting with the YAVs themselves to ensure that your travel will not endanger YAVs or the communities they serve. Finally, please consider a gift to the ABQYAV program--the ABQYAVs have been working diligently to meet their group fundraising goal, but with the restrictions on group gatherings in place, have had to alter their strategy.
Caitlin, Nate, Nathan, and Tristan are doing incredible work, both as individuals to take ownership of their health and well-being, and as a community to support one another through this epidemic. ABQYAV is also incredibly grateful and proud of the great cloud of witnesses near and far that support these young adults on this journey-thank you! If you have concerns or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Luke M. Rembold, ABQYAV Site Coordinator, or board chairs Dennis Plummer and Nelson Capitan.
Peace to you, and prayers for the journey forward together,
Luke M. Rembold
ABQYAV Site Coordinator
Dennis Plummer
Nelson Capitan
ABQYAV Board Chairs
ADDENDUM as of 4/13/2020:
We have decided to ask our two remaining YAVs working in the field to stay home, in order to best follow the statewide stay-at-home order and work to protect the larger community. These are hard conversations, but ABQYAV remains committed to the safety of our YAVs while striving to engage in our program mission. We will continue to evaluate when YAVs will be able to return to the field, and look forward to YAVs finishing their experience here alongside their community partners.
We have decided to ask our two remaining YAVs working in the field to stay home, in order to best follow the statewide stay-at-home order and work to protect the larger community. These are hard conversations, but ABQYAV remains committed to the safety of our YAVs while striving to engage in our program mission. We will continue to evaluate when YAVs will be able to return to the field, and look forward to YAVs finishing their experience here alongside their community partners.