ESC has thousands alumni now living and working all over the world. Here are just a few of the outstanding leaders who were formed through ESC:
ALEX
BELOVED IN THE DESERT - 2019-2020
"After many years in school, it became increasingly clear that I needed to explore vocation through a year of service, prayer, and reflection. I joined Beloved in the Desert in Tucson, Arizona in their first year as a program where I served at a large food bank. Through this placement, I learned how to deal with community conflict, grow in leadership, and really began to learn the things which lifted my soul. My relationship with God grew significantly throughout the year thanks to the presence of spiritual directors and priests, numerous mentors, weekly formation, and daily prayer as a community. I left the year closer to God, closer to myself, and closer to community as a whole. After my year, I stayed in Tucson for two years and was hired on as a full-time employee at the food bank I served at. I also entered formal discernment for the priesthood and am beginning seminary at Virginia Theological Seminary in the Fall of 2022!"
KRISTA
DEACONESS ANNE HOUSE - 2021-2022
“I came into this year not knowing what to expect. I was excited to start a year of service, and I knew Deaconess Anne House was a great program with lots of connections to the community, but I couldn’t know how much it would change me. I’ve learned a lot this year. I’ve learned how to cope when things don’t go the way I expect, but I’ve also learned how nice it is to have work that I really find meaningful. I’m especially proud of my culminating project, a paper about the history of LGBTQ+ women at Trinity Episcopal - St. Louis. The community here, and the friendships I’ve formed, have helped me to grow. I’ve also had a lot of fun just living in St. Louis. I enjoyed living somewhere with fireflies and cicadas for the first time in my life. After leaving DAH, I’ll go back to visit my parents in Spokane, Washington and then in August I plan to start another year of service with the Seattle Service Corps.”
GABRIEL
DEACONESS ANNE HOUSE - 2021-2022
“I thought, when starting this year, that I had a pretty good sense of what a service year would look like. I was right about the buzzwords (community, growth, spirituality), but had no idea how completely it would transform me. This year has pushed me so much deeper into relationships with others, with myself, and with God. It’s made me stay in relationship when it’s hard, made me know myself way more, and made me just stand in awe at all the ways God is showing up in the communities I’ve been a part of this year. There are so many things I’ll be carrying with me going forward, but most importantly, I’m leaving with a sense of deep gratitude for everyone I’ve interacted with who has taught me, in words or actions, who God is and how God acts. Next year, I’ll be working in Seattle for 10 months while applying to seminary, and will hopefully be off to seminary in the fall of 2023!”
ERIN
DEACONESS ANNE HOUSE - 2021-2022
“Some of my favorite parts of this year included serving at The Rockwell House Campus Ministry, helping host backyard diners and Eucharists at DAH, spending Friday mornings in Chapter Meeting, and going on runs around #OldNorthstl and #ForestPark. From my housemates, people at Trinity Episcopal - St. Louis, and people around the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri diocese, I've learned that there are so many ways of showing God's love to others. I've learned how valuable listening can be in building community, and I also feel more grounded in my own faith. After leaving DAH, I'll be heading home to Buffalo to visit family before moving to Mississippi, where I'll be joining a great Episcopal Church community and starting a new job as a software engineer in August.”
LIB
LIFE TOGETHER - 2015-2016
“Life Together gave me concrete skills, as well as a network of relationships, that have made my success as a leader possible. Since completing the fellowship in 2016, I have lived in community with friends from Life Together and used many of the tools we were trained in at every job I have had. Working at MANNA completely changed the trajectory of my career, empowering me to go to divinity school and enter the Postulancy for Holy Orders with the Episcopal Church. To this day, I reach for the LT network when I am trying to solve complicated problems at work, when I am facing a spiritually challenging situation, or when someone in my community is in need. In so many ways, I am who I am (and where I am!) today thanks to Life Together.”
REID
JOHNSON SERVICE CORPS - 2020-2021
“One of my favorite moments from my year with Johnson Service Corps came right at the end. I was anxious and distracted, applying for jobs, making plans to move, and repeatedly checking the most recent COVID-19 numbers (a habit I slowly forced myself to kick). A planned year of intentional community had been interrupted by a pandemic. We planned one last get together – swimming on the Haw River. The water was cold and the current rapid. Eventually, I landed on a good rock and was able to keep my place in the middle of the river. We were quiet for a while, and I felt myself relax for the first time in months. It was good to be among people I loved and to turn off the pulse of fear and my increasing need to find small things to control. I’ve tried to remember moments like that one as I look back on a year of service that turned out nothing like I had planned.”
ZACH
WYOMING SERVICE CORPS - 2021-2022
Zach is working full-time at Heart Mountain Free Clinic where he serves as the Program Coordinator for the First Stop of Park County.
EVA
WYOMING SERVICE CORPS - 2021-2022
Eva was hired to work full-time by Heart Mountain Free Clinic and now serves as the Executive Assistant in their DC office.
SIDNEE
WYOMING SERVICE CORPS - 2021-2022
Sidnee now works as the Lead Research Technician on an USDA grant through Alabama A&M University.
MICHAEL
WYOMING SERVICE CORPS - 2021-2022
Michael is pursuing an MDiv from Seminary of the Southwest and is a postulant for priesthood in the Diocese of Wyoming.
ANDREW
WYOMING SERVICE CORPS - 2021-2022
Andrew is pursuing an MDiv from Yale Divinity School and is a postulant for priesthood in the Diocese of Wyoming.
