Cloths of Heaven, by WB Yeats

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Some of you may know the whole story, others might not. This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which begins for us as Christians the observed season of Lent. Not all faith expressions observe Lent, but we do as our heritage goes back to formal liturgical traditional denominations.

Anyways, we observe the time of Christ going into the desert by often sacrificing something of our normal day to ‘prepare’ ourselves or to ‘purify’ ourselves for Holy Week and our ministry beyond then.

We in the youth stuff will be doing a couple of things to move into the desert of our normal to ‘prepare’ and ‘purify’ ourselves a bit more.

Lenten Practices

As a Group

• Hard Core Bible Talks : Wednesday Evening at 6:30 – 7:30 – We will get more indepth into the stories and scriptures of the bible than is our norm. If you are game for some deeper talks, deeper questions, then give this a shot.
• Girls Book Club : Wednesday Evening at 6:30 – 7:30? – This is exclusively for girls who want to digest some books that are of interest to them & discuss amongst peers. Cheryll Young will be helping facilitate the group.
• Eikon Photography : Wednesday Evenings at 6:30 – 7:30 – We are looking to bring back our Photog group. How does your photography impact and reflect your spirituality
• Prayer Txts : I am going to start up sharing some of my daily prayers via txt again. If you are interested in getting some reflection from me sign up here.

On Your Own

• Wesleyan Fast : Each Thursday evening, after the evening meal, until mid-afternoon on each Friday, Methodist people are invited to follow Wesley’s example of fasting and prayer. During this time he did not take solid food but fasted and focused much of his time in prayer. (Water is permissible in the fast)
• the H2O project : Water is a global crisis. You might not know this because it comes so easily for us here in the states. Fast from drinking anything but water & save that money you might otherwise spend on cokes or lattes and give it to a global water project to help those around the world have a safe drinking water.
• Examen : much like we do at Drive Groups, ask yourself each evening “Where did I see God today?” “Where was I reflecting God today?”
• Read the Bible : Don’t just randomly read, but pick a book of the bible, spend your Lent reading each day. There are many daily reading options out there (like Nashville Area Journal) that are longer or shorter readings.
• Pray Regularly : Use your cellphone to set an alarm for morning, midday & evening prayers. No need to say something uber formal, but just take a minute to say a prayer in your day. Its what Jesus did most in the desert.

Bruce the Caddie

I’d like to take this moment in Youth Ministry News to Highlight some of our Fabulous Youth Leaders here at HFUMC.

Bruce & Robin Teal have been helping in all aspects of the youth ministry at HFUMC forever (and I mean, ever). Bruce & Robin have been such a part of the youth community that their young son Alex has been deemed the “mascot” for a number of years. Next year he will actually become a member of the group, “finally” he will say. Robin & Bruce have given of their time to be on many retreats from camping trips to Warmth in Winter. They are faithful Sunday night mentors to our newly formed “Drive Group” small groups. Bruce & Robin have also taught Sunday School & CoffeeHouse on Sunday mornings for years.

Robin teaching CoffeeHouse

The Teal’s have a care for our youth community that runs so deep they have committed & claimed as their ministry the youth of Hendersonville. They have continued to be a consistent rock through a few youth director changes and countless changes to our church. They know many of our youth & young adults in deep relationships that will sustain over a lifetime. This is a huge gift they give to our youth on behalf of our church congregation.

So, if you see the Teal’s on a Sunday morning (or a church committee meeting) give them thanks for responding to their call to ministry with our youth & young people.

shalom,
-gavin

there are many things to say about the world of social media & technology today. one thing i can say quickly is that it is not going away. it might take on many forms in coming years & lifetimes, but it will not be going away anytime soon. this snippet of visual statistics is an eye opening look at why its become such a part of our cultural fabric.