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All-GA Youth Worship Planning Committee Sponsored |
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All-GA Youth Worship Planning Committee Sponsored |
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Speaker: Elizabeth Ladd
During a General Assembly filled with countless worship services, you can count on youth-led worship to touch you in a way that is unique. And so it was at the Sunday night Youth worship.
The crowds waiting to get in to the Marriott ballrooms were large and animated, fresh from the inspiration of the Ware lecture and from the walk from the convention center under the beautiful crescent moon. As the youth invited us in to the room, a hush fell over the group. Hundreds of people lined the walls and slowly formed a circle as they filled the room from the walls toward the center. At the center was the chalice, surrounded by the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Poetry set the stage for the sharing of the elements. For the rest of the service, the elements were passed from hand to hand as we reflected on their past, the connection they represent to our neighbors and to the sharing we do with one another, and to our future.
Gratitude for the sharing we do was another aspect of that meditation. In that vein, we sang "Hine Ma Tov" ("how good it is to live with our neighbors").
Several people were invited to give testimonials about relationships across different boundaries and in spite of expectations - between youth and elder, among "kick-ass" female activists, at the perennial surprises our youth present us with as they grow in to the youth program, and at the unexpected people who can be sources of support.
All present had an opportunity to participate in that kind of unexpected interaction, as we sang a round of "Building Bridges" and "Dear Friends." Not only did the two sets of words complement each other, but the four groups in the round meant that the music rose and fell almost of its own accord. Gradually add to this the rhythms beaten out on the floor and clapped and the effect was transcendent; so much so that by the end of the service, the room was united in several large spirals and circles of people as all joined hands and moved through the space. Even the music itself contributed to that unity, as by the end of the service, all the words and all the rounds had resolved themselves down to almost one unison sound.
Shouts of joy pierced the silence, and worship ended. If you attended General Assembly and haven't participated in a Youth Worship, you've missed a unique and enriching counterpoint to the week's activities.Reported for the Web by Jordan Young; photos by Jordan Young
General Assembly 2001 · Program Grid
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