Mud, Music and Melancholy
This weekend was a busy one for me. It was nice having a relatively full schedule, but I'm definitely feeling it this morning here at work.
Friday night I helped out with the youth group. I haven't been involved with youth in a few years and I figured it was about time I did. With Toby and Alysha moving away this coming Saturday I knew Steve would be short two leaders. So now is as a good time as any to step into the group.
It was the first event of the school year so Steve had something fun in store for them. That fun involved mud and plenty of it. We played a variation of capture the flag. There was a kiddy pool at either end of the field filled with water and mud. Each pool had six sponges which were to be transferred from one end to the other. The first team to get all 12 sponges won. If you had a sponge and got tagged in enemy territory then you were allowed to throw it back at the person who tagged you. It wasn't long until the mud was flying everywhere regardless if people had a sponge or not. But that was Steve's plan in the first place - let the mud fly! It was pretty funny seeing all the muddy hand prints on t-shirts from getting tagged and of course a few people were thrown into the pools completely. This part of the night was held by the beach so we all washed off as best as we could in the lake.
When we got back to the church we ate some burgers and ice cream cake. Steve gave a quick lesson on relationships. As has always been the case, youth group is all about relationships. So it's definitely important to foster the right kind of relationships and a nice safe environment where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves. Then the lights went out in the entire church and we played a game called Sardines. It's basically reverse hide and go seek. One person hides and as people find them they are to hide there as well. So eventually everyone is packed in one spot like a can of sardines. The last person to find the group loses. Well the game didn't really work out because it just turned into a scarefest. It got very very dark in the basement so it was pretty easy to bump into someone and end up jumping a little. Heh heh. All in all it was a great night. I was impressed at how well I was remembering names since I met most of them for the first time. We'll see how many names I remember this Friday.
Saturday I spent the day chillaxing before No Idols' last gig. Things weren't terribly polished because Ron, our leader, wasn't around for the last practice but it went well. These concerts in the park get so long though. It lasted two and a half hours with all the groups that performed. Luckily we got to open up the concert because by the time I got back on stage to wrap up the evening it was cold and dark out. I could barely see my chord charts.
Yesterday was kind of a strange day for me. It was great seeing all my University friends back for the school year, but it was bitter sweet. I'm just not part of that group anymore. There were a few hugs and hellows exchanged but that was about it. I never really got to talk to anyone that I wanted to. It was pretty much all meaningless platitudes. They were too busy with their current group of friends who are still part of the University lifestyle. Ever since graduating I've struggled with finding a place to fit in at church. Well now I have to find my place again with Toby, Teresa, and the band gone. Hopefully once the college and careers group starts back up that will help.
Last night Toby, Ian and I led worship at the church. It was my first Sunday as the official worship leader. Everything went pretty well except for not having words for everyone to look at.... again. Frustrating. Oh well, Pastor Jeremy will make sure that everything runs smoothly next week. We're also back on the radio so if any of you want to tune in you can catch us on Sunday nights at 6pm Eastern. Just go to www.cjtk.com and find the "Listen Live" link.
Matthew.
Friday night I helped out with the youth group. I haven't been involved with youth in a few years and I figured it was about time I did. With Toby and Alysha moving away this coming Saturday I knew Steve would be short two leaders. So now is as a good time as any to step into the group.
It was the first event of the school year so Steve had something fun in store for them. That fun involved mud and plenty of it. We played a variation of capture the flag. There was a kiddy pool at either end of the field filled with water and mud. Each pool had six sponges which were to be transferred from one end to the other. The first team to get all 12 sponges won. If you had a sponge and got tagged in enemy territory then you were allowed to throw it back at the person who tagged you. It wasn't long until the mud was flying everywhere regardless if people had a sponge or not. But that was Steve's plan in the first place - let the mud fly! It was pretty funny seeing all the muddy hand prints on t-shirts from getting tagged and of course a few people were thrown into the pools completely. This part of the night was held by the beach so we all washed off as best as we could in the lake.
When we got back to the church we ate some burgers and ice cream cake. Steve gave a quick lesson on relationships. As has always been the case, youth group is all about relationships. So it's definitely important to foster the right kind of relationships and a nice safe environment where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves. Then the lights went out in the entire church and we played a game called Sardines. It's basically reverse hide and go seek. One person hides and as people find them they are to hide there as well. So eventually everyone is packed in one spot like a can of sardines. The last person to find the group loses. Well the game didn't really work out because it just turned into a scarefest. It got very very dark in the basement so it was pretty easy to bump into someone and end up jumping a little. Heh heh. All in all it was a great night. I was impressed at how well I was remembering names since I met most of them for the first time. We'll see how many names I remember this Friday.
Saturday I spent the day chillaxing before No Idols' last gig. Things weren't terribly polished because Ron, our leader, wasn't around for the last practice but it went well. These concerts in the park get so long though. It lasted two and a half hours with all the groups that performed. Luckily we got to open up the concert because by the time I got back on stage to wrap up the evening it was cold and dark out. I could barely see my chord charts.
Yesterday was kind of a strange day for me. It was great seeing all my University friends back for the school year, but it was bitter sweet. I'm just not part of that group anymore. There were a few hugs and hellows exchanged but that was about it. I never really got to talk to anyone that I wanted to. It was pretty much all meaningless platitudes. They were too busy with their current group of friends who are still part of the University lifestyle. Ever since graduating I've struggled with finding a place to fit in at church. Well now I have to find my place again with Toby, Teresa, and the band gone. Hopefully once the college and careers group starts back up that will help.
Last night Toby, Ian and I led worship at the church. It was my first Sunday as the official worship leader. Everything went pretty well except for not having words for everyone to look at.... again. Frustrating. Oh well, Pastor Jeremy will make sure that everything runs smoothly next week. We're also back on the radio so if any of you want to tune in you can catch us on Sunday nights at 6pm Eastern. Just go to www.cjtk.com and find the "Listen Live" link.
Matthew.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home