Hi! I’m Stacy Gillenwater and I’m excited to lead the Young Adult Ministry Committee that was formed as a result of the St Anthony Parish Survey. We plan to be creative as we strive to gain more involvement with the young adults in our parish. My personal goal is to lead by example and help others learn that Jesus Christ should be the true love of their life!
Our young adults have much to offer, but they are at a time of their life where they could use some focus and guidance with respect to their spiritual life, and I’m excited to be a small part of that effort!
As the retired St Anthony Youth Minister, something that continues to resonate with me is the importance of engaging young adults in an effort to continue and/or renew their faith commitment.
We are all called to build up the kingdom. I challenge all of our St Anthony parishioners to encourage young adults, ages 18 – 40, to “return home”, by attending Mass with you. Or, if you see a young adult in the community or at Mass, then take a moment to encourage them. This might result in you getting out of your comfort zone, but that’s okay because we are all called to spread the love of Jesus! It takes a village, and YOU are an important part of that village :)
Saint Anastasia is someone I often pray to for guidance. She is the patron saint of martyrs and a symbol of hope for those suffering for their faith. She is such an inspiration and someone I strive to emulate each and every day.
For those who don’t know me, I love to spend time with my wonderful family, including my son, Andrew, and his wife Tina, my daughter, Allie, and her husband Mitch, who are expecting our first grandchild, Janie May, who will arrive in March. I love traveling with my hubby, Pat, where we explore, hike and enjoy being the perfect life partners and travel companions. I’m a decades long Atlanta Braves baseball fanatic, and Pat and I are almost halfway toward our goal of visiting all 28 major league baseball stadiums together.
As so many youth and young adults know from my years as Youth Minister, I always end my correspondence with the simple phrase: “Always be the best person you can be!”