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"What you receive as gift, give as gift...." Matthew 10:8

Trinity Youth Group celebrates its twelfth year of "Mission Philadelphia", a week-long, residential program of exciting, diverse service projects in the city of Philadelphia. Each time, the group benefits from seven days of transformative experiences through hard physical labor and the creation of relationships with those facing challenges in their communities. Trinity Youth Group has grown immensely through these experiences and is eager to share with others again this year. Trinity Youth Group takes pride in upholding the church's mission statement: "to serve the world with an active commitment to reach out to those in need both near and far, and to provide leadership in service to others." To view some of last year's Mission Philadelphia projects, click here

Mission Philadelphia Philosophy

We plan "Mission Philadelphia" guided by the following: Rationale-to honor our sense of moral responsibility and be obedient to our baptismal vows. Objective-to identify outreach projects which will allow for ongoing relationships and a deep commitment to make a difference in the world and in lives of young people. Strategy-to immerse Trinity Youth Group Members, ages 12-18 in a week of diverse, physically challenging service work in the city of Philadelphia. Evaluation-an annual review and assessment of the results and benefits of this week-long project and the ongoing activities with the same organizations.

 Daily Blog

Thanks to the efforts of TYG member Evan Powell, we have daily updates written by other members of TYG.

Day 5: The Sign

Today's blog is written by Connor Christenson

So today we re-revisited 55th and Pearl. We were sent to go weed the place, but something bigger came up: we had to build flower beds at another site a few kids volunteered to go with Mr. Allison to build flower beds. Flower beds are big 12 by 8 foot boxes that are divided into 3 parts for different plants. This required an extensive amount of work especially on the hottest day of Mission Philly. Building flower beds requires a lot of nails, power tools, sledgehammers, and today saws to shorten the rebar. After the beds were built we moved them over a rather inconveniently placed fence, flipped them over, and we smacked them into the ground. After all of that it was time for lunch so we all headed back over to 55th and pearl to eat a delicious lunch made by the parent sponsors. We finished weeding 55th and pearl at about 1PM so we went to a new site known as Memorial Garden. Memorial garden was of course built as a memorial for the people that have died due to violence in Philadelphia. While everybody weeded again I, with the help of my friends, built two holes about 3 feet deep in order to hold a sign so everybody could know its name and its purpose. This sign had 3 parts to it made out of Mahogany wood, the name and its purpose separated into two pieces of wood. Building the holes in the heat of the sun was the easy part, we then had to measure precisely or something would go wrong. So after a mishap with measuring we were almost close to finishing the sign. It was about 4PM so we were leaving so the rest of the youth group left while a few people stayed to help finish the sign. After we screwed the 3 pieces of wood onto the posts we then carried them to the holes. After having to shave of 35 inches of the post we put the sign in the holes, but we weren't done yet. We had to fill the holes with cement in order for the post to stay there, so we filled the holes with a little dirt and rocks here and more cement here and we were finished. A very long day of work but it was our last for a whole year until we meet up again right after school lets out for summer and we work for 5 days of the week and have some fun as a side order. So to end this I will leave you with the words of the sign that we builta "Memorial Garden Built in Memorial for the Adults and Children That have died of violence"
-Connor Christenson

Day 4: Weeding

Today's blog is written by Julie Burd

So Day four of Mission Philly. It has so far been an incredible week, and today was no exception! Today we returned to 55th and Pearl, were we did extensive weeding and planting. The pile of weeds we made was truly impressive, and by the end of the day the gardens looked great! While many worked there, some went to the Memorial Garden that we had worked on in the past and planted trees. One of the highlights of the day was the barbecue that was held for us and the members of the community. It was a great time to further bond with those we were serving and eat some great food! Tonight was especially fun, as we went bowling! We all had a phenomenal dinner and then bowled two frames. The competition was heated and the winning team was showered in praise and gifts. Though we were not all successful at the actual bowling, we had a great time and enjoyed our time together. We have a terrific group of people here and are really enjoying the time together! ~Julie

Day 3: The Neighborhood

Today's blog is written by Madeline Steuber

Hi guys!!!
This is Madeline Steuber and I am here at Mission Philly!!!! Let me first start off by saying what an awesome experience this is and anyone who is even the slightest bit interested in helping should definitely come down and contribute!!! Today was a fantastic day!!! We traveled to one of our previous sites on 55th and Pearl Street and it was just incredible when we got there. Usually, when we come back to previous sites, they are in a little bit of a mess. Nevertheless, when we got back to this site it was in very good condition! The people in the neighborhood have learned to take of the garden we have helped provide. Our movement to help change inner-city neighborhoods is starting, very slowly, to work!! During the course of the day, we worked side by side with the residents and helped clean-up/re-create their personal gardens. Basically, we lined all of the flowers, tools, and mulch and told the residents to pick anything they like! We then worked together with them and helped clean-up their gardens. There were adorable little kids everywhere all willing to help; two little girls were filling up watering cans, the boys were trying to dig with shovels twice the size of them, it was just all very cute! In addition to that, the residents were very appreciative of our continued support and help. In fact, at the end of the day, one of the men who was in the neighborhood came up to us for a bottle of water. While he was there, he thanked us profusely for all of our help. He said, "this is a great thing you guys are doing." However, our great day didn't end there!! Next we quickly drove by another previous site to see if it needed some watering only to find a man with a hose already there, smiling, as he continued to water the plants. We all clapped and cheered him on as we drove by screaming "thank-yous!" All I can say is that this work day, quite simply, was just incredible! Overall, it's a great feeling to be a part of this Youth Group and involved in this mission. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and if you feel the urge to come and help us, please don't resist!!! We will see you soon!!
Peace Always, Madeline Steuber

Day 2: Finishing Touches

Today's blog is written by Tom Hisch

Today, the Youth Group added the finishing touches to the site owned by the Mount Carmel Baptist Church. At the end of just two days, more than 150 flowers had been planted and watered, and a fence had been installed. Members of the community and Trinity members alike were stunned at how quickly the empty, run-down lot could be transformed into a beautiful refuge! At the end of the day, we were able to relax and eat some pizza, knowing that our hard work had paid off.

Day 1: Carving through bricks

Today's blog is brought to us by Kathryn Miller and Ali Bove

Today was a tiring, fun, hot day at Mission Philadelphia. At a 6:45 wake up, things immediately became unexpected. While at the work site, we had to dig through tons of bricks, asphalt, rocks, and clay. The kids we met were rude at some points, but always were anxious to work. When we were planting the trees today we had a lot of trouble so we got some excellent help from one of our tremendous interns, Peter Evans. We are very tired after a full six hours work. After the long day, we celebrated by going to Dave and Busters. Everyone had loads of fun and won interesting prizes. To wrap up the night, we sat on the porch and help Compline. As the rest of the weeks continues to roll on, the members of trinity look forward to working at the lots. Our goal is to make spaces that are safe and beautiful to the people living in the neighborhoods. Good luck Trinity!

Click here for registration form.

Click here for printable brochure.

Click here for participation requirements 2008

Click here for parent & sponsor task list

Click here for calendar of 2008 TYG & diocesan youth activities

Click here for driving directions

Support Mission Philadelphia

Volunteer - For more information on volunteer opportunities for 'Mission Philadelphia', please contact Lori Christenson at mp@trinitysolebury.org.

Corporate Sponsorship - For more information, please contact Kristen Steuber at mpsponsor@trinitysolebury.org

Trinity Episcopal Church, 6587 Upper York Road
Solebury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania 215-297-5135  - Directions  - Contact Us