by Laura Lehman Amstutz

HARRISONBURG, Va. - When Alicia R. Horst began her studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, she was certain that she didn’t want to do an internship in a congregation, aware that some aspects of this task wouldn’t “fit” with her personality.

This summer, Horst’s desire for a different kind of internship will be fulfilled in a way she never imagined.

Horst grew up in Palermo, Italy and moved to Harrisonburg when she was 13. Her international experiences helped shape her love of travel and intercultural communication.

“I’ve always had a sense that who I am as a person and the church formats as they exist right now do not quite jibe,” she says. “Staying in one place makes me jittery, so being able to travel is important to me. Being connected for extended periods of time to one geographic setting has been fairly difficult,” she adds.

This summer, Horst will combine her love of travel with her call to spiritual formation, creating spaces for open conversation and pastoral care. As a member of a group calling itself “BikeMovement,” Horst will travel from Bay City, Ore. to Ocean City, N.J. They will begin their cross-country trek July 10 and hope to complete it on Aug. 25.

The 18-member group will stop at Mennonite churches across the country to engage in conversation with young adults, and others interested, about young adult visions for the future of the church.

In addition to Horst, other EMU-related participants on the excursion include Andrew (Drew) E. Foderaro, a 2005 graduate from Harleysville, Pa.; Jennifer R. (Jenny) Hartwig (06), Keezletown, Va.; David P. Landis (04), Harleysville; Jill Landis (99), currently associate director of church partnerships at the seminary; Teresa Lehman (04), Chambersburg, Pa.; Nathan G. Maust (04), Harrisonburg; Kendra R. Nissley, rising EMU senior from Columbiana, Ohio; Timothy H. Shenk, rising EMU senior from Harrisonburg; Holly R. Showalter (04), Harrisonburg; and Denver D. Steiner (04), Orrville, Ohio.

Many of the participants have already taken part in smaller regional conversations in this arena. However, they want to understand the opinions of young adults across the broader Mennonite Church.

“There was encouragement for continuing conversation on a larger scale because I think some of these early conversations have been fairly regional and concentrated in centers of Mennonite education, like Indiana and Virginia,” Horst noted.

The group plans to explore who young adult Mennonites are, what issues are important to them and how they connect - or don’t connect - with the church.

“It was fairly important to the trip planners that it not be something that was driven by an institution,” says Horst, “but rather something young adults were doing with young adults.”

About mid-March this year, Horst was talking casually with a member of this group and asked how information will be gathered and how it will be made available to the wider Mennonite Church. The group then asked her if she would be willing to do this.

Originally, Horst planned to take a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education this summer to fulfill the internship requirement a master of divinity degree at EMU. However, she became intrigued by this project, and in discussing this possibility with faculty and administrators, they too became intrigued.

Horst will fulfill her internship requirements by researching, planning for and leading the conversations held in each location as well as paying attention to relationships within the group and the way group members grow and change throughout the experience.

Various components of the trip appeal to Horst. One aspect is the idea of listening to young adults. With a concentration in spiritual formation and pastoral care, Horst has already had some experience with listening to young adults. She has given spiritual direction to college students, worked with people who have been overseas for extended periods and conversed with college students returning from cross-cultural programs.

“I’ve gained a deep respect for the types of questions young adults are asking. Many are very honest about their sense of not connecting with church,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of integrity in young people who aren’t going to go through the motions just for the heck of it and that want to be intentional about who they are. If they are attending a church, it’s because they truly want to invest in it.”

Horst is also excited about the possibility of “movement.”

“We are going to find people and hear their stories, rather than people seeking us out,” she says. “Being accessible to people really appeals to me.”

Horst had originally planned to bike with the group, but was recently injured while training. Now she will be a part of the support team, traveling with the group in vehicles, setting up the spaces for conversation and recording and compiling the information the group gathers along the way.

Horst graduated this spring from Eastern Mennonite Seminary.� The internship is her final requirement for the M.Div. degree.

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