For the weekend of November 7-9,
almost 40 of our FUMC youth partnered with 16 youth from a church from Ann
Arbor, Michigan that we built a relationship with this past summer during our
mission trip to Milwaukee. We had a fantastic time! From an awesome worship
band, to crazy games, to bible study, to delicious food, to late night
bonfires, and meaningful conversations, Fall Retreat 2014 was definitely a
weekend to remember.
In keeping with the theme of our
two churches coming together as one, the topic for our fall retreat weekend was
"We are the Church." All of our content was focused on looking at the
first church that spread like wildfire as it is written about in the New
Testament book of Acts. Through reading about the miraculous stories and
narratives of these saints that have gone before us, we challenged our youth to
ask themselves the question, "How can we be like the early church of Acts
in our current context?"
It's hard for any of us to really
imagine what it was like for the early church isn't it? Things are so different
for us now. We don't share everything with a huge group of people like the
early church in Acts did, pooling our resources, providing for the orphaned,
the widows, and the poor under the roof of our own homes. We have our own
houses that we share with no one else besides our family. Our lives are
abundant with flat screen TVs, a closet full of clothing, and a whole lot of
video games, smart phones, and Apple products.
But during our retreat weekend,
for a short period of time, we actually did share a few similarities with that
early church from long ago...
- We were crammed
into really small spaces with people we knew and people we didn't really
know - this was kind of weird, presenting its own set of challenges and
forcing our youth outside of their comfort zone.
- We were sharing
everything - food, prayers, experiences, four toilets for almost 60
people, and the same schedule. These experiences challenged us to be
generous and gracious with ourselves, each other, and our resources.
- We were
relatively distraction-free - no TVs, no computers, limited cell
reception, etc. This gave us the opportunity to really focus on God and
our interactions with each other.
- We all came
together in one place, regardless of our backgrounds and denominational
affiliations - whether we were Episcopalian, Church of Christ, United
Methodist, or Presbyterian, to worship God. Regardless of our varied
differences, each one of us was and is an integral part of the body of
Christ. There were many parts, but there was and always will be one body.
As our youth lived this
experience, we challenged them to begin to ask themselves, what does it look
like for you to be a committed follower of Jesus in your church, in your
school, in your family, and with your friends? What does it mean for you to be
a Christian when you are among other Christians? What does it mean for you to
be a Christian when you're with your friends who have different beliefs from
your own?
And then, we challenged them to
think about the FUTURE church. What are your dreams for what God is calling you
to do in the future? When you get to high school, when you start college, when
you move to a new town and start your first job...what will it mean for YOU to
be a part of the body of Christ, to be a Christian, to be a part of the church
then?
These are tough questions. But I
think they are questions that all of us here at FUMC need to ask ourselves.
What can we learn from these crazy stories we read about Paul, Peter, and
everyone else in the first church in Acts? What does this narrative have to say
about who we are, and who God is calling us to be?
I've said it before, and I'll say
it again. The youth of our church are an exceptional group of young people.
Welcoming each other with open arms, reconciling with one another when they
have disagreements, and showing a sincere love and acceptance, in spite of our
differences, for our "parallel" youth group from Ann Arbor, MI.
Whether we bleed cream and crimson or blue and gold, our fall retreat weekend
further reiterated to me that there IS hope for the future of the church. These
students understand fearless unity in the midst of diversity, and the gracious
acceptance of differences within the body of Christ in ways that continue to
challenge and inspire me. We are the church! And this year's Fall Retreat was a
beautiful reminder of that truth.
God's best,
Sarah Sparks-Franklin
Director of Youth and Jubilee
College Ministries
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