News of Youth Programs in the Diocese of Georgia

Diocese of Georgia Youth Programs

April 2014 - Lent V

In This Issue

Remembering Dr. King

Prayer

EYE

An idea worth spreading

Lent Madness

Sermon

Youth Programs Photos

Summer Camp

Calendar

Internet Links

Diocese of Georgia Youth Programs Page

News From the DoG House Archive

Our Diocese of Georgia Youth Facebook Page

Diocese of Georgia Website

Dear Friends,

Help us spread the youth news throughout the Diocese. Forward this publication to friends and others who should hear what's happening! For your friends to subscribe to News from the DoG House, they should click the "join our mailing list!" button on the left hand column of this letter. Although this publication is filled with meaningful information, your inbox may think differently. So, it is important to have your friends check their junk mail boxes.

Remember this is just not my publication, it is all of ours. Please send me email and Facebook messages with your youth group pictures, events, and other ideas to share.

Happy Camping,

Elizabeth Burns

eburns@gaepsicopal.org

The picture above is by the campfire at New Beginnings as I tried to beat the sand gnats.

Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination

Today is the 46th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who died as a martyr, standing up in the cause of justice because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Our Bishop wrote about this today. His reflection is online here: Dr. King and the Silence of Race

Below is a portion of a sermon Dr. King preached two months to the day before he died in which he reflects on his own death and imagines his funeral:

"Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator-that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize-that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards-that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

"I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

"I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

"I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.

"I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.

"And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

"I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.

"I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say."

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean to 'love and serve humanity'? How does one do this?
What impact do you hope to make though your service? What would you like your community legacy to be?
Is it important to be recognized for your service? If so, who should recognize its importance, and why?

Prayer: Lets talk about it

This is one of the talks given by our youth at New Beginning last weekend.

A few years ago, I thought that prayers were just some words that I said at meals and stuff that I read out of a book on Sundays. You know nothing serious. Nothing you had to "dig deep about." I have learned that prayer is a lot more than just me saying something out loud. Prayer is a conversations with God. I know that a lot of the time we feel like it's one sided, but it's not and God is listening but he is. I promise! He might not answer immediately or in the way that you want, but he will answer. I'll give you guys an example: when I first started high school, I was kind a having a hard time. I wasn't close with my friends any more, and my best friend moved. So all the time, I would pray that she would come back so I wouldn't be lonely anymore. One day in Science class the teacher said we had to pair up. I didn't really have anyone to partner with. So I looked around the room and noticed the girl right behind me didn't have a partner either. So of course, I asked if she wanted to pair up and she said, "Sure." Well that girl is now my best friend and we have been inseparable ever since.

God didn't bring me my old friend back, but he did answer my prayer by giving me the girl I'm friends with now. She was not what I wanted, but she was wanted I needed. I am thankful that God sent her to me.

Sometimes we ask God for something that we want, but that might not be what we need. God gives us what we need when we need it.

A lot of time we try to use prayer as a "get out of jail free" card. We have all done it. Y'all know what I'm talking about. . . Like when we have a fight with our parents and we just wanna get out of whatever punishment they have planned for us. Or when we have an assignment do and we don't even start till the night before. It's okay to ask God for help. But we don't need to try to use him just to get out of a bad situation. When he does help us we need to remember to thank Him, because prayer isn't just about asking for stuff. It's also about thanking God for helping us. Another thing we need to keep in mind is that God wants to hear from us and not just when it's expected of us but all the time. Prayer doesn't have to be fancy if you don't want it to be. You can pray just like you are talking to a friend. Prayer doesn't even have to be words. It can be singing. For lots of people, when we sing here at Honey Creek and in church it is just as important as the prayers we say. As long as it comes from your heart then you can say what ever you need to because that's the cool thing about prayer it's a direct line to God anytime; any day He is there to listen to you. If you had a bad day and you just need to talk about it, He is there to listen. If you have a great day, then tell Him about it. God loves us, and He loves when we talk to him so maybe we should try to do it more often. Remember . . . when you talk to God "dig a little deeper" and pray from your heart.

Victoria Martin

11th grade

Good Shepherd Swainsboro

Leaving in a jet plane!

Maggie Bloodworth of St. Luke's Hawkinsville and Thomas Barron of St. Andrews & St. Cyprian's Darian are leading a group of seven high school aged youth on a trip to the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) in Philadelphia, PA. This week the Diocese booked tickets for the group. The group will be leaving July 9th to head to the EYE in Philadelphia.

An Idea worth Spreading!

Julia and Julius Ariail of Christ Church Valdosta found an idea worth spreading when they visited the Rev. Sonia Sullivan Clifton's church (St. Matthew's, Orlando) on March 16th.

The concept is to fill a large zip-lock bag with a bottle of water and an assortment of shelf-staples, nutritious snacks and treat food items, and then hand them out to parishioners to keep in their vehicles to give away to homeless or hungry people they encounter on street corners. The cost of the items in each bag is around $2, with everything bought in bulk at Sam's Club or a similar store. Christ Church Valdosta's youth group packed an initial set of bags last week at their EYC meetings and distributed them during coffee hour after church on Sunday. The program was very well received.

What a simple and awesome idea! Thanks Julius for sharing this activity with me via Facebook. If you or your church have an idea with sharing, please email it to me at eburns@gaepiscopal.org or make sure I see it on facebook.

Lent Madness Heats Up Toward Faithful 4

Saint battling saint for the coveted Golden Halo continues at lentmadness.org. The competition has moved through the saintly 16 and is nearly ready for the Elate 8 as we work toward the Faithful 4. This year's contest has brought some surprising wins, including Charles Wesley nosing out his brother John 80% to 20% in the voting.

And then there is the saintly surprise Anna Julia Cooper, the daughter of an enslaved woman and her white master, she is moving forward in the voting after defeating first the man who gave Jesus his tomb (Joseph of Arimathea) and then church music legend Johan Sebastian Bach. Cooper wrote of the role of women in societal change, "The earnest well-trained Christian young woman, as a teacher, as a home-maker, as wife, mother, or silent influence even, is as potent a missionary agency among our people as is the theologian; and I claim that at the present stage of our development in the South she is even more important and necessary." Anna's cause was not only about empowering women, it was also about ensuring the dignity of the entire human race as a reflection of God's likeness.

These are just two examples of many stories going head to head in the voting. But you don't need a degree in Church History to enjoy the fun. It's easy to find out more about the saints and vote for your favorite in each matchup. Check out the bracket above and head over to lentmadness.org and vote.

Preach it Brother!

Below is the Sermon that the New Beginnings "Steeple Person" preached on Sunday.

It this story, Jesus heals the blind man and gives him sight. Most people think that the main focus is the act itself, but it's not. Don't get me wrong, this was a miracle that he performed, but it's not the lesson this story was trying to get across. If you remember, Jesus' follower asked him "who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Jesus's response was neither. He told them that he was born the way he was so that God's works could be displayed through him.

These men assumed that suffering was a result of sinfulness. Many people today still believe this to be true. When we have bad things happen to us, the most common response is to ask "what have I done to deserve this?" The answer is the same as the one Jesus gave his followers. Nothing. Suffering is a part of life that we all go through.

This past year has been one full of suffering for me. Last February, I was in a terrible accident where the car flipped and I almost died. Luckily, I walked away with only a few scrapes and bruises. A couple of months later, my father lost his job. That resulted in money being really tight in my family for a while after that. Then in May, my grandfather passed away. This was incredibly hard for me. We were extremely close and he helped me strengthen my faith. After every single one of these events I asked myself what did I do that caused me to be put though something like that. A few weeks went by and I realized that it's just a part of life and that in the long run I'd benefit from the experience I now had. Now, throughout life there are going to be people who will try and make you believe that being faithful will stop your suffering and make all the hurt and pain go away. Sadly, this isn't true. Even the blind man was rejected by his own friends and family after he was given the gift of sight. The suffering, however, does not have to have the final word in your life. If you remain in your faith, eternal peace will be your ultimate reward.

Andrew Diamond

12 grader

Christ Church Valdosta

Send us your sermons!

Have you had a youth Sunday lately at your church or a talk given by a young person? Send them into Elizabeth to be published in News from the DoG House.

Ultimate!

Cornerstone, the Augusta-wide youth event, hosted its first multi-church Ultimate Frisbee tournament on Sunday! Five teams and over 40 students battled it out at the epicenter for an afternoon of fun and friendly competition. It was awesome.