Category : Youth

I’m going home.

 Moving 75 people through an airport is not easy. Moving 75 Youth (and their ‘adults’) is even more fun. Youth tend to be free spirits and although they almost always know where they are, it’s comforting for us adults to share in that knowledge. The reality is that this group is really great.

Getting here, we had to meet at DIA at 4:00 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight. Everyone moves slower that early in the morning. The flight was pretty mellow, as it seemed most on the plane was sleeping.

Returning to Denver our flight did not leave until after 5:00 p.m. so we had plenty of time to get packed, loaded and double check that everyone had tickets. Our flight from Indianapolis left late, so our layover in Las Vegas (yes, Indiana to Las Vegas to Denver…fabulous! We waved as we passed over Colorado.) was shortened. So we just had time for a mad bathroom rush, then back on a plane headed east to Denver. No time to take in all the humanity that can only be experienced in Vegas. THAT would be an experience.

When we touched down in Denver, cheers of joy broke out. Honestly, some of the other passengers on the plane were probably pretty relieved to be on the ground. Remember, 75 youth crammed in a metal cylinder at 10,000 feet. Over all, I must say, they were very well behaved.

We got our bags, said our good- bye and went our separate ways.

My hope is that some of these Youth will be back in Indiana in 3 years. I hope that they want to share this experience with the younger youth in their congregation. My prayer is that the Triennium experience will not completely disappear from their hearts in the next few months as they move back into their daily routine. I have trust that God will find ways to speak to them, and me, no matter where our lives take us.

‘We are the children of the God of Jesus. We are the children of the God of Esther.’ ~Mitzi Minor

 Amen

Impressions from Cooper

v  Fun

v  Hot

v  Lots of walking

v  Lots of people

v  Good food

v  Very HOT

v  Some other stuff that I cannot think of right now

v  Annoying

v  Funny

v  Very, very HOT

v  The rain here is AWESOME, it’s like a warm shower

v  Cool lightening

v  I wish Noah was here

v  Very, very, very HOT

v  Pin trading

v  New people

v  Really hot

v  Tiring

v  Party!

v  And sitting in the front for worship is super awesome

From Cooper

come worship Jesus

Worship at triennium is hard to express. It’s huge.  It’s loud. It’s colorful.  It’s exciting.  It’s young.  It’s creative. It’s crowded.  It’s powerful.  It’s God’s word in a different way. Worship at Triennium is not a sit and listen experience.  Not even close.  The audience is involved.  There is music and singing on and off stage.  Each service has a skit based on that day’s scripture passage.  One service had liturgical dance, and Jesus was dancing.  In general, I am not a big fan of liturgical dance, but this was good.

I remember, way back in the day, when I was so very young, part of the experience of going to concert was the line outside the door.  A little community would form.  Common interests discussed.  It was a good time.

Getting ready for worship at Triennium is similar.  The line starts about an hour before the doors open.  Youth crowd, or rather respectfully gather, in front of the doors.  There is music provided by a local radio station, so singing and dancing are pretty much assured.  As are the ever present games of ‘screaming ninja’ (if you don’t know it, learn it.)  The door ‘guards’ entertain with impromptu dance routines and keep the crowd fresh by handing out bottled water.

When the doors open, the rush is on and it only take minutes for the seats to fill. 

Each service had a different preacher. They were Bruce Reyes-chow, Debra Matthews, Mitzi Minor, and Graham Baird with the final worship lead by Tony Campolo.  I invite you to check out these dynamic and enthusiastic pastors. The beauty of this design is that each has a different style.  Over the course of the 5 worship services, it could be pretty much guaranteed that everyone would make a connection with at least one of the pastors.  One may sound more radical then another or more conservative.  But all have a passion and a commitment to this generation of Youth.  It was wonderful to hear.  One preached in a story telling style that, honestly, confused me.  But when talking to some of the Youth, he’s style spoke directly to them.

The overall message for the week was answering the call from God.  And that call can be subtle, so listen and pay attention.  Even little things can change the world.  I know it as ‘the power of one’ meaning that one person can make a change and if others join in, it can become a movement and the change grows.  That was Jesus does.  He calls us to join the movement and make positive change in ourselves and see the change we can create in our world.

Correction

1. Breakfast does not have custom created ommlet.  They have super yummy scrambled eggs
2. One of the dances we did is called the “Iesha”…not the “Moesha”.

I feel better now.

Free samples

Alaska, Hawaii, Japan…but mostly Texas.  Seems everyone here is from somewhere else.

Last night, there was a small group of Youth, maybe 5 or 6, running around the commons area promoting their plans for today. 

Their intent is to have a 500 person hug by the clock tower at exactly 1:00 p.m. They were offering up free samples.  And, they were sweaty…but so sweet!  If they do not get a full 500, and I really don’t know how they will determine that, one of the guys will do something very stupid (yet to be defined) during tonight’s night’s worship, one of the girls will do back flip across the stage and another guy will do something involving helium. I’m not too clear on the last guy’s plans. 

I might be there to help them out.  But it’s amazingly hot and I can only imagine what a 500 person hug is going to be like.  All that heat, all that humidity, all those hormones, all that sweat,….all that and so much more. 

Think I need to head to the clock tower.

I’ll keep you informed.

Singing in the rain

And then, it rained.  It rained the kind of rain that would have Mike Nelson interrupting afternoon programming with the latest ‘Doppler’ radar report.  It came straight down, gentle and warm.  The type of rain that makes you think if you had a bar of soap, you’d just take another shower.  Walking back from my small group, I joined with my fellow flip-flop clad walkers and slipped my shoes off, enjoying every puddle along my path.

What is rain without song? …boring…  Spontaneous song broke out around me.  Dancers appeared through the trees.   Intense, focused Youth returned to their toddler years splashing in puddles.  Others ran for cover, huddling in doorways and under trees.  One Youth ran to the middle our road, raised his arms to Heaven and screamed “God, I love this stuff!!  THANK YOU!!!” 

And then, the flip side of the joys of air-conditioning; Cold air is really cold when you are all wet. 

After a quick change, and the rain stops, it’s time to head back out for dinner.  Funny, it’s so humid, it’s hard to tell it’s not raining any more.

~jen

Breathing water, drinking air.

 

It is humid.  And hot.  It’s quite a shock to have air blanket you wherever you go.  The moisture is nice for the skin, but feels so oppressive.  And my hair…don’t even get me started.  I know, I know…it’s much worse in other parts of the country.  I have been reminded of that little fact several times by the plethora of Texans and Tennesseans wondering the campus.  But for me….it hot and its moister then I prefer.  I prefer 100 degrees in a sauna over 90 in a steam room. 

Around the campus, there are ‘water horses’.  These are continuously running water stations for the purpose of filling water bottles or grabbing a quick drink on the way to the next activity.  They are also PERFECT for a quick full body cool down. It’s a tempting option when walking across campus to get to the next activity.  Even at 10:30 in the evening, it’s tempting.  Things don’t cool down around here very quickly. 

In my nightly prayers, I give thanks for the person who invented air conditioning

a day in the Life of a Triennium Youth

New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Guatemala, Nebraska, Longmont, Denver, Arvada, Westminster, Monument, Grand Junction…..

There are over 5000 registered participants at this year’s Triennium.  Youth are everywhere.  Youth rule the campus. 

Every morning, our day starts with a wonderful breakfast filled with great homemade goodies and ‘made to order’ omelets.  Then we move to our small groups for 2 hour sessions.

In small groups, the days scripture and bible story is discussed.  In my group, there are 25 Youth and 5 adults.  Our topics tend to wonder into school, sports, politics, world affairs, celebrity gossip and of course, pressure.

After small groups, there is lunch.  Again with wonderful food, great service and great hospitality.

Daily worship is from 2 – 4 p.m.  It starts with an energizer, which is really fun and …well….energizing.  LOTS of dance steps (doing the ‘Carlton’, ‘Moesha’ and then a little Pee Wee Herman).  Loud music, interesting choreography and lots of laughter.

Each worship service has a skit based on the day’s scripture.  This is planned and acted out with the Youth worship team. It’s always relevant, humorous and gets the point across.  You never know how they will be presenting the story.

The sermons have been presented by strong, dynamic and diverse ministers. (sorry, I don’t have their names at this exact moment)  They have stirred the crowd, bringing them to their feet.  And I am here to tell you, it is a sight to see when 5000 Youth stand to cheer the word of God. 

We have some free time following worship. Then dinner, and, yes, again, wonderful food.  We will not go hungry by any means.

In the evenings, there are a couple choices.  We can stay in our air-conditioned room.  Hang out in our dorm lobby to play games, watch some TV. or shoot some pool.  We could go see a movie in a neighboring dorm.  Or head down to the ‘Mall’ to either play games (twister, giant scrabble, giant jenga…etc.) or hang out on the green and dance the conga line while Gwen Stefani blasts through the speakers.  It’s a hard call.

Curfew is at 11:00 and lights out at 11:30.

It’s a long, packed day.  I think I can safely report that we are all enjoying ourselves and seeing some great and creative expressions of faith and the amazing ways God works in the lives of Youth

~jen

First impressions

So far it has been awesome! Worship was so cool, not like Joel Olsteen at all REALLY humid, REALLY tired.

 <3 Ashley

It is WICKED hot & humid, but the dorms are all nice and cold and it rained a bit. The campus is HUGE, I already got lost. The worship service was amazing, very fun, very loud… lots of people.

~Kay.

Triennium 2010! For Such a Time as This.

Greetings and welcome to the Central Presbyterian Church Triennium 2010 blog!

Triennium is a Presbyterian Church gathering of Youth at Purdue University in Indiana.  It only comes around once every three years and it is a HUGE event with lots of activities, music, games and energetic worship experiences to express the glory and wonder of God. 

This year, three members of Central’s Youth program are heading to Indiana.  We are leaving on Tuesday July 20th and will return on Saturday, July 24th.  We will be traveling with many other Presbyterian Youth from the Denver Presbytery and the Peaks and Plains Presbytery.

We want to thank all the people who helped us make this exciting journey.  To all the people in our congregation, our families and our friends who helped us raises funds, offered prayers and gave us encouragement, we thank you! 

If you would like to learn more about the Preabyterian Triennium, please visit their web site at http://www.presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/index.html

More posts will be coming very soon!