Growing Up at St. Peter’s
Youth Sunday Sermon 2024 | Caroline Hunt & Andrew Schiering
Two of St. Peter's graduating seniors reflect on growing up in this community, and what a positive impact that's had on their lives. Congratulations to all the seniors on their graduation!
-
[00:00:00] Good morning. My name is Caroline Hunt and happy youth weekend and also happy Mother's Day. Two great days. Um, I'm so grateful to get to give a sermon today. I've stood up here and spoken numerous times before his elector, but I've never gotten to read something that I have written myself, which I must say is a little bit of a relief because I really do not think I could count the number of biblical words that I've mispronounced right here.
Um, It's even more mortifying than I think it will be every time. Um, so for those of you who don't know me, I've been attending St. Peter's since I was about 11 months old with my mom, Katrina, and my sister, Mirabelle, I've read the prayers of the people and other readings. I've served as an usher, um, as a member of the altar guild and in various other little roles around the church.
I've been a volunteer in the thrift store, a camper and camp counselor at VBS. And of course, a member of the youth group that said, it is incredibly difficult for me to name everything I've been able to do at St. Peter's. From the time I was 11 months old to today. And [00:01:00] as a side note, yesterday I actually turned 220 months old.
It's a milestone. You always remember the day you turned 220 months old. Um, I've gotten to appreciate the scenery at Camp Stephens and Julian, um, swim in the 40 ish degree water in Juneau, Alaska on this past summer's youth pilgrimage and bond with my fellow seniors from the playroom to the youth room.
And. Andrew, who will go up next. We actually went to preschool together, so it's been a while. Um, now, I am preparing to graduate from Torrey Pines High School in a little less than three weeks, and I'm very excited for this coming fall when I'll start college at UC Berkeley. Studying Political Science. So, it's a fun day.
Thank you.
But I'm also very grateful to be able to speak on this specific day and about this specific gospel. I will say when I first read it, as perhaps you also felt when you first heard it, I was very, very confused. Um, but the more I [00:02:00] sat with it, the more I felt a connection between the reading and my experience at St.
Peter's. In the reading, essentially, um, Jesus is essentially talking to God before he crosses into, and I had to look this up, the garden of Gethsemane, right before his death. And in the specific portion we heard, Jesus is asking for God to protect his disciples. This ask for protection, I don't know if that is the full meaning of the gospel itself, but it did stick out to me for sure.
And that's primarily because, also at this podium, I listened to Mother Paige. And numerous family friends and family members speak at my dad's memorial service, now almost seven years ago. Prior to his passing, my dad had suffered a lot, and for many years. But, I remember thinking as I sat in the front row of the nave during his service that I was just very happy for him.
I was very happy because to me, he was finally away from all the pain and trouble of what his life had been like for the past many years. And I felt like then, in this next portion of life, my dad would [00:03:00] be able to protect me in a way that he was previously unable to. But now when I think about the life that I've led since I lost my dad, and the life I have ahead of me, I feel the protection just more than ever.
My dad also went to UC Berkeley, and it was actually just a few days ago when I learned that a few of my dad's friends from college, some of whom the last time I saw was actually in the parish hall after his service, want to send me a little something for college as a sign of support. So that was just It's a very beautiful example of that kindness and protection that I've been able to feel throughout my life.
And so in researching a little bit into the gospel, I found that this passage is part of the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, which would also be called the Farewell Prayer. And when I read that, I saw, I thought that it sounded like such a beautiful thing. This sort of saying farewell and, while doing that, wishing protection onto loved ones, as Jesus did for his disciples.
And I feel the same way. Every day I feel my dad's protection over me. I feel my grandmother, who I lost in November 2022, [00:04:00] protecting me. I feel my sweet cats, Frida, Archie, and Daisy, protecting me as well. However, they do it a little bit more passively. They do it lying down, because they are cats. You can't ask too much for them.
Um, But this protection is what makes me excited about my future and less scared of leaving home and my community here at St. Peter's. Because I know that wherever I go, my community will be there to protect me and just be with me along the way. And I actually had a perfect example of this this past summer when, I think it was three days after returning from Alaska, I was able to go on a summer vacation.
three week Spanish immersion trip to Costa Rica. And I was so grateful for, um, the many donations that I received from members of the St. Peter's community that helped finance my trip. So that was just a wonderful example of how, even when I was in Costa Rica, St. Peter's was helping me along the way. And I know for a fact that I couldn't have made it to where I am today without the help of many people within this [00:05:00] church, including mother page.
Deacon Bob, Kurt and Linda Tetzlaff, Lee and Scott Conkle, Leanne and Terry Gooding, Karen and Jeff Riggs, I lost my place, Dave and Martha King, Anne Marie McGormick, Hon Tron, Valerie Donohue, Cindy Clemens, Janie Deleu, Fran and Chris Frasian, Ann Corker, and so many more. Perhaps most of all, I would like to shout out St.
Cuthbert. Who is in the North transept. He's, if you never sit in the North transept, I highly recommend you say hello to him. He's adorable because he holds his otter like this. And he has just made my time at St. Peter's so special because I always look at him and he's just so, I love him anyways. Um, thank you so much for having me.[00:06:00]
Hello.
Well, hello everyone. For those of you who don't recognize me, my name is Andrew Shearing, and I'm also one of the youth members that are graduating this year. And I've been coming to St. Peter's since before I was born.
If you've been here a while, you might remember me as a little kid running up and down these aisles or playing hide and seek in the bushes outside. But more recently, you've probably seen me in these acolyte robes trying not to fall asleep during the extra long sermons and baptisms. So to make sure none of you fall asleep, I'll try and be brief.
Some of my earliest and favorite memories involve our church. For example, walking down to the beach during Vacation Bible School along with all the fun arts and crafts we would do, or having snowball fights out in the courtyard when we used to fill it with snow during the winter. Clearly, when I was a kid, I had no idea what church was about, since I mainly remember the bingo and movie nights.
However, over the years, the purpose of St. Peter's and the value it has brought with [00:07:00] it in my life has become clear. One benefit that our wonderful Acolyte program has brought me. Besides my incredible ability to stand up here without feeling nervous, is having a front row seat to every sermon that has taught me, that has been taught here.
And although I don't always understand everything, being up here helps me pay attention as I try to learn anyways. And one thing that I've learned is the importance of a strong community. For example, a few years ago, when my mom got really sick, and many of you came to help me and my family, I felt God working through all of you to help me feel safe and supported.
I believe that God is responsible for bringing all of us together. And while I can't bring all of you with me to college, I'm happy that I'll have God there with me. In case you don't know, I plan on attending Purdue University to study aerospace engineering. I've always been interested in all the nerdy aspects of space and the machines we use to get there.
Sorry for you, that's what I like to study. [00:08:00] Being a nerd, I try and tend to find the logical explanations for things, how things work, and how things got that way. So, as you might expect, when I try to explain, or try to apply the same thought process to my faith, I ran into a few issues. Looking at the Bible provides one explanation for things, while science tells us another.
I originally struggled with these contradictions between science and the Bible, and although I now fear that both things can be true at once. I originally I found it hard to see if God was playing a role in the world, or if life on Earth was just a cosmic coincidence. But as I sat in church thinking these questions over, I realized that I had proof of God's work all around me.
I saw it every Sunday at church, and I saw it with each of you that I talked to. It was this community that I value so much that was brought together by our love for God, and God's love for us. The community that helped take care of me, and teach me, and raise me. The community [00:09:00] that had been there for me when I struggled and needed support.
And now, when I think of the importance of God in my life, first and foremost, I think of the people here and all the lessons that you've taught me. And I'm not just talking about all the many lessons in the Bible, but also the lessons, the life lessons you guys have taught me, just from talking to you and all the wonderful stories you have to tell.
And as I move on to the next chapter in my life, I am forever grateful that I'll have these lessons and memories to take with me. Thank you.
