Dear Youth Ministry Families,

It is with a very heavy heart that I share difficult news about one of our beloved Youth Ministry Adult Leaders, Will Hodges.

Will unexpectedly collapsed Sunday morning and was rushed to the hospital after having to be resuscitated. Following extensive testing and treatment, his medical team determined that he sustained significant and irreversible damage to his brain. Given the damage to his brain, Will would need to remain on constant life-sustaining measures, and his family knows that would not be his desire. His family has made the heart-breaking decision to remove life-support and will move forward with respecting Will's wishes to be an organ donor.

Will will remain on the ventilator until Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m., when his family and medical team will honor his decision and begin the process of removing care and moving forward with organ donation. It is their hope that his liver will be donated to a local recipient. Even at the end of his life, Will will be giving someone else the possibility of more life. That final act of generosity reflects so much of the person we have known and loved.

Will has been far more than a volunteer in our ministry. He has been a beloved mentor, trusted friend, and steady presence for so many of our students and leaders. He showed up like a missing puzzle piece just a couple years ago with an open heart, a welcoming spirit, and a contagious sense of humor that could bring life into any room. Will helped create the culture of community and belonging that is at the very heart of St. Luke’s Youth Ministry. He made people feel seen, included, and loved, and our ministry is better because he was part of it.

For those of you who might not know, Will became ill last summer and moved back home to Mississippi last fall, but he remained deeply connected to our ministry and returned to visit whenever he was able. His absence was already felt, and this news is an enormous and painful loss for all of us who love him.

Many of our students are currently at camp, and some are already beginning to hear what has happened. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, following camp checkout, Matt, Cody, Pastor Corey, several of our Youth Ministry Adult Leaders, and I will meet with parents and students in the Chapel. We will share this news together and hold a brief time of prayer.

On Sunday, following worship, we will also gather at 11:30 a.m. in the Youth Center for a time of sharing, reflection, and prayer with our Youth Ministry Team and Pastor Jayde. All students (past and present), parents, volunteers, and others who love Will are welcome to join us.

There is no single “right” way to respond to news like this. Some students may cry or have questions. Others may become quiet, feel angry, or seem not to react at all. Grief moves differently through each of us. Please give your student space to feel whatever they are feeling, and please remind them that they do not have to carry it alone. Our pastors and Youth Ministry team are available to support your family in the days ahead.

As we grieve, we also give thanks for Will… for every laugh, every conversation, every bit that he went all out for, every moment he showed up, and every student whose life is different because he cared. We trust that Will is held now, as he has always been, in the unfailing love of God. And we will continue surrounding his family, one another, and especially the students he mentored with that same love.

Please keep Will, his family, and our entire youth ministry community in your prayers.

With a grieving but grateful heart,

Brandon Sangster

Director of Youth Ministries

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church