Today is Thursday July 31, 2008 and the second day back to the real life. NYE was such a wonderful experience for me as is everything I do with the UCC. Whether it is General Synod, NYE, Pilgrim Lodge, annual meetings, or church, it is all good. This past week brought me more out of my shell and brought me to the realization that this is what God is calling me to do, work with the youth. I know that I have made a difference in these kids lives…I am still getting text messages saying hello and asking how I was doing so something must have happened to them.
We were down at NYE as one, one from all states, cultures, and other backgrounds young and old. We were one family and we apparently will be forever. I sent the advisors and a couple of kids the link to the photos online and if you were there and want to see them please feel free to email me. Within 30 minutes of sending it out, I received a text message from Heather who sat in front of me on the bus. She said she loved the pictures but they made her sad. I know the feeling, I am sad the family has gone back to our jobs and our lives but each of us has the memories in us and the more we talk about them and keep in touch the longer the memories will live within us.
I know this sounds kind of on the sappy side, but isn’t it true. I keep thinking of the all too common phrase Valerie mentioned as well as Bryan at PL, Love God, Love yourself, and Love your neighbor and we’ll have a good week. This is what we all did down there and we are taking it with us and passing it on. It was a great week and while I missed my family I was with loved ones.
I like to do these kinds of things with the youth. I have this knack of figuring them out and what works for them like text messaging. This was something that was simple but worked. These kids are all about technology, so to be able to mold myself and grow with them the social process is much easier to follow. I like to see kids grow in their faith and to have the opportunities I missed out on when I was growing up. These kids will go far in life, and this is our future.
NYE was moving experience for all those who attended. I am signed up for the Regional Youth Event and will be on the planning committee. I am looking forward to continuing many of the relationships that have been built over the past week and to new ones that are yet to be created. Having these opportunities given to me gets me pumped up and ready to do what ever is needed to give these kids faithful opportunities to grow. I am not sure if time will allow in the next two years while I am on the planning committee, but I downloaded the advisor application for State Youth Council.
You know, I have a feeling that my final reflections will go on forever and many more will be written as I keep this memory alive and hope to go to many more events like this in my lifetime. To the youth out there don’t forget to Love God, Love yourself, and Love your neighbor and don’t forget to “Live the Life.” Peace and hugs everyone! This has been an awesome experience, thank you.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Day 8 – 7/29/08
At 4:45AM Thayer (another advisor) woke us up in the Sanctuary. We all seemed to be really dragging this morning. The folks from the church again had breakfast for us which really hit the spot, thank you! We were packed and on the bus at 6:15AM the trip so far has been pretty good. It was quiet for the first couple of hours but now everyone is awake. Chrissy just came back to sit with me and she wanted me to put in my blog that she broke her watch on day 6, so Chrissy, here you go.
Friendships continued to grow for the rest of the trip. Along the way, many notebooks were being passed around to get contact info. The advisors have agreed to send me the pictures and I’ll get them posted and I’ll put up a link on here as well as my other blog. We stopped about 1PM in Charlton for lunch. I had pizza and the kids spent a short time out of the bus because they said they were to spread apart and wanted to get back on the bus. That shows the bonding that this trip had created for them.
After lunch around 2PM everyone called home because we were about two and a half hours away. After about 45 minutes of traveling we pulled over. The bus was starting to over heat so Gary did whatever he did and the bus was started again and we were on the road, but a half hour behind. The problem was though that we had no air conditioning and we had to drive slower. The bus was beginning to get very hot, and the smell from the bathroom was creeping out. Despite the situation, everyone made the best of it. The girls and I were fanning each other with magazines and we still had a good time. More pictures were being taken and everyone was still talking and getting to know each other.
We rolled into the Woodford’s church just after 5PM. The bus emptied out quickly and I gave hugs to Carl, Nick, and Ryan. The group started unpacking the bus and saying good bye. I got hugs from all the kids and advisors I got to know well on the trip and said good bye. I then checked out with Susie and was off on the road home. While driving, I got text messages from Tyler, Alex, Ben, and Chrissy. It was really cool, and I asked them to please stay in touch. I have a feeling this isn’t good bye, but more of until the next time. These kids have been great and will do great things for the world. The trip is over now, but the memories and friends will last a lifetime. Thank you everyone!
Friendships continued to grow for the rest of the trip. Along the way, many notebooks were being passed around to get contact info. The advisors have agreed to send me the pictures and I’ll get them posted and I’ll put up a link on here as well as my other blog. We stopped about 1PM in Charlton for lunch. I had pizza and the kids spent a short time out of the bus because they said they were to spread apart and wanted to get back on the bus. That shows the bonding that this trip had created for them.
After lunch around 2PM everyone called home because we were about two and a half hours away. After about 45 minutes of traveling we pulled over. The bus was starting to over heat so Gary did whatever he did and the bus was started again and we were on the road, but a half hour behind. The problem was though that we had no air conditioning and we had to drive slower. The bus was beginning to get very hot, and the smell from the bathroom was creeping out. Despite the situation, everyone made the best of it. The girls and I were fanning each other with magazines and we still had a good time. More pictures were being taken and everyone was still talking and getting to know each other.
We rolled into the Woodford’s church just after 5PM. The bus emptied out quickly and I gave hugs to Carl, Nick, and Ryan. The group started unpacking the bus and saying good bye. I got hugs from all the kids and advisors I got to know well on the trip and said good bye. I then checked out with Susie and was off on the road home. While driving, I got text messages from Tyler, Alex, Ben, and Chrissy. It was really cool, and I asked them to please stay in touch. I have a feeling this isn’t good bye, but more of until the next time. These kids have been great and will do great things for the world. The trip is over now, but the memories and friends will last a lifetime. Thank you everyone!
Day 7 – 7/28/08
Today started out at 4:55AM. I woke up, got cleaned up, then I was going to get the boys awake but to my surprise they called me to ask what they where to do with their stuff. Julie (another advisor) and I walked down to Cumberland Ave to the McDonald’s for a coffee run. It was about a 10 minute walk without coffee, but on the trip back we were carrying sixteen large coffees. It was nice to have some coffee that early in the morning, everyone that got some was thankful. We backed the bus and were on the road at 6:15AM.
The ride was fun. I sat toward the back and was able to build even more friendships. I had a lot of really fun kids around me, mostly girls but still fun. Heather and Chrissy sat in front of me and Cassie would come back and sit with me sometimes. Sarah was behind me. We ended up exchanging phone numbers so most of the time we were texting each other, but we talked a lot about everything from PL to boys. We also sang some songs from the PL song book and other songs they taught me. It was a fun trip to Mechanicsburg. We made a couple of stops and had Burger King for lunch. We stopped at a rest area around 3:30PM because we couldn’t arrive too early at the church. I played Frisbee with a group, walked around and took pictures, and I laid down in the grass to talk to a bunch of people about my life, my witness. We piled back onto the bus and around 5PM arrived at the church and unpacked our stuff we needed for the night, claimed a pew to sleep in, and then we got back on the bus to go to dinner. Susie treated the entire group at the Cracker Barrel including Gary our driver. Gary sat with us and we had good discussions from politics to where we grew up at.
After dinner we went back to the church and the kids had some free time. I took the chance to catch up on this journal and to help plan the service with Susie. Around 8:45 we had a very nice service. Margie and I lead the songs and I read the scripture. We had communion and sang more songs. After the service everyone hugged everyone, it was a time to reflect and exchange contact info for the new friends that were made. Lights were out at 10:30PM, but there was still a lot of talking. I fell asleep about 11PM I guess. It was another good day and the realization is settling in that this was the last night together and it is sad. When one goes on a trip like this you get used to the routine and the people you are with. It is like one very big family. A family I love and care for so much now after spending time with them.
The ride was fun. I sat toward the back and was able to build even more friendships. I had a lot of really fun kids around me, mostly girls but still fun. Heather and Chrissy sat in front of me and Cassie would come back and sit with me sometimes. Sarah was behind me. We ended up exchanging phone numbers so most of the time we were texting each other, but we talked a lot about everything from PL to boys. We also sang some songs from the PL song book and other songs they taught me. It was a fun trip to Mechanicsburg. We made a couple of stops and had Burger King for lunch. We stopped at a rest area around 3:30PM because we couldn’t arrive too early at the church. I played Frisbee with a group, walked around and took pictures, and I laid down in the grass to talk to a bunch of people about my life, my witness. We piled back onto the bus and around 5PM arrived at the church and unpacked our stuff we needed for the night, claimed a pew to sleep in, and then we got back on the bus to go to dinner. Susie treated the entire group at the Cracker Barrel including Gary our driver. Gary sat with us and we had good discussions from politics to where we grew up at.
After dinner we went back to the church and the kids had some free time. I took the chance to catch up on this journal and to help plan the service with Susie. Around 8:45 we had a very nice service. Margie and I lead the songs and I read the scripture. We had communion and sang more songs. After the service everyone hugged everyone, it was a time to reflect and exchange contact info for the new friends that were made. Lights were out at 10:30PM, but there was still a lot of talking. I fell asleep about 11PM I guess. It was another good day and the realization is settling in that this was the last night together and it is sad. When one goes on a trip like this you get used to the routine and the people you are with. It is like one very big family. A family I love and care for so much now after spending time with them.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Day 6 – 7/27/08
Geesh, what a day! It is toward the end of the day at 10:02PM as I am writing this. So much has happened today, but in the time of celebrating the youth of the United Church of Christ there has been a great tragedy here in Knoxville. I feel this is important and needs to be addressed first. Today, about a mile from where I sit right now, a gunman walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church during their worship time where 25 children were performing a play and the man opened fire into the congregation. No children were hurt, but 7 were shot and 2 of them were gravely injured. Shortly afterwards one gentleman died, and just before I started writing this, I checked the news and the second victim had passed on.
This news spread quickly through campus this morning around 11AM. Many of the kids were scared, shocked, but offering prayers of safety and protection to all. All of the advisors were tasked to communicate to the youth that it was very important to call home to let their families know that they were ok because it hit the national news very quickly. I too took the opportunity to call home. In the midst of this happy time it was also a somber time. We encourage the youth that they were safe and pointed out the amount of security guards, and as I now step back and look at this I realized that while on campus I did not see one person that looked out of place. Every kid and adult attending NYE had name tags, lunch arm bands, and some UCC related shirt on. I felt pretty safe here.
On the grounds of the campus there is a rock that had graffiti on it from University of Tennessee students, at some point today it was painted over in white paint. The youth of the UCC painted on this rock, “UCC Cares, Prayin’ 4 the Unitarian Church.” By the time worship was over many people wrote their blessing and prayers on it myself included. I took some pictures and if I can figure out how to include it to this post I will. This is not time to be proud, but I am very fortunate to be down here with these loving and caring kids. They have shown me what it means to care unconditional for anyone that needs it.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and to the victims that the Lord be with them as they go through their healing and for the families that lost loved ones that they may know the peace that the Lord will bring to the fallen ones. And to the assailant, that he finds the treatment to help him through his struggles and to understand the ramifications of his actions to those he has hurt throughout his judgment here on Earth. My prayers also go out to the community who are trying to understand why, that they may find the way to cope with this tragedy.
With this being said, I will try and recap the day as it seems to be quite a blur right now. I woke up well rested at 7AM and got cleaned up. I went to the dining hall with Joel and had pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we headed down to the arena for the morning plenary. We had a wonderful story from Valerie about peace she is so awesome! I guess because of my tiredness the night before I forgot to mention that I had an opportunity to meet Valerie last night. I introduced myself and thanked her for her inspiring stories. She asked if I had any and I told her about my experience at PL when God was showing me where I needed to be. She reminded me this is a sacred story and every time I tell it, the listener makes it sacred to them and she said when it come a time that she tells my story it will become sacred to her listeners. I was humbled but honored to be in her presence and she is so down to earth.
John Thomas, the President and General Minister of the UCC, was up next. He gave a very inspiring speech too. After plenary it was time for another workshop. The one I attended was called “My Dad is Gay and I’m not.” There were 14 people there, ten kids and four adults. The kids all took the opportunity to talk about their experiences all of which had same-sex parents. Six of the kids went to the same church in Texas, three were from California, and 1 was from Montana. Two had were conceived through a sperm donor, three were adopted into a same-sex family, and the rest one parent came out after a divorce. For one girl it was very emotional because she lived in a conservative state and her mom’s coming out meant she and her brother had to come out too (she is not gay, that was a figure of speech. It was difficult for her and I commend her on her bravery to tell us the story. I really learned a lot about teens of today and how they handle things. They have the wisdom to find their true friends and brush off the words of mean kids by surrounding themselves by those true friends and that must take a lot of courage. I also learned that we need to talk to these kids and find out where they fall into the spectrum of doing nothing and being an advocate. It was a great workshop and I am glad I was able to squeeze it into my busy schedule, both personal and NYE related.
After the workshop I headed over for lunch and then went back to my room to start packing. We had a brief advisors meeting that covered what had happened in the morning and cover the logistics of the morning. The meeting ended and I called Uncle Herman to meet with him. The stupid lock on our room had been fussy our entire stay, but I was over tired as everyone else was so I gave up after a couple of minutes and sent Joel his first ever text message to try and get my Maine NYE t-shirt for our photo later on. I headed down to Cumberland Avenue to the McDonald’s to meet Uncle Herman.
Again, it was so nice to have the opportunity to see family while I was down here. We talked about everything from family history to retirement plans. My family down here is so great and Uncle Herman is so funny too. I wished there was a way that I can see them more often than every 8 to 10 years. I didn’t have a chance to see my other cousins Lauren and Aaron, but Aunt Marilyn brought me up to speed as to how they are doing.
I headed back to the courtyard after saying good bye and the Mainer’s gathered for a group photo. After the photo I went up to the dining hall to eat dinner. We had really good southern fried catfish and collared greens and hushpuppies which was a true southern treat. We headed down to the arena for the final worship service. The depression was starting to set in because our time down here was coming to an end. It was also sad knowing that a community was struck with tragedy and suffering today. As I was standing outside of the arena and watching the almost 3000 kids walking in put things into perspective to how lucky we are and that these kids are our future leaders and what a great group they are.
The service of course was very powerful and held with such high energy, yet we did have a prayer for the families that were involved, the community, and the victims. Tonight being the last service we had communion which is always such a huge feat to pull off with 3000 people, but it went pretty well, a little chaotic but went well. During the service I got a couple of phone calls.
Carl called me to say good night and to have a safe trip and I had the chance to talk to Nick and Ryan. After hearing the news of what happened and knowing that I was less than a mile from where it happened, they were very concerned. By this time I was really missing everyone back home so it lifted my spirits to hear from them. I think this is the first time they told me they loved me without me initiating it since they moved in and they really missed me. Uncle Herman called me to let me know that the shooting was right down the hill from us and to have a safe trip back. My mom called during communion, but I called her back afterwards. Again, as I was talking to Mom I realized how important these kids are going to be to my future someday. I stopped by the rock that the youth had painted for the UU and I wrote a message and got some pictures. I headed back to the dorm room to get the boys organized to start packing and I also jumped in on some pizza that was being ordered. We filled out evals and everyone started packing, then the pizza showed and I took a pizza for Joel and me. We ate most of it too and gave the rest to my group. I checked in with my group to see how packing was going at midnight and to my surprise it was going well so I told them I wasn’t going to check on them again for the night. Around 1AM I did have to text Ben and Alex to quiet down, but they respond well to texting. This is it for today, what a day it was. God bless everyone and God be with the TVUU church and the West Knoxville community.
This news spread quickly through campus this morning around 11AM. Many of the kids were scared, shocked, but offering prayers of safety and protection to all. All of the advisors were tasked to communicate to the youth that it was very important to call home to let their families know that they were ok because it hit the national news very quickly. I too took the opportunity to call home. In the midst of this happy time it was also a somber time. We encourage the youth that they were safe and pointed out the amount of security guards, and as I now step back and look at this I realized that while on campus I did not see one person that looked out of place. Every kid and adult attending NYE had name tags, lunch arm bands, and some UCC related shirt on. I felt pretty safe here.
On the grounds of the campus there is a rock that had graffiti on it from University of Tennessee students, at some point today it was painted over in white paint. The youth of the UCC painted on this rock, “UCC Cares, Prayin’ 4 the Unitarian Church.” By the time worship was over many people wrote their blessing and prayers on it myself included. I took some pictures and if I can figure out how to include it to this post I will. This is not time to be proud, but I am very fortunate to be down here with these loving and caring kids. They have shown me what it means to care unconditional for anyone that needs it.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and to the victims that the Lord be with them as they go through their healing and for the families that lost loved ones that they may know the peace that the Lord will bring to the fallen ones. And to the assailant, that he finds the treatment to help him through his struggles and to understand the ramifications of his actions to those he has hurt throughout his judgment here on Earth. My prayers also go out to the community who are trying to understand why, that they may find the way to cope with this tragedy.
With this being said, I will try and recap the day as it seems to be quite a blur right now. I woke up well rested at 7AM and got cleaned up. I went to the dining hall with Joel and had pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we headed down to the arena for the morning plenary. We had a wonderful story from Valerie about peace she is so awesome! I guess because of my tiredness the night before I forgot to mention that I had an opportunity to meet Valerie last night. I introduced myself and thanked her for her inspiring stories. She asked if I had any and I told her about my experience at PL when God was showing me where I needed to be. She reminded me this is a sacred story and every time I tell it, the listener makes it sacred to them and she said when it come a time that she tells my story it will become sacred to her listeners. I was humbled but honored to be in her presence and she is so down to earth.
John Thomas, the President and General Minister of the UCC, was up next. He gave a very inspiring speech too. After plenary it was time for another workshop. The one I attended was called “My Dad is Gay and I’m not.” There were 14 people there, ten kids and four adults. The kids all took the opportunity to talk about their experiences all of which had same-sex parents. Six of the kids went to the same church in Texas, three were from California, and 1 was from Montana. Two had were conceived through a sperm donor, three were adopted into a same-sex family, and the rest one parent came out after a divorce. For one girl it was very emotional because she lived in a conservative state and her mom’s coming out meant she and her brother had to come out too (she is not gay, that was a figure of speech. It was difficult for her and I commend her on her bravery to tell us the story. I really learned a lot about teens of today and how they handle things. They have the wisdom to find their true friends and brush off the words of mean kids by surrounding themselves by those true friends and that must take a lot of courage. I also learned that we need to talk to these kids and find out where they fall into the spectrum of doing nothing and being an advocate. It was a great workshop and I am glad I was able to squeeze it into my busy schedule, both personal and NYE related.
After the workshop I headed over for lunch and then went back to my room to start packing. We had a brief advisors meeting that covered what had happened in the morning and cover the logistics of the morning. The meeting ended and I called Uncle Herman to meet with him. The stupid lock on our room had been fussy our entire stay, but I was over tired as everyone else was so I gave up after a couple of minutes and sent Joel his first ever text message to try and get my Maine NYE t-shirt for our photo later on. I headed down to Cumberland Avenue to the McDonald’s to meet Uncle Herman.
Again, it was so nice to have the opportunity to see family while I was down here. We talked about everything from family history to retirement plans. My family down here is so great and Uncle Herman is so funny too. I wished there was a way that I can see them more often than every 8 to 10 years. I didn’t have a chance to see my other cousins Lauren and Aaron, but Aunt Marilyn brought me up to speed as to how they are doing.
I headed back to the courtyard after saying good bye and the Mainer’s gathered for a group photo. After the photo I went up to the dining hall to eat dinner. We had really good southern fried catfish and collared greens and hushpuppies which was a true southern treat. We headed down to the arena for the final worship service. The depression was starting to set in because our time down here was coming to an end. It was also sad knowing that a community was struck with tragedy and suffering today. As I was standing outside of the arena and watching the almost 3000 kids walking in put things into perspective to how lucky we are and that these kids are our future leaders and what a great group they are.
The service of course was very powerful and held with such high energy, yet we did have a prayer for the families that were involved, the community, and the victims. Tonight being the last service we had communion which is always such a huge feat to pull off with 3000 people, but it went pretty well, a little chaotic but went well. During the service I got a couple of phone calls.
Carl called me to say good night and to have a safe trip and I had the chance to talk to Nick and Ryan. After hearing the news of what happened and knowing that I was less than a mile from where it happened, they were very concerned. By this time I was really missing everyone back home so it lifted my spirits to hear from them. I think this is the first time they told me they loved me without me initiating it since they moved in and they really missed me. Uncle Herman called me to let me know that the shooting was right down the hill from us and to have a safe trip back. My mom called during communion, but I called her back afterwards. Again, as I was talking to Mom I realized how important these kids are going to be to my future someday. I stopped by the rock that the youth had painted for the UU and I wrote a message and got some pictures. I headed back to the dorm room to get the boys organized to start packing and I also jumped in on some pizza that was being ordered. We filled out evals and everyone started packing, then the pizza showed and I took a pizza for Joel and me. We ate most of it too and gave the rest to my group. I checked in with my group to see how packing was going at midnight and to my surprise it was going well so I told them I wasn’t going to check on them again for the night. Around 1AM I did have to text Ben and Alex to quiet down, but they respond well to texting. This is it for today, what a day it was. God bless everyone and God be with the TVUU church and the West Knoxville community.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Day 5 – 7/26/08
Well, after not going to sleep until 2AM I decided today to wake up later. I finally rolled out of bed and to the shower around 7:30AM. I was going to go to the Dining hall to eat but at 8AM the line was still out the door and I had to meet to walk to the arena at 8:30, so I went to the store and bought some coffee and a biscuit. It was also down pouring this morning and the walk to the arena was a wet one. When we got there, I bought one of Lost and Found’s CD’s that had the UCC Tribute song on it which they have played a couple of times. The CD has the lyrics and chords on it, so I hope I can figure out how to play it on the guitar.
I was kind of dragging a bit this morning, mostly because of lack of sleep, which is something a little caffeine assisted on to wake me up. The plenary was pretty cool with another story from Valerie and a guest speaker who is an environmental activist that once spent two years in a tree in California to save it from being cut down. She discussed the importance of going green and sustainability.
Uncle Paul showed up about 11AM to pick me up and go out for lunch. It has been since March of 2000 since the last time I have seen and talked to him. He was in rough shape from the muscular dystrophy but he seemed so happy. He has such a positive attitude about life and of his faith that keeps him going everyday. He said sure, he could be at home in bed or in a wheelchair but he prefers to just get up and put his feet on the ground and walk. It was great to see him and the theological discussions we had been wonderful.
He dropped me off at the arena around 1:15PM and I headed inside for rehearsal for the worship service where I was an usher for offering. After that I headed back to my room and called for my next family visit, Aunt Marilyn. I walked over to the McDonald’s a couple of blocks away where she was to pick me up. As I was sitting there a couple of quick rainstorms moved through. When the sun came out, Aunt Marilyn called me and soon after she arrived. I was surprised to see Houston and how tall he has gotten. We headed out for dinner and I had some wonderful country fried steak. We talked a lot and got caught up with each others lives. We exchanged email address and phone numbers which I am surprised now that I am thinking about it, I never got before. When they dropped me off at the arena, the kids were beginning to make their way in at 6:15PM.
I sat in a different spot away from the Maine conference because I had to do a section on the opposite side for offering. I was seated in the front row next to the reserved section. I saw John Thomas come in and sit down and I almost didn’t recognize him because he wasn’t wearing his normal suit and tie. The worship service was again awesome, full of different dances and songs from different cultures of the UCC. Thayer (another advisor) and I went though our section quickly and the service continued with wonderful songs and meaningful messages.
The service ended nicely with a lot of song. We headed back to the courtyard for an open air concert featuring Lost and Found, so much fun! I got to sleep around 1AM. Shalom!
I was kind of dragging a bit this morning, mostly because of lack of sleep, which is something a little caffeine assisted on to wake me up. The plenary was pretty cool with another story from Valerie and a guest speaker who is an environmental activist that once spent two years in a tree in California to save it from being cut down. She discussed the importance of going green and sustainability.
Uncle Paul showed up about 11AM to pick me up and go out for lunch. It has been since March of 2000 since the last time I have seen and talked to him. He was in rough shape from the muscular dystrophy but he seemed so happy. He has such a positive attitude about life and of his faith that keeps him going everyday. He said sure, he could be at home in bed or in a wheelchair but he prefers to just get up and put his feet on the ground and walk. It was great to see him and the theological discussions we had been wonderful.
He dropped me off at the arena around 1:15PM and I headed inside for rehearsal for the worship service where I was an usher for offering. After that I headed back to my room and called for my next family visit, Aunt Marilyn. I walked over to the McDonald’s a couple of blocks away where she was to pick me up. As I was sitting there a couple of quick rainstorms moved through. When the sun came out, Aunt Marilyn called me and soon after she arrived. I was surprised to see Houston and how tall he has gotten. We headed out for dinner and I had some wonderful country fried steak. We talked a lot and got caught up with each others lives. We exchanged email address and phone numbers which I am surprised now that I am thinking about it, I never got before. When they dropped me off at the arena, the kids were beginning to make their way in at 6:15PM.
I sat in a different spot away from the Maine conference because I had to do a section on the opposite side for offering. I was seated in the front row next to the reserved section. I saw John Thomas come in and sit down and I almost didn’t recognize him because he wasn’t wearing his normal suit and tie. The worship service was again awesome, full of different dances and songs from different cultures of the UCC. Thayer (another advisor) and I went though our section quickly and the service continued with wonderful songs and meaningful messages.
The service ended nicely with a lot of song. We headed back to the courtyard for an open air concert featuring Lost and Found, so much fun! I got to sleep around 1AM. Shalom!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Day 4 – 7/25/08
Wow! What a difference a soft bed, clean bedding, and an ice cold room can do for a wonderful nights sleep. Although I did not get to sleep until probably 1AM, I woke up at 6:15AM feeling wonderful. Oh yea, and a shower…I have not had one of those in a couple of days because we stayed in churches that I could just freshen up in not shower. It felt so good. After being refreshed I finished up my journal from yesterday and surprisingly at 7:30AM I got a text message from Alex letting me know he, Ben, and Tyler were eating breakfast. That was a bit of a wake up call for me because I heard those guys making quite a ruckus in the room next to our room until I fell asleep at 1AM.
I do want to take a moment to mention something about my group. Unlike other groups from what I have heard, my group has been terrific in keeping in touch with me. Throughout the day and not even being asked, they all have been sending me text messages letting me know where they are and what they are doing. They also find me at meal times to let me know what they have been doing. It is amazing how friendships form sometimes. I have met so many new people in a day and trust me, having name tags makes it so much easier to get to know them quickly.
Ok, back on track. I headed down to the dining hall for breakfast and to my surprise I saw June Boutwell. June has been a great support person for me while she was the Interim Associate Conference Minister in Maine. She helped me out for the Evening Sandwich program, helped me get on the OMC, and has supported me through the decision to go to Seminary. She is now the Associate conference Minister for the Southwest conference and has moved to California. It was nice to see her and know she is doing well, and…she will always be a reference for me. Thanks June!
After I got my food, I headed over to a table with Nicole (another advisor) from Machias. Afterwards we made our way down to the arena for some more activities. Valerie Tutson who is an awesome person and story teller read today’s scripture and talked about Living Love. She stressed something that Bryan at PL taught us: Love God, Love yourself, and Love your neighbor. It is as simple as that folks! Following this she told the story of Miriam and when she assisted in saving Moses by suggesting to Pharaoh’s daughter that she would bring him to a Hebrew woman to care for him who we all know was their mother. When Valerie tells a story it is almost like she puts herself into the story and becomes one of the people which this one she was Miriam. When I first heard Valerie tell a story it was at General Synod last year and at that time I said to my self, “wow, I would love to have just one ounce of that talent.” Yes, she is that good.
After the Plenary, I headed over to the Art and Architecture hall for the first of today’s workshops which for me was Youth Ministry as a Vital Component. There was a lot I already knew about, but listening to the discussions I realized I was not alone in the frustrations. A majority of the folks in this workshop were adult youth leaders and we discussed the importance of youth groups and how they make it work. In today’s world Sunday is not what it used to be. School sports and other activities seem to be taking over our children’s entire week. Sometimes these kids need to choose to make practice so they can play in a game that week, or come to church and participate in the youth group. From what I heard, the leaders need to grow and work with the changing times to find out what we can offer to the kids that they don’t get elsewhere. It is time to regain that time slot on Sunday after church and offer to the kids, an opportunity to become the disciples we so try to teach them to be. Technology seems to be the language they understand, so MySpace pages/groups, Facebook, YouthRoots, and blogs are the way these kids learn and live now. Following this work shop I headed over to the dining hall for lunch.
I had some down time finally to make some phone calls to relatives. I set up times to meet my Uncle Paul, Uncle Herman, and Aunt Marilyn. So over the next couple of days I plan to spend some time with them. I am really looking forward to seeing them. It seems that since I have become an adult, unfortunately the only time I see the family down here in Knoxville is at funerals. Finally I have a chance to visit on happier terms even if it is only for a few hours. I finished just in time to head over to the Alumni building to go to my next workshop which was Telling Sacred stories by guess who…Valerie Tutson.
This was a different workshop, and I do not need to go into how awesome she is again because she just is. She started out by asking for groups to come up to the stage to sing a song that is special to them. It could be out of a hymnal or other church song or something they learned from camp. As you can imagine, most sang camp songs which I just love to do. There is something about camp songs that brings me to that moment in time at PL when God came to me to tell me where he wanted me to be. Valerie pointed something out to us. That when we sing these songs, we are carrying on the word and tradition of a sacred story, and how we tell it makes it sacred to us.
After the workshop, it was downtime for the advisors again and Joel and I headed down to the University Center to check out the exhibits. I picked up a bunch of free stuff and talked to Bill at the BTS booth for a while. I browsed through the many books that were for sale and I went to the Adult recreation room that was a place for the adults to wind down a bit with some snacks and coffee. I didn’t see anything that I wanted to buy, so I headed out to the dining hall for dinner. I realized that Nicole and I had our schedule synced today for meals because I ate every meal with her today. We had a good discussion on the adoption process, and the state system.
Next on the plate following dinner was the evening worship and like Synod the worship services were awesome. They are full of song and fun, tonight even during the scripture reading there was music playing and it was in tune to the reading. The sermon tonight really hit home for me. There was a very brave girl that talked about her experience as a foster child and eventually she found her forever home. It filled my eyes with tears and made me really miss being home with Carl and the boys. I think I was the first in the arena to pop up and give her a standing ovation when she finished.
I ended up swimming after the service for a while and swam a few laps; it was a nice way to tire myself out even more. It is now 12:23AM and I am sitting outside the doors of two rooms of boys that seem to think staying up until 3AM is a good idea. Susie knocked on my door to have me sit here. It is no biggy, kind of like home. So before the battery on my laptop dies, I am going to end for now and post more in the morning. Good night y’all!
I do want to take a moment to mention something about my group. Unlike other groups from what I have heard, my group has been terrific in keeping in touch with me. Throughout the day and not even being asked, they all have been sending me text messages letting me know where they are and what they are doing. They also find me at meal times to let me know what they have been doing. It is amazing how friendships form sometimes. I have met so many new people in a day and trust me, having name tags makes it so much easier to get to know them quickly.
Ok, back on track. I headed down to the dining hall for breakfast and to my surprise I saw June Boutwell. June has been a great support person for me while she was the Interim Associate Conference Minister in Maine. She helped me out for the Evening Sandwich program, helped me get on the OMC, and has supported me through the decision to go to Seminary. She is now the Associate conference Minister for the Southwest conference and has moved to California. It was nice to see her and know she is doing well, and…she will always be a reference for me. Thanks June!
After I got my food, I headed over to a table with Nicole (another advisor) from Machias. Afterwards we made our way down to the arena for some more activities. Valerie Tutson who is an awesome person and story teller read today’s scripture and talked about Living Love. She stressed something that Bryan at PL taught us: Love God, Love yourself, and Love your neighbor. It is as simple as that folks! Following this she told the story of Miriam and when she assisted in saving Moses by suggesting to Pharaoh’s daughter that she would bring him to a Hebrew woman to care for him who we all know was their mother. When Valerie tells a story it is almost like she puts herself into the story and becomes one of the people which this one she was Miriam. When I first heard Valerie tell a story it was at General Synod last year and at that time I said to my self, “wow, I would love to have just one ounce of that talent.” Yes, she is that good.
After the Plenary, I headed over to the Art and Architecture hall for the first of today’s workshops which for me was Youth Ministry as a Vital Component. There was a lot I already knew about, but listening to the discussions I realized I was not alone in the frustrations. A majority of the folks in this workshop were adult youth leaders and we discussed the importance of youth groups and how they make it work. In today’s world Sunday is not what it used to be. School sports and other activities seem to be taking over our children’s entire week. Sometimes these kids need to choose to make practice so they can play in a game that week, or come to church and participate in the youth group. From what I heard, the leaders need to grow and work with the changing times to find out what we can offer to the kids that they don’t get elsewhere. It is time to regain that time slot on Sunday after church and offer to the kids, an opportunity to become the disciples we so try to teach them to be. Technology seems to be the language they understand, so MySpace pages/groups, Facebook, YouthRoots, and blogs are the way these kids learn and live now. Following this work shop I headed over to the dining hall for lunch.
I had some down time finally to make some phone calls to relatives. I set up times to meet my Uncle Paul, Uncle Herman, and Aunt Marilyn. So over the next couple of days I plan to spend some time with them. I am really looking forward to seeing them. It seems that since I have become an adult, unfortunately the only time I see the family down here in Knoxville is at funerals. Finally I have a chance to visit on happier terms even if it is only for a few hours. I finished just in time to head over to the Alumni building to go to my next workshop which was Telling Sacred stories by guess who…Valerie Tutson.
This was a different workshop, and I do not need to go into how awesome she is again because she just is. She started out by asking for groups to come up to the stage to sing a song that is special to them. It could be out of a hymnal or other church song or something they learned from camp. As you can imagine, most sang camp songs which I just love to do. There is something about camp songs that brings me to that moment in time at PL when God came to me to tell me where he wanted me to be. Valerie pointed something out to us. That when we sing these songs, we are carrying on the word and tradition of a sacred story, and how we tell it makes it sacred to us.
After the workshop, it was downtime for the advisors again and Joel and I headed down to the University Center to check out the exhibits. I picked up a bunch of free stuff and talked to Bill at the BTS booth for a while. I browsed through the many books that were for sale and I went to the Adult recreation room that was a place for the adults to wind down a bit with some snacks and coffee. I didn’t see anything that I wanted to buy, so I headed out to the dining hall for dinner. I realized that Nicole and I had our schedule synced today for meals because I ate every meal with her today. We had a good discussion on the adoption process, and the state system.
Next on the plate following dinner was the evening worship and like Synod the worship services were awesome. They are full of song and fun, tonight even during the scripture reading there was music playing and it was in tune to the reading. The sermon tonight really hit home for me. There was a very brave girl that talked about her experience as a foster child and eventually she found her forever home. It filled my eyes with tears and made me really miss being home with Carl and the boys. I think I was the first in the arena to pop up and give her a standing ovation when she finished.
I ended up swimming after the service for a while and swam a few laps; it was a nice way to tire myself out even more. It is now 12:23AM and I am sitting outside the doors of two rooms of boys that seem to think staying up until 3AM is a good idea. Susie knocked on my door to have me sit here. It is no biggy, kind of like home. So before the battery on my laptop dies, I am going to end for now and post more in the morning. Good night y’all!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Day 3 – 7/24/08
The morning started early at 5AM and because I slept in pew I didn’t move all night. We had a wonderful breakfast provided to us by the Mechanicsburg church, took a group photo, and then we packed up the bus and set off. This time I had a window seat so I was able to listen to my satellite radio for a while. Then I took to reading and taking in the mountainous views as we made our way through Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee. We stopped for lunch in some back woods exit in Virginia at Wendy’s around noon. Around 1:15 we were on the road and made no further stops until we reached Knoxville.
When we arrived at the University of Tennessee around 4:30, we started the unpacking of the bus, this time it was everything. We had to walk quite a ways to get to the courtyard but every one of the kids did a great job carrying everything. We had to move the stuff three times before we actually moved in to our dorm rooms. I am rooming with Joel and on the other room that is connected to ours Craig from Maryland is rooming. By the time we all got to our rooms and back down to the lobby in our Maine Conference shirts it was 5:30 so we headed over to the dining hall for dinner. I had a very good slice of pork roast with rice and carrots and we started with the meeting of other kids and advisors from around the country. After supper we headed to the convention center where the opening service began.
Starfield, who is a Christian Pop band from Canada, opened the services with three rocking songs. They were awesome and asked the kids to come down in front of the stage which was like a real rock concert. The kids loved it and I had a great time singing along since I knew two out of the three songs. I noticed Bill from my church happened to sneak up and sit down in our row during this time too. Bill is representing Bangor Theological Seminary during the event. The service itself was wonderful, much like General Synod. It was held in an arena with a large stage and screens that put words to songs up and litany. The passing of the piece was fun and it seemed I led the way with getting people to pass the peace with other kids and advisors. The music was fun and I again felt that special connection with God through the crowd. I heard from one of the staff there is approximately 2400 youth and adults here, much smaller than the last NYE from four years ago. I guess the economy and fuel prices really made it difficult for a lot of kids to come. Hopefully this will change in November and really start to rebound after 1/20/09.
After the service Heather (another advisor) and I went back stage for a brief meeting and then we headed back to the courtyard to meet up with the rest of the Mainahs. At 10:30PM we all headed down to the Alumni building for a conference meeting where we discussed our community life down here and Friday’s schedule. We got another NYE t-shirt and a lobster sticker. At 11:45PM we got back to the dorm where I sit here typing. It is now 12:20AM and I am going to sign off for now and get some sleep. Good night and God Bless!
When we arrived at the University of Tennessee around 4:30, we started the unpacking of the bus, this time it was everything. We had to walk quite a ways to get to the courtyard but every one of the kids did a great job carrying everything. We had to move the stuff three times before we actually moved in to our dorm rooms. I am rooming with Joel and on the other room that is connected to ours Craig from Maryland is rooming. By the time we all got to our rooms and back down to the lobby in our Maine Conference shirts it was 5:30 so we headed over to the dining hall for dinner. I had a very good slice of pork roast with rice and carrots and we started with the meeting of other kids and advisors from around the country. After supper we headed to the convention center where the opening service began.
Starfield, who is a Christian Pop band from Canada, opened the services with three rocking songs. They were awesome and asked the kids to come down in front of the stage which was like a real rock concert. The kids loved it and I had a great time singing along since I knew two out of the three songs. I noticed Bill from my church happened to sneak up and sit down in our row during this time too. Bill is representing Bangor Theological Seminary during the event. The service itself was wonderful, much like General Synod. It was held in an arena with a large stage and screens that put words to songs up and litany. The passing of the piece was fun and it seemed I led the way with getting people to pass the peace with other kids and advisors. The music was fun and I again felt that special connection with God through the crowd. I heard from one of the staff there is approximately 2400 youth and adults here, much smaller than the last NYE from four years ago. I guess the economy and fuel prices really made it difficult for a lot of kids to come. Hopefully this will change in November and really start to rebound after 1/20/09.
After the service Heather (another advisor) and I went back stage for a brief meeting and then we headed back to the courtyard to meet up with the rest of the Mainahs. At 10:30PM we all headed down to the Alumni building for a conference meeting where we discussed our community life down here and Friday’s schedule. We got another NYE t-shirt and a lobster sticker. At 11:45PM we got back to the dorm where I sit here typing. It is now 12:20AM and I am going to sign off for now and get some sleep. Good night and God Bless!
Day 2 – 7/23/08
Just like PL, and for what reason I do not know, I was wide awake at 4:30AM. I packed up my sleep stuff and got cleaned up. The day officially started at 6AM when everyone woke up. The bus was already there, so while the kids were grabbing some breakfast I started to bring stuff out to the bus and met Gary our driver. Believe it or not we were actually on the road at 7AM. We drove straight thru to Connecticut before our first stop around 10AM which was just at the welcome center for a quick pit stop. Surprisingly when we got back in the bus my Aunt Marilyn called me to let me know she couldn’t wait to see me and is very excited. On the first leg of the trip I was listening to my Jimmy Buffett music and reading A Salty Piece of Land by guess who…Jimmy Buffett. Then we started to watch Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix which I just finished reading to Ryan so it was neat to watch the movie and compare it to the book.
We stopped in Newburg New York for lunch at…ahem…McDonald’s. If you know me you will understand the brief pause to collect my thoughts. After we ate, around 1PM we hit the road again and I finished watching the movie and then I joined in the fun with the kids. I helped do a number of Mad Libs and I started a group singing PL songs. After that I continued listening to music until a brief stop for a pit stop.
We rolled into the Mechanicsburg’s UCC around 6:15PM and were met with the extravagant welcome from John the pastor and we set up in the sanctuary. It is really nice that this congregation has opened up their church to the Maine delegates as well as delegates from Albany NY. Anyways, we had Subway for dinner and more fun and fellowship. We have word that there is a group from this congregation who has volunteered to come in at 4:30 in the morning to cook us breakfast such a welcoming church! At 10PM the lights went and for the first time in my life I slept on a pew.
We stopped in Newburg New York for lunch at…ahem…McDonald’s. If you know me you will understand the brief pause to collect my thoughts. After we ate, around 1PM we hit the road again and I finished watching the movie and then I joined in the fun with the kids. I helped do a number of Mad Libs and I started a group singing PL songs. After that I continued listening to music until a brief stop for a pit stop.
We rolled into the Mechanicsburg’s UCC around 6:15PM and were met with the extravagant welcome from John the pastor and we set up in the sanctuary. It is really nice that this congregation has opened up their church to the Maine delegates as well as delegates from Albany NY. Anyways, we had Subway for dinner and more fun and fellowship. We have word that there is a group from this congregation who has volunteered to come in at 4:30 in the morning to cook us breakfast such a welcoming church! At 10PM the lights went and for the first time in my life I slept on a pew.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 1 – 7/22/08
On Tuesday July 22nd Carl and I piled the kids up in the car for the trip down to Portland where I was to be starting my journey to the National Youth Event (NYE) in Knoxville Tennessee. We arrived at Woodford’s United Church of Christ (UCC) around 6:45PM. After unloading the car and saying my good byes to Carl, Nick, and Ryan, I headed inside to start my advisor duties.
I was nervous of course because this is my first time doing anything like this but it turned out to be the same as meeting new people in the conference or at Pilgrim Lodge (PL). To no surprise though I am with a great group of people and they gave me the typical UCC extravagant welcome, and I gave the youth coming in the extravagant welcome I have been taught. The UCC is such a wonderful church and keeps giving me so many wonderful experiences to do God’s work and to “Pass it on.”
After a brief advisor meeting at 7PM the kids started to come in. I and Joel from Belfast had the job of coordinating the labeling of luggage and stowing it in the gym at Woodfords. Afterwards we did some ice breaker games to get to know each other, and then we split up into our small groups. I have been assigned three 16 year old boys from across Maine, Ben, Alex, and Tyler. We did some simple ice breaker games ourselves to get to know each other better and then we headed off to the nursery to set up our sleep stuff. Around 11PM we headed in and turned the lights off, but just like PL, the kids talked for another 30 minutes later and even a little longer. I would say I finally fell asleep around midnight.
I was nervous of course because this is my first time doing anything like this but it turned out to be the same as meeting new people in the conference or at Pilgrim Lodge (PL). To no surprise though I am with a great group of people and they gave me the typical UCC extravagant welcome, and I gave the youth coming in the extravagant welcome I have been taught. The UCC is such a wonderful church and keeps giving me so many wonderful experiences to do God’s work and to “Pass it on.”
After a brief advisor meeting at 7PM the kids started to come in. I and Joel from Belfast had the job of coordinating the labeling of luggage and stowing it in the gym at Woodfords. Afterwards we did some ice breaker games to get to know each other, and then we split up into our small groups. I have been assigned three 16 year old boys from across Maine, Ben, Alex, and Tyler. We did some simple ice breaker games ourselves to get to know each other better and then we headed off to the nursery to set up our sleep stuff. Around 11PM we headed in and turned the lights off, but just like PL, the kids talked for another 30 minutes later and even a little longer. I would say I finally fell asleep around midnight.
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