Youth Group Resumes!
by Rev. Griffin Phillips, Minister of Youth & Young Adults
Well, St. Paul is just getting back into the swing of things with Youth Group and Choir and planning upcoming trips. And I’m just getting into the swing of things with my recent start at the church. I am so excited and so grateful to be here with you all, and I want to share a couple of thoughts with you today.
Some people are going through some tough times right now… from political events to family events to many other things. We must not be fearful of the many obstacles we face, but confident that our vision and commitment can provide an example that will spur our nation to action. Our faith, trust, and hope in a better future can sustain us. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
I think God is loving and I think that God relates to us. God comes to us in particular circumstances, ways, and times. The Creator was with us before we were created, Christ lives with us and will continue to live with us, and the Holy Spirit directs us, assists us, and is with us even when times are difficult. God is love, and God is community. Thus, we must work to be community and care for and love each other. That is what a strong youth group can do for its members.
We must work to be community and care for and love each other.
I want to help build the church’s youth group into a type of family. Families are the foundation of our first experiences of the world, our first relationships, our first sense of belonging to a group. The meaning of family is deeply intertwined with a sense of ‘home,’ or belonging, and is essential to our sense of individual and social identity. And as we continue to grow up… in middle school, high school, and then even as young adults, we all need to experience a sense of belonging—to feel safe and secure. That type of family for all of these ages is what I want to build up here in a youth group or youth family.
We’ve had a great couple of weeks with events like the Progressive Dinner, our recent partying at the Winter Jam concert, and now it’s time for Ignite. Let me know if you have any questions, any thoughts on upcoming events, or if you’d like to lend a hand (email: griffin@stpaulchurchky.org) We have a great future ahead of us!