Atheist Leads Episcopal Youth Event

Halloween weekend will mark the seventy-fourth Happening youth event, where high school students in the Episcopal diocese will congregate to sing, laugh and share in the joy of Christian brotherhood. Who better to lead this weekend of self-discovery than eighteen-year-old atheist Sarah Shirley?

“She got picked on a lot in high school,” says close friend and Happening Small Group Leader Maria Wilson at last week’s Happening Staff Training. Maria, coloring bubbles and patterns into her “shrinky-dink” (what will become personalized name tags for the Happeners), speaks casually, as if to no one. “I think that’s why this weekend is so meaningful to her, you know? Instead of lashing out her anger, she solves it in a way that helps others.”

Sarah, a native of Clinton, MS, along with her team of Gophers (staff members designated to fetch snacks and other items for the small group they are assigned to), Small Group Leaders and Prayer Warriors (who sit in a room all weekend and pray for every individual “Happener”), are shaping up to be the most dynamic team yet.

Small Group Leaders are in charge of standing in front of around 50 Happeners, plus staff, and relating painful stories of their youth designed to parable the way Jesus’ love and acceptance has helped them through the trying times of their adolescence and puberty.

Says Happening Coordinator Jason Woodcock, “People respect her; she knows exactly who she is, and because of that, she can accept others for who they are. She has all the qualities necessary to be our rector this Happening. She was a great pick.”

Happening Rector is a position specifically chosen by the prior rector of each youth weekend.

Sarah oversees the progress of the Small Group Leaders’ speeches, and will also talk about the dichotomy of her relationship with Jesus, and the ups and downs of coming to terms with her atheism.

Says Maria, “We’re so excited to hear her talk about it. It’s going to shock a lot of people, but maybe these kids going through Happening, who are having a tough time, like a lot of us did, maybe this will help them sort out a lot of things in their own lives.” She hands her shrinky-dink off to another staff member and picks through the markers on the floor. “It’s not just a title anymore. It’s how you react to others, with love and acceptance. That’s why Sarah is our rector, she's a friend to everyone.”