The Journey to Adulthood program is a six year program (separated into three 2-year segments:  Rite 13, J2A, YAC) of spiritual formation for young people that:  Provides a liturgical frame for their experience in our modern culture. Celebrates their individuality and their creative potential Instructs them in skills needed for successful adult participation in church and society. The program balances Bible study, prayer, and both serious and playful activities to nurture the whole person during the tumultuous passage from childhood to adulthood. The Journey to Adulthood is based on two key concepts:                 Manhood and womanhood are gifts from God. Adulthood must be earned. A new Journey to Adulthood group at Trinity begins every three years with youth celebrating their thirteenth birthday sometime during the first two years of the program.  The group remains together for the six year period.  They meet every Sunday morning for study and approximately twice monthly for special activities.  Currently, at Trinity we have a very active J2A group and we began a new Rite 13 group in September 2003. J2A PILGRIMAGE a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.  2.  any long journey, especially one undertaken as a quest or act of devotion.  (Random House Webster’s Dictionary) “the practice, common to most world religions, of journeying to a holy place or sacred shrine to obtain special blessings from God or as an act of devotion, penance, or thanksgiving” (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church)  Happy are they whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way (Psalm 84:5)  From the time of the very early Church until today, Christians have made pilgrimage to holy lands as a part of their discipline and life of faith.  Long before the notion of vacations, holidays and mission trips, individuals within the Christian tradition have set out to see the places where our Lord and his saints walked, slept, prayed, and preached the Good News.  Individuals confront the struggles of travel in unknown territory, as well as all the demands of living as a pilgrim community for the time of the journey.  In the midst of all that these tasks entail, there is the possibility of tremendous joy and laughter and growth – and the chance to meet the Lord in new and deeply personal ways.  In the Journey to Adulthood program, pilgrimage has become a central feature in our ministry to young people.  At the end of the fourth year, the J2A class travels to a distant land in search of God and their own destinies.  Preparing for this trip takes tremendous amounts of time and energy in the preceding year.  Fund raising, filling our applications for passports and medical releases, as well as learning about the country or region to which we travel, all takes time, but is time well spent.  The task of raising money is especially meaningful and important, because it allows young people the opportunity to see first hand how very difficult it can be to earn enough money for something that they deeply desire. In order to better understand the goals and expectations of Holy Pilgrimage, there are Pilgrimage is neither a vacation, nor a sightseeing tour, nor a mission trip.  It is the time we set aside to journey in the footsteps of the faithful Christians who have gone before us.  By mindfully walking in their footsteps, we put ourselves in touch with our tradition, our roots, our God. Pilgrimage is a time for seeking and finding God in new ways.  Once all of the normal activities, relationships, and obligations which sustain our day-to-day lives are removed, individuals are free to look again at their understanding of God and their need for His grace and presence in their lives. The blessings of pilgrimage can take time.  It is not always while we are on pilgrimage that its true effects show.  What happens on pilgrimage has to be processed in the life to which we all must return.  Some pilgrims may say very little while they are traveling and even in the weeks and months that follow.  Time will show that the long-term effects are profound.  It is not only a trip that will never be forgotten:  it is a journey which changes lives.  Excerpt from Pilgrimage Manual – Journey to Adulthood