Thursday Evening Worship – Hamilton Thorne

Thursday evening was the only joint worship session (youth, adults, junior youth, and young kids), and began with the children singing for everyone. The adult/youth choir sang after that. Last came the message, from a mother and a daughter. Their message was based on a story about Mother Theresa, which they began with. It went something like this: Two nuns came to Mother Theresa, with a sad story. A mother had given birth to a child in an alleyway, but rats had eaten the newborn. The nuns were wondering where God was in this situation. Mother Theresa answered with a  question: “Where were God’s people?” The speakers elaborated on this for the rest of the evening, teaching that neither man nor the Holy Spirit can do God’s work without the other. They used several examples, including a GPS system, a satellite system, and an Amish bench.

Thursday Morning Worship – Lauren Hooley

Thursday morning we had worship.  First, there was time where we had a chance to take up the mirrors from the night before.  The speaker for the morning was Leonard Dow. He told a story about a time when he turned down an offer to join a group of people who were worshipping.  They were part of a different culture and although he was curious, he was too afraid to join them.  Later he regretted this decision.  He talked about getting rid of the things that get in the way of our relationships with God.  He also talked about how important it is to follow God throughout your whole life. We finished the worship session with singing.

Wednesday Evening Worship – Lynelle Yoder

During the youth worship at each convention, there is usually one service that is considered the “heavy” one.  In Columbus, we had that worship service Wednesday evening.  The speaker on Wednesday evening was Jessica Schrock Ringenburger.  Jessica talked about the fear that she lived with growing up in a low income family with an abusive father.  In addition to fearing her father’s abuse, she also worried that people would find out that she came from a troubled family and wasn’t the perfect girl that everyone believed she was.  She spoke to us about what it took for her to overcome those fears.  When she finished speaking, our worship leaders shared about their own fears and invited each of us to write those fears on a sqaure mirror that we had each been given as we entered the arena.  To me, the worship leaders’ sharing felt kind of forced.  However, I think a lot of the MYFers would say that it was at least somewhat meaningful for them to identify and think about their personal fears.

Wednesday Morning Worship–Twila Albrecht

Another bustling morning began as thousands of youth poured into the arena. Worship began with a short movie clip about the creation of the earth. Following this short clip was a stomp performance which included Ben Mast, Anna Nafziger, Emily Grimes, JD Nafziger, Corine Alvarez, Mary Roth and Evan Grimes. To give you a brief insight to this awesome performance I will be interviewing Ben Mast and Anna Nafziger.

T: Tell us what you thought when you first entered the stage in front of ALL those people!

B: absolutely terrified

A: ummma yea i was pretty much like good thing I peed earlier.

T: What was the symbolism?

B: It represented the relationship of God and the Holy Spirit in creation.

T: How did you feel the performance went?

A: It went well but there were a few small mistakes that no one else noticed.

Following stomp our speaker for the morning, Shane Hipps, was introduced. Shane Hipps was very good at grabbing the attention of many sleep-deprived teens. He spoke about the Holy Spirit’s presence in our own breath. He stressed that our breath is a daily gift and that it is always with us just as the Holy Spirit is always with us. Many of us really enjoyed what Shane Hipps had to say and we also picked up a snazzy new dance move! (Notice the last name Hipps).

Tuesday Evening Worship — Ben Mast

This being my first convention, I was absolutely and completely unprepared for the ridiculous amount of Menno youth I would be worshiping with. Upon entering the convention worship area (a hockey arena), I was shocked by the streams of youth pouring down the aisles and filling thousands of seats. The excitement, already built up from the wait to get into the arena to worship, exploded upon the entrance of several staff members carrying thousands of glowsticks. The center was filled with whoops and hollers and loud music and blowup penguins and monkeys.

After many, many minutes of the incredible noise, Rachel Schwartzentruber-Miller gave a brief introduction to the convention. We then met our worship leaders of the week, Ana Gomez and Peter Eberly, and our song leader, Jeremy Kempf. The most powerful part of the worship, for me, was the speaker of the night, Brenda Matthews. She began her message with a moving poem. Most of her message was a challenge to the youth: to open our hearts during the week, step into our responsibilities in the church, and be willing to step out of our comfort zones. She was strong and filled with passion for what she spoke of (and was also very loud).

I appreciated the window the first service provided to the week of convention, especially since this is my first one. I also appreciated the challenges Brenda provided, and I hope to continue to be challenged throughout the week.

worship on bicycles–from Lois

If you would have asked me two weeks ago to try to guess what the highlight of this bike trip  might be for me, I would have likely said that my best moment will be riding into the parking lot of our hotel on the last day.  Just to be finished—I don’t think I could have imagined anything much better than that.

However, the best part of this bike trip for me happened as a surprise blessing along the road Sunday morning.  As with most mornings, my group began the days’ ride by commenting on how fatigued our legs felt and  how hilly the terrain.  We had ridden about 10 miles when we passed a church and someone called out, “Hey, today is Sunday.  I kind of forgot!”  And then a second person shouted, “Let’s have church while we bike”.  A division of responsibility followed,  complete with who would lead singing and call to worship, who would lead sharing time and the children’s story, and who would ‘preach’.     Following the ‘Berkey’ order of worship we each contributed to the service.  Singing as we biked left us breathless and of course, no one would have particularly enjoyed listening to us.  But we sang from our very souls.  Listening to Lauren’s children’s story, (via Emily as the mouthpiece for the front of the pack) about a certain group of bikers on their way to convention was a highlight.   A short sermon was offered that included an analogy using a bicycle wheel/spokes/hub (stay tuned–you might hear more about that on July 26th when  we share about convention with the congregation) And finally,  sharing with one another our fears, aches and pains  and then praying  for one another as we biked –this was a holy time.  This worship service, taking place on our bikes as we rode to Columbus, was a taste of heaven that I won’t soon forget.

Days 2, 3, and 4

It has been a while since Friday night. Saturday was a long slow day along straight flat roads. We ended up in Bluffton for the night and though they had wireless, there was little to report. The admissions staff treated us to pizza and gave a campus tour. I ducked out to catch the end of an Anabaptist history lecture that, ironically enough, used the Convention text, John 20:21-22, as the scripture for reflexion. John Roth, who was in attendance, stopped by the dorms later to visit the group. Luckily, we on campus a week before the fourth of July. Apparently, so many people leave Bluffton over the 4th weekend, the town holds fireworks a week before. They were a nice end to a day on the road.

Sunday was a beautiful day! The wind was at our backs and the pedaling easy which led to easy conversation and some good bonding. We even avoided the rain. Right after we pulled into our first sag and got under the picnic shelter, the clouds opened up. We stayed dry and had a great rest of the day. We ended our trip in Prospect, population 1,191. They had pizza but no WiFi. Sorry for the lack of updates. A gracious Methodist church allowed us to sleep on their floor and some members volunteered their showers to help us clean up. After Hesston College stopped by to buy us ice cream at a local parlor. They left to finish their trek to Columbus while we headed for the church floor. Sleeping late was a welcome refreshment and we didn’t leave the church until at least nine.

Today was our most dangerous day on the road because we were riding in more populated areas. We managed to avoid loaded trucks, divided highways, and lots of traffic lights to end up at the Embassy Suites here in Dublin, Ohio. There was some consternation over the fact that we didn’t actually drive all the way into Columbus. Anyway, we’re safe and sound inside our hotel. The bikes are packed for home and we’re ready for this week’s Convention.

Notice

There are photos on the Riding the Road page.

Day one

Blogs are a really good idea until you get tired. So this may be shorter then anticipated. Our first 15 miles saw the first of the day’s damage. The rear axle of Hamilton’s bike literally snapped in two. This led us to use our reserve bike during the very first leg. Still, our first stop was beautiful. We sat in the shade, ate nectarines, clementines, trail mix, and the first of our PowerAid bars. Our second leg took us to a small rural Methodist church who had unlocked their doors, turned on the AC, and lent us the use of their picnic pavilion. Sandwiches, naps on the picnic tables, and re-application of sunscreen refreshed us for the afternoon ride. Evan did have a flat, courtesy of one of his spokes, but a quick patch would hold him until the “Wheel Shop,” Bryan’s local cycle store.

The third leg got hilly. John noted the name of the nearest town, Hellman. We stopped at a Methodist church which had prepared rice crispie treats and cold water. It was a heart-warming show of ecumenical hospitality. It was our last leg that showed fatigue. A group of riders had to head to the bike shop for a new axle, tire, spoke, two wheel alignments, and an unending conversation about bike repair by the incredibly enthusiastic owner.

We are alive and well, slightly sore, terribly tired, but blessed. There is joy in trial, and the sights of nature on the road as a welcome change of scenery from daily life. The space to think, a reprieve from life’s daily clutter. For now, it is time to rest. We ask your prayers for safe travel and fitful sleep.

On the eve of departure

Tomorrow the majority of the MYF will wake up early and hit the pavement at 7 am. Though Mennonite Youth Conventions are only a week, they were formative times during my years in youth group. I expect that our forthcoming trip will incur even greater significance because of the bike trip. In our super-connected age which offers live feeds, overnight shipping, and video conferencing, I believe that we forget the gift of distance. Travel by air offers near instant gratification. Even trips in cars and trains have barely enough downtime to read a good book. Instead, we are taking four days to travel a distance that could easily be covered in hours. What will this difference make for our group?

Travel is an inherently spiritual experience. God’s Spirit is seemingly more easily encountered in movement. Christian travel to the Holy Land,  pilgrimage to the great relics in Europe, Anabaptistism’s migration around the globe, Abraham’s trek from Ur to Canaan, and Paul’s missionary journeys have all created a rich tradition of travel. But why is travel spiritual? When we travel, we see new things. Whether it is new cultures, landscapes, weather, people, food, or open road, seeing things that are not our own remind us who we are. We are the people of God and have experienced that reality in our own environment. Our environment may sometimes seem mundane and so we forget how to see God, but when the former changes, the latter is made more visible. The duration of travel is important. It gives us time to reflect on God, the constant factor in our changing circumstance.

Since God is our constant, our lives witness along the way. The theme verse for Convention, Jn 20:21-22, quotes Jesus. “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you…he breathed on them and said, “receive the holy Spirit.” Not only does the Spirit bear witness to God’s constancy, the Spirit has always been the driving force of the church, and therefore the source of our collective movement. This may be giving more significance than is warranted a four day bike ride, but the extreme shift in daily activity and normal convenience surely prepares us to at least be more attuned to the whispers of God. Perhaps the wind of the open road will offer more than the rustling of grass and heat from the pavement. We may hear the source of the church as the room for meditation and the change of our environment make us more attuned to God. Then we may “Breathe and be Filled.”