Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Meet our New Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries

Dear Friends,

I am honored to accept Dean Penny’s invitation to serve as the next Director of Children, Youth and Families Ministries. When my husband and I began attending St. Paul’s seven years ago, I could never have imagined that God would eventually call me to collaborate with the kids and families of St. Paul’s to meet the growing needs of this treasured community. My personal faith journey, combined with my professional experiences, has formed my passion for the faith development of children and youth in a profound way.

As a research Program Manager at UCSD for over a decade, I was responsible for the design, implementation and monitoring of children’s mental health research initiatives. While this work was intellectually stimulating and challenging, the serious illness of my second son as an infant forced me to step out of academia. During my nearly two-year break, God’s plan for my life began to evolve and take on new dimension. As my son recovered, and our lives began to stabilize, I was able to involve myself in various aspects of Cathedral life. Through participation in a number of community outreach and ministry programs at St.Paul’s, including membership on the Vision 4 Mission committee, Episcopal Community Services liaison and participation in the children’s Godly Play program, I began to see a path of spiritual enrichment being laid out in front of me. When we learned that the youth program that our family valued so dearly was in transition, we were overwhelmed with sadness. Our knowledgeable, supportive and compassionate Christine was stepping down. As unsettled as I felt, I also understood that Christine needed to follow the path God was creating for her and her family. Through prayer and thoughtful consideration, I felt called to apply for the position of Director and was blessed with the offer to serve.

I have had the privilege to be in community with this church family in many ways. But the joy, amazement and fulfillment I have experienced with the kids and families at St. Paul’s has been unparalleled. I am excited for the future of this dynamic and growing program, and honored to be part of youth religious formation in this faith community.

Thank you for allowing me to join with you as we collectively explore God in our midst. I look forward to what the future has in store for us!

Robin Taylor




3 comments:

Unknown said...

As Chaplain of Outreach+Mission at St Paul's, I welcome your Thoughtful, as well as Heartfull, commitment to the Children-of-God. We are all born of the Spirit, live in the Flesh and return to the Spirit, with Christ and in Christ and of Christ. Amen.

St Paul Blog said...

Thanks for the comment! But please sign your name next time so we can thank you in person! :-)

Susan Hulbert said...

Welcome Robin! We are blessed to have you as our new CYF director! Please let us know what we can do to support you.