A ministry of the Youth & Young Adult Ministry Office of the Church of the Brethren General Board
Daily Coverage

Thursday, July 18, 2002
"HOPE . . . FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS"

Paul Grout speaks to the NYC audience in front of a large portrait of Jesus that he painted.

WEATHER: Remaining very sunny and warm, high in the mid- to upper 90s

KEY EVENTS: Morning and evening worship celebrations; small-group meetings; first day of hiking in the Rockies; more workshops and service projects; NYC choir practice and debut; late-evening Relient K concert, Puerto Rican worship, and "BVS Zone" scavenger hunt

TODAY'S QUOTES: "We've got to figure out a way we can live together as a church when we disagree and things aren't going well." — NYC dean Steve Van Houten

"So much of our spiritual work is simply remembering the way that God has brushed against us." — spiritual director Glenn Mitchell.

WORSHIP CELEBRATIONS: The morning service featured an assortment of drums and other percussion instruments to explore the "rhythms of faith" as well as youth speech contest winners Hannah Serfling and Amy Rhodes.

Serfling, from Root River Church of the Brethren in Minnesota, is currently a 16-year-old junior at Fillmore Central High. Her message was titled "Leadership Through Agape Love." She challenged NYCers with the questions, "Who are you?" and "Can you change the world?" Just as Esther was a leader, she said, God is preparing each of us to be leaders in such a time as this.

Sabrina Brinkmeier, of Pearl City, Ill., receives a back massage from Josh Becker of Williamsburg, Pa., during the "Backrubs 101" workshop led by Sarah Leatherman Young.

Rhodes, from Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., gave a message titled "Make the choice, meet the challenge." She reminded the NYC audience that we are both fortunate and blessed. "Just as Esther was challenged, so are we . . . We have the opportunity to stand up against war and death" and "step out of our comfort zones." This generation, according to Rhodes, "must proclaim the values that our church was founded on: peace, love, tolerance, and friendship."

In the evening service, the NYC choir performed for the first time with a choral call to worship. Worship also included a drama, a time of spiritual centering, and another dynamic assortment of music, highlighted by two offering songs from the Dominican Youth Worship Team that set the arena rocking. A number of elements featured Brethren Volunteer Service (see story, page 2).

Paul Grout, the 2002 Annual Conference moderator, brought the evening message. After a "video poem" of flashing words and images created by Grout, he began by painting the words of the NYC theme on a large painting of Jesus he had completed earlier in the week. He then spoke with high intensity to a pin-drop quiet audience about the many things holding US culture back from a true relationship with Jesus and truly becoming alive. He called it "a culture afraid."

Shawn Replogle of Waterloo, Iowa, leads the optional early morning Bible study Thursday morning.

He told the story of a dog he once owned that shook with joy whenever it saw him come home. Grout compared that to God's unconditional love "shaking" for joy for us, and the need for us to begin shaking with that same love in God's presence. "It's not about you, it's about God," he said. Guest musician Ken Medema wrapped up the service with two songs composed around the theme and Grout's message, the latter one featuring the line, "It will all go better if you shake."

OTHER NOTES, EVENTS, AND THINGS OF INTEREST: NYCers showed their generosity in Tuesday night's offering. More than $15,000 was collected to support the NYC Scholarship Fund. . . . Thursday morning's Brethren Witness-sponsored awareness event invited people to walk along an aisle representing one of the suffering countries of the world on the way into worship. Countries included Sudan, Guatemala, and Iraq. . . . An advertisement before the morning worship featured Daniel Radcliff of Elgin, Ill., running amok through the Brethren Press bookstore on a humorous journey through the many uses for the products found there. . . . A cascade of bubbles floated through the gym toward the start of the evening worship. . . . A bus broke down on the way back from a hiking trip, delaying the return of some NYCers to the campus. . . . Advisor Ken Gresh worked the dining halls dressed as a clown to gather sponsors and donations for Saturday's 5K run/walk.