"Young people are called to great things every day. The prophet Jeremiah was called and thought he was too young for the job. It is not always the young people themselves who object but people in places of power and authority who decide that there is no place for their gifts.
"Who are these young people?
As recently as last week, the New York Times ran an article describing the millennial generation, now in their teens and 20s, as highly service oriented. They do not necessarily know what they want to do for a living, but they know they want to do something with meaning, and they know they want to give back.
"I work with many young people in my ministry. Some of them have cultural and economic barriers that stand in their way. They all have dreams and callings to great things. But for many of them, the path is not an easy one. Even when they look for opportunity, it is not always to be found.
"The great calling my generation has to service and leadership is falling on deaf ears. The proposed cuts are to key jobs and mentoring programs for the people who need them the most. Just because a young person does not know what they want to do or what they are good at does not mean they do not have gifts to share. Why would we punish those who are not on a fixed career path at the age of 18?
"When programs to engage at-risk young people disappear so do the ambitions of the young people themselves, like a smart child disengaging from a boring classroom. Our great prophets are lost forever in the cycle of poverty.
"May our commitment to young people do justice to their great calling."