New formation community for young adults offers opportunities for discernment, service

First cohort of The Community of Saints Francis and Clare in West Texas

Many young adults yearn to spend time in discernment about their life, away from the pressures and demands that school, social media, and a shifting job market place upon them. They seek a space to listen for God’s guidance as they discern the direction of their life’s journey.

Offering a new, holistic model for young adult formation and discernment in the Episcopal Church, The Community of Saints Francis and Clare in West Texas invites people ages 20-32 to spend such a year – centering and listening to God through a life of service, spirituality, study, and simplicity.

A few years ago, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Kerrville, Texas, had the opportunity to acquire a small apartment building next to their church campus. The vestry and their rector, the Rev. Bert Baetz, entered into a time of discernment about what ministry God might enable through this space. A vision emerged to create a place for young adults to live together in community, inspired by the examples of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.

This past spring, a cohort of five young adults completed the pilot program. Through a new, comprehensive formation curriculum, they considered how they were focusing their sense of vocation, relationships, worldview, and identity in the love of God and neighbor. Through a “semi-monastic” rule of life, participants prayed the daily offices; studied scripture, theology, and spirituality; and spent time serving in area non-profits and schools.

“The vision for this community was cast long before the devastating floods that hit the Kerrville area in July 2025,” says the founding director, the Rev. Rich Nelson. “However, the nature and importance of our ministry in this community was profoundly changed as a result. Now these young adults have the opportunity to be a part of a parish that is healing and rebuilding people’s lives and land, being the presence of Christ in a powerful way.”

Dani Jaime, a participant in the first cohort, noted that the Community of Saints Francis and Clare invites young adults to “take a deep look at yourself and see where you are in your walk with Christ. It forces you to ask yourself ‘Am I being Christlike right now?’”

Each cohort’s experience culminates in a pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy, to stand in the places Francis and Clare stood when they committed their lives to serving God and neighbors in need. From Assisi, program participants are blessed and commissioned to go forward, guided by the Spirit, to serve and love in a myriad of ways. Some are heading to seminary, some are starting new careers, and some are spending the summer extending their pilgrimage across Europe.

Nelson continues, “The Community of Saints Francis and Clare is designed for young adults looking for a gap year, post-graduation year, or discernment year where they can be fully supported by clergy, this amazing congregation, and a diocese that cares deeply about young adult formation. It’s great preparation for seminary or any new direction in life.”

For those who apply and are invited to join, all expenses, including room, board, tuition, basic living needs, and the pilgrimage to Italy, are covered by a full scholarship thanks to the generosity of donors and supporters.

This is an opportunity for these emerging leaders, Nelson says, to say, “‘Here I am, God,’ and truly listen, gaining clarity on some of life’s most difficult questions. Answers are not promised, but the space to ask them is.”

Only a few spaces remain in the next cohort, which begins August 24, 2026. To learn more, apply to join, or become connected as a “Friend of Francis and Clare,” visit www.stpeterskerrville.com/cfc