Adapted from the Office of Public Affairs
The Rev. Canon Michael Hunn, canon to the presiding bishop for ministry within the Episcopal Church, has announced that Rachel McDaniel of the Diocese of West Tennessee has been named the Julia Chester Emery United Thank Offering/Young Adult Service Corps intern for 2016-17.
McDaniel serves as a Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) volunteer in the Diocese of South Western Brazil, in the cities of Santa Maria and Erechim. The 2016-17 internship will be located in Bismarck, North Dakota, and it begins Sept. 1.
“I am honored to have been chosen for this internship,” McDaniel said. “To be a part of and to work with the wonderful ministries of the United Thank Offering and the Diocese of North Dakota will be an incredible and valuable opportunity for me. I look forward to sharing what I have experienced through my time in the Young Adult Service Corps in the Diocese of South Western Brazil, and to also learn more about the many facets of the ministries of United Thank Offering and the Diocese of North Dakota.
“The powerful reach of United Thank Offering has already positively impacted my journey in life, and through this internship, I hope that I can help others in experiencing this impact in their lives, as well as learn from what the United Thank Offering, the Diocese of North Dakota, and the relationships made will teach me.”
The United Thank Offering promotes thankfulness and mission in the church. Known worldwide as UTO, the United Thank Offering awards grants for projects that address human needs and help alleviate poverty, both domestically and internationally in the Episcopal Church.
YASC is a ministry for Episcopal young adults, ages 21-30, who are interested in exploring their faith in new ways by living and serving in communities around the Anglican Communion. The United Thank Offering has previously awarded grants to support the YASC program.
“We are very excited to welcome Rachel McDaniel to the Diocese of North Dakota as a United Thank Offering/Young Adult Services Corps intern,” said the Rt. Rev. Michael Smith, Bishop of North Dakota. “We have been blessed so many times over the years through the United Thank Offering and are grateful for this new venture in partnership with them. Rachel will be headquartered in Bismarck and have the opportunity, among other things, to be involved in our initiatives to address human trafficking, re-entry programs for prisoners, discernment and formation programs for deacons, and Native youth ministry. We look forward to our year together.”
In 2014, the United Thank Offering Board established the internship to enable one returning YASC volunteer to continue in ministry as the Julia Chester Emery United Thank Offering/Young Adult Service Corps volunteer. Julia Chester Emery, honored on January 9 in The Episcopal Church’s liturgical calendar, is credited with creating the United Thank Offering in 1916.
