Bishop Gates visits B-SAFE at St. Luke's-San Lucas in Chelsea.
Bishop Alan M. Gates has been out and about with young people of the diocese as they enjoyed various summer opportunities.
At the diocese’s Barbara C. Harris Camp in Greenfield, N.H., he joined new members of the Youth Leadership Academy and diocesan director of youth ministry, the Rev. H. Mark Smith. The students shared stories of their faith and participated in a high ropes course exercise, where the bishop--not fond of heights--exercised a ministry of encouragement and prayer from ground level. “If one can lead from behind, why not from below?” he said.
At St. Luke’s-San Lucas Church in Chelsea and at St. Stephen’s Church in Boston’s South End, Gates visited two of the sites for B-SAFE, highlighting a diocesan ministry of safe and secure summer programming for children in urban communities. Children at St. Luke’s-San Lucas sang of their hopes for a bright future, and at St. Stephen’s, the bishop joined in an end-of-program awards celebration. One young poet at the Chelsea site shared his vision of life as akin to his love for soccer. “Soccer is life / I play to the end of the world / I play for the world / and if we have to play for the safety of the world / I will play.”
In Southborough, Gates spent time with several dozen young choristers who were participating in the Montreal Boys Choir Course, hosted for the past two years at St. Mark’s School. The oldest Royal School of Church Music course in North America, its participants came from across the country to spend the week with noted composer Malcolm Archer of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and other musical leaders, including several the Diocese of Massachusetts. The day concluded with Eucharist at St. Mark’s Church, at which the bishop thanked the musicians for their ministry. “Music is the eighth sacrament of the church,” he said, “leading us all to a tangible experience of God’s grace.”
In the wake of his time with these children and youth, Bishop Gates reflected, “I am so grateful for the openness and eagerness of these young Christians, for the adults who commit themselves to these programs and for the delight of such wonderfully varied opportunities in our diocese.”