I am a rapper. Well, I try. This past spring, I (as “DJ Cranmer”) teamed up with my Lutheran friend, Peter “Via Media” Reinhardt, to write a little rap called “Straight Outta Compline.” It was a lighthearted attempt to show how Anglican liturgy and tradition is indeed cool. Here’s a sample:

Straight outta compline!
I'm a young priest who is fightin' the beast.
The only way to do it's when I'm facin' the east.
I'm from the west coast of PEI, and I wantcha to know that my church is fly.
I teach the Word as a rector, and I wear a biretta.
For I gotta long cope with black rope, and it gives Anglos hope.
My bells and smells are so dope.
I'm not Johnny Cash, but I dress in black.
I got 39 buttons in front of my back.
My collar is visible with a spirit formidable.

Not only was it a fun way to do some Anglican-Lutheran bonding, but it got a fair amount of attention—over 4,000 hits on YouTube. And within the first week here in the Parish of Seaforth, one of the youth parish asked me, “Hey you are that guy in the rap video?”

All these responses made me wonder, how can we reach out to youth?  How is rapping part of the answer?

This fall I will continue the youth group that the previous curate established. In my parish there are a lot of youth, but like youth in other areas, they have many commitments: school, hockey, music, and other worthwhile activities. Some of the things our youth group has planned include going to a hockey game, a shopping trip, visiting a corn maze for Halloween, and fundraisers that will help our church and global initiatives like PWRDF.

I believe it’s important to involve the youth in fun activities, as well as projects with a more serious element. Being connected with our Anglican brothers and sisters in South Africa is just as important as being connected to youth in other regions of the diocese.

Sometimes I wonder what it is like for a clergyperson who is “older.”  (I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this!) I wonder, does being 26 offer me an advantage? Perhaps. Maybe I watch similar television shows, surf similar websites, and share the same taste in films. However, I think clergy of all ages need to figure out what youth are doing in their communities. What shows are they watching?  What kinds of music?  What do LOL and BRB mean?

On the other hand, I think that clergy sometimes may try too hard at bringing in the flock. When I was a youth, one of the most helpful leaders was someone who didn’t always mention God, although God was always present in the moment. I think she just let us be. She let us talk about school and our relationships. God then crept into the conversation.

Priests and laity need to come to the conversation as themselves and find the Creator is in every element of life. In film, on MuchMusic, MTV, in sport, and yes in the sweet rhymes of rap. God and spirituality are always behind and in front of the conversation, so let youth be themselves, let them ask the questions, I say. Travel alongside. Sometimes there is too much programming that clouds or boxes in the time together. As John Lennon says “Let it Be.” Let the conversation go where it needs. And when a questions is asked, listen and let the spirit move those involved.