Back on home ground

Busy week… busy week… a deanery youth service held at St Wilf’s today. I mention this because it fascinated me how doing MC has given us the confidence to use arty approaches in this very different service: after a short talk on ‘Back to the Future’ – God’s plans for us as promised in Jeremiah 29:11 – we all came into the hall and enjoyed responding to the idea of God as someone who ‘plans to prosper us’ through prayers in time capsules, individual and group art projects.
One group of young people, who barely tolerate the churchy sit-down-and-conform talks, prayers and singing – even when performed at (to my wrinkly ears) deafening levels of volume by our magnificent Youth Band 3:16 – spent a good half hour together doodling away on the graffitti wall, deep in ‘fellowship’. I don’t know how close to God they came, but I could see they were close to each other and were delighted to create something together. First steps, perhaps.