MC Hitt*
My name followed by an asterisk has been on the back of every Calvary Episcopal Church program for the past two years. The asterisk denotes a youth representative: someone who is in the 10th-12th grade, confirmed in The Episcopal Church, and attends vestry meetings to represent the interests of the youth, but does not receive a vote.
I joined the Calvary Vestry in January of 2024 as a Sophomore. I had just been confirmed the previous month and thought that it would make a good resume filler, but over time it became much more than a spot on my resume.
I looked forward to the third Tuesday of every month because it was a space that I felt valued in. And, it was a lot of fun.
It was also a peek into a more adult world. I learned how to read a budget and what a capital campaign is. I once got home after a vestry meeting and told my mom, “I thought that adults would have it all together, but I’m starting to realize that we’re all just faking it.”
To my surprise, Calvary is the only church in Memphis with youth vestry representatives, but I can confidently say that Calvary is not the only church in Memphis that has youth who want to be on the vestry.
I am a member of the Diocesan Youth Council, which represents youth on a diocesan level. I once asked the group if they knew why their churches did not have youth vestry representatives to which one person explained that they had asked their rector, but they said no. The rector said that since vestry meetings are open to the congregation and the youth representative would not have a vote, their place on the vestry would be inconsequential.
And yes, I’ll admit that sometimes it is awkward to sit there while everyone else votes, but during my time on the vestry every single vote was unanimous and it always went the way I would have voted. Not having a vote was inconsequential.
For me, being on a vestry went beyond the one hour meeting once a month. I got a name tag that said “MC Hitt, Vestry.” My name was on the back of every single bulletin and magazine for two years. I had a profile on the Calvary website underneath the vestry tab.
I often hear the phrase, “the youth are not the future of the church; they are the church now,” but I disagree. It is possible to both be the now of the church and the future of the church.
In the future, I want to work in the church, and I know that because Calvary fostered my enthusiasm instead of telling me to wait until I’m 18. For now, I want to encourage every church to have at least one youth vestry representative and make it an official title. Give them a name tag and put their name in the bulletin. I’m certain that there are more youth like me who want to be involved.
As I entered my final semester of high school, I rolled off the vestry and may have cried a little. I now have nothing to do on the third Tuesday of every month, but then again vestry meetings are open to the congregation, so maybe I’ll still show up.
MC Hitt
MC HITT is a proud member of Calvary Church and is a senior at St. Mary’s Episcopal School. She is the editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper,The Tatler, and loves rock climbing. She is also a member of the West Tennessee Diocesan Youth Coucil. MC plans to attend Sewanee: The University of the South in Fall 2026.
