Youth Sunday

Last Sunday the youth group at First Presbyterian Annapolis lead both worship services as they do once every spring. This is the second year that I have been Youth Director and gone through this process with them. I thought I couldn't have been prouder last year, but this year's group really did an amazing job. The process of preparing for the service starts in late January with brainstorming and deciding on a theme. Then once the theme is chosen the youth chose what scriptures will be read, what songs will be sung, write prayers, a call to worship and decide how they will present a sermon about the theme and the readings. Its a huge undertaking and takes 10-12 planning sessions and a fair amount of homework for many.
Due to my injury I missed a few of the planning sessions. The youth actually called me at the end of one of their gatherings on speaker phone and shared with me some of their ideas and I knew that they were on to something good. However seeing it on Youth Sunday and hearing all that they had written while worshipping with the whole congregation was more than I had imagined.
The theme that they chose was "Water." They picked 6 stories that water plays a key part in to connect the dots from creation, through the Old Testament, and into the New Testament with Christ's teachings. After each reading a different youth gave a reflection on the story talking about water's role both literally and figuratively and how that continues to play out in the present day. To further emphasize this point the youth that were doing the reflections were stationed around the congregation at windows. After the first reading water was taken from the baptismal font at the front of the sanctuary and poured into a vase at the window by the youth reading the reflection. With each reading, the water was moved to the next window by the next youth for a very visual and auditory representation of the connection in the stories and in our lives. They talked about water as a gift, a destructive force, a means of liberation, an equalizing force, a commodity to be bottled, even unfortunately a means of torture, but ultimately a symbol for how we are all bound together. Bringing things full circle the water was finally poured back into the baptismal font.
Framing this center-piece were hymns they had chosen to go along with their theme, an A Capella performance of the song "Down in the River to Pray" (best know for its use in O Brother Where Art Thou?), two youth playing piano pieces, one playing the basson and another who played several of the hymns on the organ.
One other part that was really cool was when three high school students who last year traveled to the Czech Republic got to commission and bless the adult tutors that were leaving this week to visit Letohrad. When it was discovered that last Sunday would be the service before the tutors left and our pastor asked me if the youth could include that in the service their response was priceless - "Can we do that!?"

These youth can do that and more! I am so very proud of them and grateful that I get to work with such talented, thoughtful, and faithful youth. I am truly blessed to get to be a part of this ministry.