Kelsey: 0:00
God sends people in your life for a reason and those people can truly transform your world. If you’re in the right place at the right time, be aware to the things around you. One and two it’s okay to not have it figured out at our age. Yes, sometimes we have plans for college and we have a major already picked out and a career, but we get to college and realize this is not something I want to do. Don’t take that heart, just pray on it and take your time to meditate on the things that are going on around you.
Melissa: 0:30
This is For People with Bishop Rob Wright. Hello everyone, I’m Melissa Rau, and this is For People with Bishop Rob Wright. Thanks for tuning in for this summer’s Summer Shorts, where we’ll be having conversations with guests from across The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta who have prepared short devotions on behalf of Bishop Rob’s For Faith, devotions sent out every Friday. This week I’m joined by Kelsey Andres from St Simon’s Parish in Conyers, Georgia. Welcome, Kelsey. Yay, we’re glad you’re joining us. So why don’t you tell our guests just a little bit about who you are, a little bit about where you’re going, what brings you to For Faith and For People? Who are you, Kelsey, and why are you with us today?
Kelsey: 1:22
So, like she said earlier, my name is Kelsey Andries. I’m from the lovely Conyers, Georgia. I’ve been involved in The Episcopal Church for the last 18 years of my life. I was actually baptized in St. Simons. Around sixth grade I started being involved with the Episcopal Youth Program and ever since then that’s how I’ve deeply been involved with my faith and the Episcopal community. I was actually rector of this past happening, which happened in the fall or in the spring, so happening in 79. So I was super excited about that and just being rector taught me a lot about The Episcopal church and just how far all of our networks go and I got to meet a lot of really cool people because of our youth program. So that’s kind of just a little bit about myself. I’m going to Kennesaw State University in the fall, so I’ll be continuing with Episcopal Campus Ministries in the fall. So I’m super excited about that.
Melissa: 2:09
Fabulous. Do you know what your major is going to be yet?
Kelsey: 2:11
Yes, so I’m actually double majoring in broadcast journalism and environmental science.
Melissa: 2:17
All right. Environmental science and broadcasting. Do you see yourself doing something at the intersection of the two?
Kelsey: 2:23
Yes, ma’am. So I actually want to be a broadcast meteorologist. So that was kind of my intersecting point just between those two. Yes, ma’am.
Melissa: 2:31
I love that so much. Kelsey Andries, meteorologist, I like it. That’s fantastic. Well, friends, we are joined by Kelsey, who prepared this week’s devotion that she named Foundation, based off of Ephesians, chapter four, verses one through six, and, Kelsey, you really kind of really got to the heart of this and you’re saying this is really about having a strong foundation and it’s ultimately about people putting their trust in God. Would you say that that’s an accurate summarization?
Kelsey: 3:04
I would say that’s definitely an accurate summarization. I would say that’s definitely an accurate summarization, especially like the point in my life where I was when I wrote this. I was actually at summer camp, so I was a camp counselor at Rock Eagle this past summer. So just being away from home for the first time, like you really have to tap into that foundation and just relying on your word, even though you’re not in your exact environment that you’re used to being in.
Melissa: 3:25
Okay. So Ephesians 4, chapters 1 through 6, is really that fancy part of Ephesians which isn’t all of Ephesians, just really fancy, but it’s beautifully written. It’s the part that saying there’s one body and one spirit. Just as you are called to the one hope of your calling body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all. Like when I read this, I think is this Paul giving us a pep talk? Like how did this hit you so? Like you’re in transition, kelsey, you just graduated high school and you’re going off to college and you’re really talking about how this passage is about a foundation. How do you feel like these foundational passages in scripture help prepare you for what comes next?
Kelsey: 4:13
I would definitely say it reminds me to dig into my word and that my word is always there, and especially when you’re just navigating the world for the first time. I know that first week at college is going to especially be hard. I know any graduating senior can kind of relate to that feeling of like uncertainty. But I know the one thing that I’ve learned, especially through senior year, is that God is always my one constant. So I know I can always come back to that. So there’s a song actually called Christ is my firm foundation and that kind of goes right along with this passage.
Melissa: 4:47
I kind of feel like, yeah, yeah, what’s your favorite part of that song?
Kelsey: 4:48
I would say when it says Christ is my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand when everything around me shaken, I will still stand.
Melissa: 5:00
That’s really awesome. So how was this kind of instilled in you? So you’re young and I feel like there’s both a gift and a curse. At 18, when you’re kind of looking back to where you’ve been and looking ahead to this incredible, hopeful life that you hope to forge, I’m curious how you think your foundation took root in you.
Kelsey: 5:26
I would definitely say it started with my parents, who were the ones that really instilled that faith in me and my sister when we were younger. So especially with that, just seeing how faithful my parents are throughout all their situations in life, it’s just such a motivating thing just to be around positive, uplifting people. So I’d say it started there, and especially with that EYC group and just being around other like-minded students that are kind of going through the same thing I am. All of them also motivate me to kind of just dig those roots even deeper, because when we realize that while we’re digging our roots we’re also helping other people dig their roots as well, and I do a lot of that during happening and different things like that.
Melissa: 6:06
Yeah, so how do you talk to your friends about your faith?
Kelsey: 6:09
So I would have to name drop one of my friends, Luke Netto. He’s one of my best friends from the diocese and he truly kind of helps me motivate myself very much. So we’ll send each other different Bible verses like that. We had a Bible study a couple of weeks ago. So we just do different things to kind of bring each other down to a calming level, and I’ve found myself doing that even throughout the summer with my other camp counselor friends just sitting down to go back to where we started, and we all kind of like to read different versions of the Bible and different things like that, and by doing that you can pull out a lot of different elements that you might not have necessarily read when reading scripture.
Melissa: 6:45
Yeah, I really love it. So I feel like you know, when we’re talking about foundations and we’re talking about trusting in God, knowing God’s word is, first and foremost, I think, one really great way for people to be reminded of the promises that God has made, et cetera. So I feel like that’s a no brainer, and sometimes integrating what we think we know into our lived lives is difficult to do. So how do you anticipate on maintaining your boundaries and your you know, your ability to take care of yourself, that like that health and wellness factor once you are away and are you moving away to school? Is that difficult, okay? So what do you anticipate on doing for your own mental health and physical health?
Kelsey: 7:33
So I know for one I just have to find new community and reconnecting myself because I’m a very big social person. So I know, once I get that aspect down of just rebuilding kind of my village, that I will be supported in that way. But also just taking time for myself and stepping away from school, because I know sometimes I like to go into my school, schoolwork head first and nothing else matters in my little world other than my academics. So just being able to take a break and honestly step away from school when needed because at the end of the day school is there and academics are important, but also your mental health is also important and if you’re not functioning at your 100% you can’t do those academics as well and especially leaning into God too when I’m on those breaks and just finding different ways to connect back to my faith.
Melissa: 8:47
So, Kelsey, this passage in Ephesians is not just about the foundational stuff and the pep talk that Paul is giving the Ephesians, but it’s really also about maintaining unity. I’m curious what you think in today’s times, especially what unity means for us as Jesus followers.
Kelsey: 9:08
I would definitely say unity for us is looking past all those differences we have. I would definitely say unity for us is looking past all those differences we have, and they can be more than just physical or different versions of Christianity that other people might worship or believe. But honestly, going back to our roots, like I said earlier, in that our one common denominator is God in everything that we’re doing. So just being able just to connect with each other on that level and looking past all of our other differences Because I know in the world we live in today it’s a lot and it’s sometimes difficult because when you think your way is the right way, it’s very hard to look past those differences, to kind of understand where other people are coming from.
Melissa: 9:45
Okay. So is there something I love that you said that? Is there something that you intentionally do so that you might be able to bridge the gap and be able to see people who might be different from you, whether they look different or they believe differently? What is the practice of making room for people who are different or other?
Kelsey: 10:05
So I would definitely say it comes back to the simple thing of listening. You can get a lot about people’s stories and their backgrounds by simply just sitting down to listen to them talk or express themselves. So I know I practice this very well of like sitting down and if my friends want to talk, I just give them that open freedom in that room to talk and if they need 30 minutes to an hour to two hours however much they need I just let them get all of it out and you can learn a lot by just sitting down and just listening to people.
Melissa: 10:33
Yeah, I love that. All right, so Kelsey, diagnose us. So I am probably. I’m definitely old enough to be your mom. My youngest child is your age, so I know I am. I’m curious what you would say is society at large’s greatest gift and greatest challenge at this point in time and how you’d solve it.
Kelsey: 11:07
I would say our biggest success, or the thing that we do really well, is giving constructive criticism. We are very good at sitting down to kind of find all the negative and different things and give really good feedback on how somebody can improve this or how somebody can fix this. But I would say one thing we’re like.
Kelsey: 11:29
Our big negative thing, I would say, is loving one another. Because with that criticism we’re very quick as a society to tear each other down and there’s not much love. So if somebody has a flaw, we don’t love on that flaw instead of tearing it down. So I think a good way to kind of solve that is honestly to just be more open and loving towards one another is honestly to just be more open and loving towards one another, because at the end of the day, a lot of people have a lot of different things going on and we don’t know what that person has going on in their life. So if we’re constantly criticizing them and tearing them down, that’s not going to build that person up in any way, shape or form. So just loving on that person, that’s what I would say.
Melissa: 12:10
Well, that sounds like wisdom right there. I do wonder, you know, often, especially lately in this election cycle especially, you know we there are a lot of people on different political. You know the different ends of the political spectrum and even theological spectrum. It’s kind of cool. It’s one of the reasons why I love The Episcopal Church there’s room for everyone, and I’ve noticed that people, especially lately, are very passionate about what they believe.
Melissa: 12:53
And here’s the thing about belief we can’t prove it. That’s where faith comes into play, right, like we don’t actually know we’re right, we believe we’re right and we believe certain things, and yet they can’t be proven. So I think it’s interesting to me how passionate people get about their beliefs and yet they’re not remotely provable. And so I’m curious if you have any insight, knowing what you know or believing what you believe. Right, let’s be real, believing what you believe and having that strong foundation, kelsey, and having the wisdom at just 18, going again, being launched into adulthood, I’m curious how you might hold that in detention with others you might encounter or come across who have very, very passionate beliefs.
Kelsey: 13:51
I know sometimes, especially if there’s opposing beliefs, you want to argue with that person and you really want to like, truly prove to them why you feel how you feel. But also, like I said, it goes back to that aspect of just listening, because sometimes if somebody just needs to be on their soapbox and just talk about whatever they need to talk about, you kind of just give them that space to do that and you don’t necessarily always have to listen to respond. So, especially if somebody’s passionate and with this upcoming election cycle there’s going to be a lot of different opposing views it’s just letting those people have their freedom of speech and their space to feel however they feel. And I know, going into college, I’m going to experience a lot of that. Especially with the election cycle happening right in the middle of our first fall semester, there’s going to be a lot of that going on on campus.
Melissa: 14:38
Yeah, I love that. So you did mention in your devotion, especially towards the end, that this lesson in this passage is to trust God in every capacity in life and you are expecting transitioning from being a youth to young adult is going to come with its own challenges. Are you anticipating what those challenges might be in order to prepare for them, or are you just kind of like going with the flow?
Kelsey: 15:08
So I’m a person that I kind of bounce around. I feel like right now, with this point in life that I’m at, I’m leaning towards anticipating. So I’m just thinking about all the different possibilities of different things that could happen and trying to mentally prepare and start praying ahead of time just in case something happens. But also with that, it’s good to kind of go with the flow, because if you’re always in your head and always anticipating something, moments can pass you by in life that you might not even realize.
Melissa: 15:36
So well, that’s wise too. You talk about trusting without hesitation. What is the training that you’re doing in order to help you trust without hesitation?
Kelsey: 15:52
So this is a skill that I’ve had to teach myself, especially with just senior year in general was just a really hard year of transition in itself. So just preparing throughout senior year when different trials or different challenges would come up is mitigating my reaction to how I felt towards God after something would happen that I didn’t necessarily plan. So just being able to sit down and truly try to paint the bigger picture of this is a small situation that’s happening. There is a bigger picture at the end of the road. So by trusting God now, when the bigger picture comes up, I’ll be able to say I trusted God throughout this process and I didn’t second guess God throughout this process, because if you trust at the very end, you’re not going to be as faithful as you were if you were being faithful throughout all the small challenges.
Melissa: 16:42
Yeah, I love that. Okay, so this is the part of the show where you get to give advice to people and I am curious, like what type of advice do you give folks who might be your age, who may not necessarily have a faith community or may not necessarily be along the road and have that firm foundation that I believe you to have? What kind of advice might you give people if you were to love them and say, gosh, if only, what would you have them know or feel?
Kelsey: 17:19
I would definitely tell them one that there’s community around them, whether they realize it or not. They might not want to reach out, but to just be apparent to the things that are happening around them, because God sends people in your life for a reason and those people can truly transform your world if you’re in the right place at the right time. So just be aware to the things around you. One and two it’s okay to not have it figured out at our age. Yes, sometimes we have plans for college and we have a major already picked out and a career, but we get to college and realize this is not something I want to do.
Kelsey: 17:54
Don’t take that to heart. Just pray on it and take your time to meditate on the things that are going on around you, because something around you can also help you figure out what you want to do with your future, whether that be transferring to a different college, changing majors, being involved in different clubs that you might be interested in. There’s a network of resources around you. So just look for those around you and lean on them. And even if you’re leaving a space I know a lot of us have graduated from the Episcopal Youth Program, but still going back to those people when you need something or when you need a friend to talk to or an adult or a leader, because I know if I call up Holly or Keith, they give me great advice and that would kind of be the thing I needed to hear. So just especially leaning on your people when you need them.
Melissa: 18:39
Love that. I’m also going to say that for our older listeners. I’m going to kind of reiterate and echo exactly what you just said. You know, reach out. We have an epidemic of loneliness right now, according to the US Surgeon General. That’s kind of a big deal, right. I think we’ve lost the knack of friend-making and I don’t think older people have a better handle on it, and I do also think that perhaps older folks have removed their permission to not have everything figured out and I’m just learning that I’m this many years old before realizing that. No, I actually know very, very, very little, and it’s never too late to try something new.
Kelsey: 19:23
It’s never too late.
Melissa: 19:24
It’s very true. Well, kelsey, can I pray with you? Yes, ma’am, all right, let’s pray.
Melissa: 19:30
Gracious God, we’re so grateful for your servant, kelsey, who loves you, who loves the firm foundation that she is sitting on because of your word, because the incredible family who has raised her and the Diocese of Atlanta who has come alongside and helped form her alongside and helped form her. We’re grateful for her witness and for her words and her deep, profound wisdom that you’ve gifted her with at such a young age. God, I ask that you come alongside her so that her eyes might be open to the glory of who you are and how you are to make magic and beauty and incredible good happen in this world as a result of the wonderful works that she will undoubtedly do as both, perhaps, a meteorologist and a journalist, and all those incredible things. So God bless her and bless her in her ministry, and we thank you for all you are in our lives today. In Jesus name, we pray Amen.
Melissa: 20:26
Kelsey, thank you for your good witness. We’re grateful for everything, and listeners we’re especially grateful for you to tune in to, For People. You can keep up with us on Instagram and Facebook at Bishop Rob Wright. Please subscribe, leave a review and we’ll be back with you next week.
