by Bishop Bill Gohl
Fortunately, it was the former.
This weekend, I had the privilege of spending time with middle school students from across our synod at FreeRide, our annual middle school youth event at NorthBay. Gathered under the theme Global Grace, we had meaningful worship, learning, fellowship and serving times together. Inspiring speakers, bible study, testimony, small groups – along with rock walls, zip lines, basketball and goofy games – made for the kind of life-changing experience I remember from 1986. These 200+ students were supported by adult leaders from their congregations as well as adult, young adult and LYO high school mentors, who brought the word “grace” to life in word and deed.
I enjoyed having meals with students from Grace, Westminster; Trinity, Deer Park; and Christ, Inner Harbor. I rekindled relationships with friends from Prince of Peace, Rosedale; St. Phillip’s, Wilmington; and St. John, Hagerstown. I learned much from the two forums I led for the adult leaders. I treasured the opportunity to see my own son, Andrew, totally engaged and making his own connections to this faith we share. It was a holy (if not terrifying) moment to pray, preach and preside for worship in this very special community.
My favorite moments of the weekend were the times when someone said, “Can we talk?” From such hesitant questions came rich conversations about life, faith, love and ministry. I am humbled by the faithful hearts our young people bring to these events and the ways they struggle to find integrity in the intersections of their faith and lives.
I admire the many adults (especially Karen Pugatch, our Youth + Family Ministry Coordinator – way to go Karen!) who made this retreat happen, but my respect for our high school LYO leaders causes my buttons to almost pop! I am so proud to have been a witness to the ways our LYO students made this event so polished and so well-done, in love for Christ and those who come after them.
I know the church has to do a new thing to effectively live out our high calling to be the body of Christ alive in this world; nevertheless, my sense of the church’s future is substantially brighter after this weekend. It’s a similar feeling I get when I serve as Pastor of the Week at Mar-Lu-Ridge and visit our outstanding campus ministries in Baltimore, College Park and Newark.
If your congregation hasn’t availed itself of our synod’s Youth + Family Ministry, or if it has been a while, I simply invite you to come and see.