Young-Adult group at Canterbury, Dec. 8

Laura Lee and I were guests of the Young Adult Group at Church of the Resurrection, Oviedo, at their end-of-semester celebration and dinner at Canterbury Retreat. This group, led by Fr. Jose Rodriguez and his wife, Heather, consists of college students from the area. They meet weekly for Bible study and fellowship at Canterbury. I’ve been wanting to come for some time.

 Here’s what I shared with them:

I want to say how important your work together in this group is. Like a lot of people, in my freshman year of college, I went away to school and said, “Thank God I don’t have to go to church anymore.” Went 100 percent in the opposite direction from church. But, then, through a whole series of circumstances, I wound up getting on my knees and meeting Christ.

I got deeply involved in college fellowship and ministry. That’s really where I got my sea legs. At that point, I had no idea that I was going to be called into ordained ministry. But it was incredibly formative. The fact that you’ve made these kinds of commitments — to really stay faithful to Jesus and support each other as you can in the midst of this challenging environment — is truly courageous. I know it is not easy. To self-identify like that as Christians at this point  is just amazing and I want to commend you for that. Anything I can do to encourage you all, I am more than willing to do, and it’s great to be with you.