The Honduras delegation with Honduras Bishop Lloyd Allen, bottom right, at the Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales gathering July 14 at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros in Rionegro, Colombia. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service
[Episcopal News Service — Rionegro, Colombia] Young Episcopalians from Latin America and Caribbean countries spent the second day of Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales, or EJE26, on July 14 engaged in prayerful reflection and participated in workshops on forgiveness discipleship, as well as a discussion on leadership.
These topics make up the theme of this year’s EJE gathering, which is taking place July 13-16 here at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros here.
Left to right: Colombia Bishop Elias Garcia Cardenas, Honduras Bishop Lloyd Allen, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and Litoral Ecuador Bishop Cristóbal Olmedo León Lozano. The bishops led a July 14 worship service at the Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros in Rionegro, Colombia. Photo: Episcopal Youth Ministry/Facebook
On discipleship, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe quoted the parable of the pearl in Matthew 13:35-46 in his sermon during the morning Eucharist: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
“You’re gathered here because you are disciples of Jesus. The Kingdom of God will come through you,” Rowe said. “You are the human treasure of such great value. …You are the pearls of great cause.”
EJE is a gathering of youth and young adult Episcopalians from Province IX and the dioceses of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which are in Province II. Together, they celebrate Latino culture and youth empowerment.
The event is styled after the Episcopal Youth Event, which has historically been held triennially in the United States. The first EJE gathering took place in 2019 in Panama City, Panama.
Follow EJE26 on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #EJE26.
Members of EJE26’s planning team led the workshops. During the morning workshop on forgiveness, participants shared how they personally define forgiveness.
“Forgiveness, to me, means cleansing the heart,” one delegate said.
“Forgiving others is what God wants because God wants us to love others as we love ourselves,” another delegate said.
Some planning team members also gave testimonies explaining how they’ve had to forgive others. Sofia Manchego of the Bogotá-based Diocese of Colombia, for example, shared how she learned to forgive the people who’ve abused her.
“I suffered. …I found God and over time I was able to forgive those who’ve hurt me and my family,” she said.
The delegates were invited to write down their negative thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper and drop them into a bowl to symbolically “let them go.”
“Forgiveness is a process. It takes time and reflection to analyze what hurt us,” Luis Jordy Arévalo Cunalata of the Guayaquil-based Diocese of Litoral Ecuador, told the delegates. “Detaching from the past and letting it go is a step forward for healing.”
During the discipleship discussion, the delegates were separated into smaller groups to complete discipleship-building activities. Members of one group, for example, answered a series of questions explaining what they would or wouldn’t do in certain situations, and discussed if their choices would keep them on a Christ-like path.
“The lessons were about living, growing and multiplying in Christ – how one lives,” Gabriela Hernandez Richardson, a member of the EJE planning team from the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, told Episcopal News Service.
Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, left, and President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris, right, speak at a Q&A discussion July 14 at Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros in Rionegro, Colombia: Photo: Episcopal Youth Ministry/Facebook
The leadership workshop is scheduled for July 15. The Q&A discussion with Rowe and President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris focused on faith and leadership. Cecy Alomia and Gaby De Casto were their Spanish interpreters.
For Rowe, he said, fear is a natural feeling for leaders, and it’s possible to overcome fear.
“Leadership is a heavy weight, but the yoke of Christ is light,” Rowe told the delegates.
Rowe also encouraged the young Episcopalians to follow their calling to serve the church.
“Embrace it and follow it with everything you have,” he said.
Ayala Harris explained the House of Deputies’ structure and its importance to The Episcopal Church. She encouraged everyone to consider running when they become eligible.
“This is the perfect time to get young Episcopalians energized and excited about all the different ways that they can exercise leadership,” Ayala Harris told ENS in a July 14 interview. “I have noticed when I go to places and give a lecture on church governance, people love it and are interested, and it doesn’t matter what age they are.”
Ayala Harris noted that Episcopalians as young as 16 years old can run to become a deputy or General Convention delegate in most dioceses. The House of Deputies also integrates high schoolers into its governance through the Official Youth Presence at General Convention. Two youth delegates from each of The Episcopal Church’s nine provinces are selected to serve each triennium.
The Puerto Rico delegation at Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales July 14 at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros in Rionegro, Colombia. Photo: Episcopal Youth Ministry/Facebook
The EJE26 delegates’ day was full of learning and reflection, and they also had opportunities to sing, dance, play games and befriend fellow young Episcopalians from other dioceses.
“I’ve met many like-minded Christians here at EJE. Everyone is full of love and respect,” Carlos, a delegate from the Episcopal Church of Cuba whose last name is withheld for safety reasons, told ENS. “I’m having a wonderful time. I’m very grateful to be here.”
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.