A Tale of Two Youth Groups

I am getting ready for vacation. This weekend has been a fitting send-off. I have had a chance to see God at work in the church. Friday we hosted a one day VBS for an inner city youth group. Their leader and I have had a long partnership. He is an adult victim of much abuse and an adult survivor of a decadent life. Jesus  never gave up on him, and through the intervention of a priest and some other Christians, Jesus has transformed this man into a worker of salvation. He lives and works in a very poor area. He is God's life-line to many children in awful distress. We help fund his ministry and also make human-to-human connections with his work.

The day was a mixture of various activities including a visit to the Biblical Museum here in Collierville. They were able to see and hold a lamp from the first century. It was from Jerusalem. It is literally possible that Jesus or a disciple used the lamp. I thought that it was a grand opportunity for an inner city Memphian to touch a 2,000 year old lamp and hear the story of the ten virgins and be reminded that Jesus said we are the light of the world. After the museum, we did a pretty serious Bible study, discussing the difference between "fulfillment" of Scripture and "predictions." We tied  the story of Jesus in Matthew to various stories in Genesis. Some of the children were enthused, while others probably wondered if it would ever end. We played games, made tie-dyed tee shirts, and they did a wood work project and made a little box. Throughout the kids were well behaved and seemed to enjoy themselves. We fed them three times, which most of them seemed to like. We gave them a goody bag with school supplies, hygiene items and some peanut butter.The day ended at the local YMCA's pool. Before they went swimming, we did a healing service.

We gathered in church and I had them spread out. A reflective reading on the paralytic, my favorite healing meditation, was used to illustrate the theme of hope. Kids in the inner city of Memphis often encounter a hope-free environment. There is no lack of despair. Following the meditation, I invited all the adults to go sit with a young person and pray with them over their hurts and needs. It was a pretty powerful moment. Most of these kids do not have adults asking them about themselves that way. Few people have someone pray over them. It was powerful and many tears were shed.

My little girl, aged 16, is a mother of a two year old. She said, "My momma is on the streets, my brother is on the streets, my other brother is in a facility and I am raising my little brothers." Pretty overwhelming to hear. Pretty sad to think she is one of thousands of Memphians in that situation....

Her dream is to go to college so she can get a job and not be poor. She goes to school now, even if some of her family tells her she will "never be nothing." She had tears streaming down her face as she told me, "I don't cry." She admits that there are times when she is confused and sad about her family situation. She also expresses a determination to have a better life. So I listened and I prayed. And I prayed.

My daughter is also sixteen. Her life is quite different from my little prayer partner. Saturday at 4:15a.m. my daughter woke me up. She had not been asleep because she was preparing to go out of town. I got up, woke her brother and by 4:45 we were at church. The vans were to leave at 5:00. At five thirty they pulled out (thirty minnutes late, right on schedule!). Last night they spent the night in Iowa. This morning at 4:45 she texted us,they were on their way for the last five hours of the trip. They are on a mission trip to northern Minnesota. For a week they will do work, worship and community building. The kids always come back exhausted and exhilarated. As my son says, "dad, it is more fun than fun stuff." Service, it turns out, can be meaningful and enjoyable.

Our youth group is the best behaved group of kids I have ever had. Whevever they go people commment on how well they act. They are mostly eighth to tenth graders. They are small, often quiet kids. But they give up a week of their life to improve the life of others. They do this because their parents can afford $300 each to help fund it. They can do it because our parish has money and a commitment to outreach.

The situations of these two youth groups are very different. Both live in Shelby County in southwest Tennessee. But in many ways they are a million miles apart. Yet all the kids have dreams and fears. All the kids harbor grudges and wounds. All the kids have a desire to be happy and whole. All the kids are precious to Jesus.

Mine, yours, theirs. All precious to Jesus. This weekend we acted like we believed it. And I was glad to be the priest serving at St. Andrews.