Summer...

For the rest of the church, when mid May rolls around and the kids hear the final bell of the school year, the congregation goes into Sabbath mode. There is a general rest from the busyness of the program year. Events are more and more scarce, and it becomes a great opportunity to go through closets, clean out classrooms, and take a deep breath after a busy, productive program year.

Perhaps it's the joyful freedom of summertime; perhaps it's the long, hot days or the stillness of the southern breeze; perhaps it's the brightness of God's creation. For some reason, youth ministry always seems to flourish most under the beating sun of summertime. Mission trips, conferences, and even Sunday after-church lunches together lead to tangible encounters with the Holy Spirit.

Our youth had lots of "official" opportunities to grow in their faith this summer, and they did an absolutely phenomenal job bearing witness to those opportunities yesterday in worship. In case you missed it or needed more information, here's the 60-second run-down of the summer with Unity Youth.

Asheville Youth Mission

In June, we took 13 middle school students and 5 adults to Asheville Youth Mission. AYM is hosted in First Presbyterian Church in Asheville, and works with lots of organizations in the Asheville area to combat the issues of hunger, homelessness, and poverty in the Asheville area. Our youth had the opportunity to work in a garden that provided produce for free for low-income families. The produce from that garden supplied Food Bank where our youth got to sort through produce donations and package them for distribution. That food bank also supplies food for a community meal for homeless folks at a local church, and our youth got to help with the preparations for that meal.

It was amazing how the organizations in the Asheville community worked together and embraced the volunteer efforts of AYM. The fact that groups could set aside political and religious differences in order to unite for the good of those less fortunate is something that stands in stark contrast to our contemporary society. It's something that struck me as a glimpse of God's Kingdom on earth.

The theme of the week was fear not, love all. By the end of the week, not just my way of thinking was changed, but I was.  I am more thankful of what I have and more sympathetic for those not as fortunate.  I also take time to think about what I can do. -Abby, 7th Grader

Our youth also got the opportunity to spend a day with veterans living in Veterans Restoration Quarters. Many had fallen on hard times due to mental illness, addiction, or lack of work, and VRQ helps to get these folks back on their feet. Our youth got the opportunity to spend the day with veterans, gardening, eating lunch, and playing Bingo. I was impressed by our youth who had no fear in talking to these adult men, and were in fact excited and engaged in their conversations.

When it was time to leave, they had to yell for me to come on because we were having such a good conversation.  -Matt, 7th Grader

For the moments when God's grace touched our hearts during this week at AYM, and for the moments to come when these memories inform who we become, we give thanks to God.

High School Work Camp

The very next week in June, 11 our high school students met up with two youth groups from the Pittsburgh area and traveled to Charleston, SC to help Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with home repairs and recovery following the floods that occurred in October 2015. It was the kind of trip that began with receiving 20 large plain cheese pizzas when you ordered 30 large pepperoni pizzas, and that was the sort of vibe of the week. As leaders, we encountered lots of challenges: poisonous spider bites, kidney stones, sewage backing up in the kitchen, large insects in the sleeping quarters, complex construction projects, and three roof projects in 97 degree weather. Yet, in the midst of all of that, God was still at work. 

The phrase that stuck out to me the most that week was printed on the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance T-shirts: out of chaos, hope. -Cate, 10th grader

One of our sites was at the house of a woman named Miss Gloria. Miss Gloria sat on her porch all day while we were there, and she would talk for hours with our youth, giving them advice for life, trying to set them up with new boyfriends or girlfriends, and sharing the latest neighborhood news. Just having someone to sit and talk with all day was a major blessing for Miss Gloria, and although we didn't finish her roof, she cried with joy and gratitude when we left on Friday. Meeting Miss Gloria was a special spiritual moment for many of our youth.

The week also served as an opportunity for youth to experience real gratitude for what they have, and for the comforts that they enjoy. They worked hard and they were tired. They saw desperate poverty and heard about complex and difficult situations. They showered in a trailer and slept on the floor. And yet this remained the best week of the summer for many of them. Why? Because God is at work.

Montreat Youth Conference

In July, 20 of our high school youth and four adults spent a week at Montreat Youth Conference in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. Montreat Youth Conference is a fabulous Presbyterian Conference that occurs for several weeks of the summer. Over 1,000 Presbyterian teenagers gathered the week we attended to worship and explore their relationships with God. We attended worship twice daily and also attended small groups and recreational times to help cement our understanding of God.

One of the more transformational parts of Montreat is the free time that high school youth get to spend together. In a culture that does not stop and puts a tremendous amount of pressure on youth, it was refreshing for our teenagers to spend time just together, just hiking or gazing out across Lake Susan, not a care in the world. It was a joy to observe our youth without the weight of the world on their shoulders.

How about you?

Only some of our youth were able to attend trips this summer, but that doesn't mean that God wasn't at work in YOUR life. I've heard wonderful stories so far about experiences at summer camp, at the beach, at grandma's house, or in the mountains. God is moving, working, and transforming in all of these average places, and I believe God has been at work in the lives of each of us this year. Where has God been at work in YOUR life this summer? How will it transform your 2016-2017 school year?