For teachers and youth support workers everywhere, the fall season brings with it the familiar commute to all the places that young minds grow. For many, it’s a trip across town, or perhaps to the next town. For some, like Jack Karn, it’s a trip halfway around the world. Karn, a member of St. Michael’s in Brattleboro, will be departing on October 1 for his second overseas assignment, this time with the Young Adult Service Corps of the Episcopal Church and Jerusalem Peacebuilders.
But it seems like he only just returned. Karn explained, he was in Jerusalem from January to May serving at St. George’s Cathedral, leading peace education workshops for teens at the Jerusalem YMCA, and teaching leadership to young leaders at the Sts. Tarkmanchatz Armenian School in the Old City. His upcoming trip will include a host of new responsibilities at the Cathedral, teaching English at a nearby boy’s school, a revised leadership course at the Armenian school, and even a few surprises. He plans to chronicle his upcoming trip in his blog.
If you’re wondering what kind of background might have led Karn down this path, he holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Maine and a master’s in peacebuilding and conflict transformation from the School for International Training. He has been working for Jerusalem Peacebuilders for the past three years and currently serves as an assistant camp director. He is in the discernment process, as well, exploring a call to the diaconate.
Follow Jack Karn’s blog here: http://servingintheholyland.blogspot.com/
Learn more about the Young Adult Service Corp here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/young-adult-service-corps
Learn more about Jerusalem Peacebuilders here: http://http://www.jerusalempeacebuilders.org
