Finding the Shepherd's Voice: A Youth's Reflection

Good morning! Good morning! And happy Mother's Day!

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Sienna Gentry.

I am a senior at Asheville High, and following graduation, I will be attending

the University of Louisiana in Baton Rouge to study medicine.

I have been attending Trinity for 18 years and was baptized here in this beautiful Church.

I spent nine summers attending Camp Henry, I've been consistently acolyting

for eight years, and I am currently the senior acolyte.

Additionally, I have been a proud member of the Western North Carolina Diocese

Youth Council for three years.

Some people might say I've been pretty involved in our church community here

at Trinity, and I have to agree I've got the numbers to back it up.

I promise my dedication to this community has not all been for college resumes

and accolades, though it is certainly a great perk.

More importantly, I love being a part of something as great and profound as Trinity.

It is always a testament to what sharing God's love is.

Like I said earlier, I've been a Trinitarian for 18 years, and for many of those

years I've been an acolyte.

I enjoy acolyting because it has taught me a very real sense of responsibility.

The kind of responsibility and dedication that I think is hard to learn until

you've acquired a real job.

I'm very thankful for that, and I hope I have been a good representation of

the youth here at Trinity.

I'm also very thankful for all of the opportunities given to our youth here,

such as volunteering at Mana Food Bank, trips to Greece, Costa Rica,

and even a tour of the Southeast learning about civil rights in our country's

history, which was a very powerful experience.

These awesome opportunities guided me and motivated me to join the Youth Council for our Diocese.

I've loved my time on the Youth Council. It has allowed me the chance to further

share God's love by getting to know the up-and-coming youth outside of Trinity.

We have retreats with many Episcopal churches in our region,

sharing our stories and encouraging young parishioners to get involved and have lots of fun doing so.

We even go snow tubing, which is one of my all-time favorites.

But my absolute favorite part of growing up here has been attending Camp Henry.

Everyone I talk to who loves coming back to camp says it's because of the people.

Growing up and having the opportunity to come back every summer to people who

always have open arms and hearts has been one of the biggest blessings I think

I'll ever get to experience.

The barriers and judgments at school and in our daily life almost seem to vanish at Camp Henry.

Through the years, counselors have come and gone, my cabins didn't always have

the same people, and every year I'd think, well, it can't get better, or it won't be the same.

Then somehow, for different reasons, every summer was better and a new adventure

with memories I'll cherish forever.

When a camper says that Camp Henry is one of the most spiritual places,

they are telling the truth.

It is this unreal feeling as if god was there singing

in the chapel running in the field and swimming in the

lake with us even in the crazy night games where adrenaline and a competitive

spirit is what drove you through the night god was there god was guiding and

observing his young people laughing loving singing dancing playing and being together in unity.

In today's gospel text, the people around Jesus don't understand who he is or what he has come to do.

They keep asking him questions. To answer them, he uses a metaphor that would

be familiar to them, because all throughout the Jewish scriptures,

leaders are called shepherds.

In one of our most loved psalms, we say that the Lord is our shepherd,

who makes us lie down in green pastures.

Jesus wants to let his listeners know that he is a good shepherd,

the one they can trust and follow but they have to learn to recognize his voice,

I've told you so much about my experience at Trinity and at camp because these

were the places where I learned to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd,

I learned to recognize the voice of Jesus through Beth Chestnut,

Debbie Cox Sharon Boone, and Charlotte Garcia.

The trust, faith, and love you've given me each in different ways,

have led me to want to work with youth in my future career.

My dreams and ambitions are to become a pediatrician, a field where I want to

show the same compassion and care in my work with children that all of these women have gifted me.

The gospel wants us to see that we are the sheep and Jesus is our shepherd,

leading us down his path.

For me, though, I think sometimes you need some sheep to take the first few

steps to let the young lambs know it's okay to follow Jesus.

I hope that as I come into my next chapter, I take these lessons with me and

can share this love and help be a sheep to take the first few steps.

I want to thank my mother, my father, my brother, and Deborah Kane for their love and support.

Thank all of you for being here today for supporting Youth Sunday.

In Christ's name, amen. Amen.

Thanks for listening to 60 Church Street, a podcast of Trinity Episcopal Church

in Asheville, North Carolina.

Now, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

The Address for Youth Sunday was given by Siena Gentry.

Introduction and closing reflections were shared by the Rev. Amy Peterson.

Musical contributions were performed by Dr. Kevin Seal.

Sermon audio was prepared by Nanette Popa. Production was guided by Karen Marie Frederiksen.