I found this seminar to be both informative and interesting to attend. Going into it, I figured that I would just sit back and listen. That’s not the way it went though. This particular seminar brought you into the conversation, so I had to think about what the people around me were saying, while trying to keep up with all the political lingo that was being thrown around. They started by showing us interview of Goshen College by CNN. I thought the students represented Mennonites well, and had some very interesting things to say. One of the points that was mentioned was about citizenship. They said that we should think of ourselves as being global citizens, not only American citizens. We should not only think about what’s good for our country, but what’s good for the world. That was just one of the many interesting points that they mention during their interview. After the interview, there was a time for discussion and questions about the video.

the main message of this seminar is that games are ok to an extent.  in other words, they are fine until they start to take over your life and distract you from God.  in this discussion based seminar, many people offered their opinions and logs on how much they play.  We began by distinguishing the essential lingo of games so everyone was on a level playing field.  So, the obvious terms that i’m sure everyone in the congregation already knows all about such as FPS, RPG and F12k1 were given.  Later, we debated why games are good or bad for your health, why they do or do not cause violence in people, and even how wicked awesome it would be if video games were reality.  a certain myfer that may or may not be named david nussbaum said that he would never be late to school if he could fly.  all in all, the message was pretty predictable but it was still fun to hear what people had to say in the conversation, even if some of the adults had the nerve to show up to a youth seminar. (clear throat here).

you can keep this anonymous but don’t forget to clear your throat at the end.

Love, Intimacy, and Spirituality was about exactly what the title of the seminar says. It focused on the different ways of defining love ane intimacy and how they related to a persons spirituality. It explained links between an individuals relationships with parents and other loved ones and how that translated into a relationship with God. In other words, if a person had a certain type of relationship with their parents, it may translate into that same type of relationship with God. The speaker explained his theories by using short video clips and charts. All in all, I believe that this was an interesting and informational seminar.

I attended Jep Hostetler’s seminar on Joy for all ages. I knew Jep
from Columbus Mennonite Church, where we attended until I moved to Goshen. His main point was that while we are serving God, we should be doing things we like and are good at. Be joyful while serving God. He showed us some magic tricks which are his passion. I would like to thank my church family for enabling me to attend the Mennonite Convention in Columbus.

One part of attending convention was to serve members of the Columbus community through a “Servant Project”.  The Berkey Ave. MYF’s service took place on Tuesday afternoon, just before the opening worship service that evening.  Once the youth arrived at the service site, a cul-de-sac of project housing, they were instructed to create flowerbeds in front of each condo.  This involved lots of shoveling bringing wheel barrows of dirt from three massive piles to the many designated plots.  As the proper amount of dirt was distributed to more than 40 plots, some of the youth spread mulch.  All this work was in preparation for flowers to be planted in these plots by the other youth groups.  Our MYF came away tired but feeling that they made a huge difference.

Overall I fell like the bike trip went very smoothly, we didn’t have any major set backs, and every place we planned on staying the night, they were ready for us. A few memories, mainly on the first day (I think) was how we had a three person pile up while Lane was trying to get directions from Susan. Right after that, we had to travel down a tar road which we felt the aftermath of for at least a day after, having to clean off tar from our bike frames, tires, shoes, and more.  While trying to fix Hamilton’s broken axle, Joel’s bent wheel, Evan’s bike, and Lane’s clips, the other groups were busy getting lost. From one wrong turn, they found themselves taking a five mile detour, which ended their longest day of biking.  The rest of the trip seemed to fly by, with only a few mishaps, like a flat tire from Hamilton and Twila.  We all got to know each other much better through the 14 or more hours on our bikes, on top of the days and nights spent resting our legs and butts.

The taize service was a nice change in atmosphere from week of upbeat, high energy, and loud worship services.  It was a relaxing service with involvement from many Goshen area church members. It consisted of a nice mix of quiet songs, meaningful scripture, and long prayers. It was touching to see many of our youth in a very deep state of meditation after a long week of late nights and fun.

I am writing about the speaker Greg Boyd.  I thought that the most interesting thing about him speaking was that he grew up as an athiest and isnt even mennonite.  But having him speak was also a good way to see a different point of view.  He didn’t talk much about his childhood but what parts he did talk about seemed very difficult.  He talked about how we need to bring the holy spirit into our lives.  But with the way that he was raised i  think  that it would be tough for him to know the love of God when it wasn’t shown to him by his parents.  But he was still able to do it. So those of us who have been raised in a loving church should be able to do it very easily compared to him.

The hymn sing Friday night could be considered somewhat of a failure. Despite the fact that the man leading hymns was supposedly well-known, he led the songs at such a slow pace that the evening seemed more like a funeral than a joyful hymn sing. He also added random songs that weren’t in the program and bullocksed up 606 by trying to manipulate the pace and dynamics in ineffective ways. However, the service was punctuated by short sketches by the likes of Ted & Co. that were okay, but not particularly enjoyable, as Ted reverted to his trademark “gruff voice.” Even though performance wasn’t the best, though, there were many people there and all of them were williing to sing, which was a good thing to see.

Worship on Friday began with a bit more energy than the usual sleepy-eyed mornings, perhaps a carry over from Thursday night’s joint worship session.  But more likely it was the excitement surrounding the morning’s speaker, Shane Claiborne.  Over the past few years, Claiborne has gained widespread attention through his books, Jesus For President and The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical.  However, his appeal is shown more obviously through his intentional, alternative way of living. 

Claiborne shared his powerful testimony of God’s calling in his life and his passion for serving others.  Right out of college and seminary, Claiborne started a New Monastic community, The Simple Way, which reaches out to the marginalized and homeless in inner city Philadelphia.  He also spoke of his years working alongside Mother Theresa in Calcutta, India.  The piece from the morning that really stuck with me was when Claiborne asked, “What if Jesus really meant what he said?”