we started on wednesday night an evening of community and contemplation. we live hectic lives, whether that be within our work, school, sports, and even church. the trap is to fill our lives up so much that we leave very little for God. what we started on wednesday is a time or space giving ourselves the ability to relax and be with God & with each other.
we begin the time together passing a gjembe (small drum). the person who has the gjembe has is focused on as they share their "highs & lows." different from prayer concerns, this is more to do with the happenings in their life that they are happy, sad, or anticipating. once one shares their "highs & lows" then they give a hit on the drum and pass it around. this is a simple little ritual, and it might seem silly, however we are intentionally giving something that can help to refocus the youth but most importantly they will live our each others lives week after week as this continues.
the time of contemplation the youth were asked to reflect on a story that came from "being methodist in the bible belt." simply our lives as methodists we seek holiness beyond just the salvation we find in Christ. the book shapes this as, the front porch is repentance, the door is faith, and entering into the house is where we find holiness. so i asked the youth to reflect on where they are in their spiritual lives in relation to this and to respond by making a clay object or writing on the illustration.
the hope is to take reflections from the book to help the youth understand a bit of their faith within their cultural context.
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