What to do about Youth Group during current Shelter-In-Place orders and Self-Quarantine?  The RBCC Youth Group will continue to meeting virtually!  We may be scattered, but can find ways to be gathered and connected.  Sunday night meet-ups via ZOOM will happen at 6:00 in the evening for Joys and Concerns and other conversation.  Weekly challenges will come by text.   

Last week, the RBCC Youth received a special take-out delivery box on their doorstep.  As a way to stay connected to their Spiritual life and growth, the Youth Group Take-Out Box, is filled with spiritual practices and fun activities to do alone and together with their families for the next 6 weeks!
This is just the beginning of creative thinking and blazing new paths to go from a community gathered to a community scattered but staying connected!  We can be socially and spiritually connected while practicing physical distancing.  
I'm sharing here, the activities in the Youth Group Take-Out Box.  What activities can you come up with?  Do you need a Youth Group Take-Out Box?   Feel free to use the following activities with your family.
Youth Group Take-Out Box Menu:  Flat Jesus, Stressed-Out Balloon Ball Activity, Scrabble and Prayers, Yoga Cards,  Let it Go! Fire and Ashes Labyrinth,  Knots, Pretzel Baking Challenge, Mandalas and Crayons, Playdoh Sculptivity, Mindfulness in an Altoid Tin, Take-A-Walk 6 week challenge with a magnifying glass. 

Inter-generational Time 03/29/2020  

"Lament is not despair.  It is not whining.  It is not a cry into a void.
Lament is a cry directed to God.  It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world’s deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace.  It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are.”  (Reconciling All Things p. 78)
 
A 5 Step Lament, A Spiritual Practice for all ages
 
CRY:  A one-word exclamation that you feel deeply about the issue or event you are lamenting about. You are asking God to hear you. (Enough!  Why?  How?  Help!  Stop!  Gah!)

 NAME:  One sentence naming what the Cry was about.  Try and be specific.  Nothing is too shocking or  too silly.  

ASK:  A Question.  What do you need or what do you want to happen?  What is your hope or wish? 

THANK:  Find something to give thanks about.  Where is God already at work?  God is not absent.

WATCH:  Waiting is part of the process.  Watchful waiting allows time to pass and hope to take root.  While you wait, what is one thing you can do now in response to your lament?  How can others lead you and/or how can you lead others?  Find a new way to walk back into life. 
 
The 5 steps of Lament are a fluid spectrum.  We may often find ourselves going through the process many times over for the same lament.  We may even get stuck in one step for a while before we can move forward.  The 5 steps of Lament can be a silent prayer practice, but it can also be a written or drawn creative process for those who prefer non-auditory practices or are non-verbal. 

We can Lament about things attached to ourselves (such as shame, fear, hurt or anger). 
We can Lament about things concerning our family and friends and the needs of others.
We can Lament about current events and global issues.
 
Lament is a practice that does not resolve it self immediately. Waiting for change, waiting for justice is always hard. Lamenting is a means to connect ourselves with God so that we might find clarity, peace, and be inspired to action.  

Psalm 130 vs. 5-6 (CEB)
5 I hope, Lord. 
My whole being hopes, 
and I wait for God's promise. 
6 May whole being waits for my Lord-
 More than the night watch waits for morning:
 Yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!

Intergenerational Time 3/22/2020
Focus Scripture John 9:1-41  'The man born blind'
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Neil Harbisson was born with an extreme form of color blindness.  He is only able to see the world in greyscale.  To over come this inability to see color, Neil helped design a lightweight prosthetic device that transposes the light frequencies of color hues into sound frequencies.  He can literally hear the full color spectrum.  Neil was transformed and his ability to experience the world is more vibrant.  
Now, Neil says, he doesn't dress to look good but to sound good.  In an art gallery, he can hear a Picasso.  The supermarket is a symphony.  He can now create a composed meal and eat his favorite song.  Inter-personally, he can look into someone's eyes and they have their own unique sound.  
Neil found a way to adapt, creating a transformative experience from his own creativity, skill, and ingenuity.  

What can we take away from Neil Harbisson's story during our current time of anxiety, uncertainty, and isolation as a church family?  In a short period of time, we have gone from a gathered community to a scattered one.   I miss the Sunday morning gatherings we share as a faith community.  I miss seeing the faces of those I love.  I miss the experience of sharing the full spectrum of worship together.  How will we adapt? 

We will need to find new ways to see, new ways to hear, and new ways to serve, and new ways to care for each other.  With our own creativity, skill, and ingenuity, we will be transformed. Even though we are scattered, we are still the beautiful spectrum of our colorful community. We are like a hand full of multi-colored confetti tossed into the air. 

With a quick glace to social media, there are beautiful expressions of creative connection.  Neighbors decorating sidewalks in colorful chalk messages, collective yoga via Zoom, Netflix watch parties, and old fashion handwritten notes with Pen Pals are trendy again!  

Take this time of isolation and turn it into a compassionate retreat for yourself.  Turn inward and tap your creativity.  Just imagine all the colorful ways we will sound like when we are able to come together again!  
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You can hear about Neil Harbisson's Story here: