the fourth one about nyc: the rainy game

Tonight was baseball night…there was a rain delay, but it was the best part! here are three more reflections from the GOOTH…

Adam Chatham (9^th grade)

Hi, during the baseball game it started raining badly. Lucky for me I was under a roof. Before the rain started we all went and got food and free baseball caps. Some of us went to get them signed but the hat was ruined by the rain. I think after 30 minutes of the rain me and two friends were getting bored. They had to cover the field and wait for the rain to stop. Stephen suggested we take a look in the gift shop. By the time we got there we realized that there was nothing there we could afford and the rain was still pouring heavily. So we played a game where we had to guess the prices of items. We first did the hat. I guessed 30 dollars and Stephen said 20. It was 15. Then we went to the t shirts. I guessed 25 and Stephen guessed 30. Well it was actually 40 dollars. We started to talk about how overpriced things are here. When we got to the jackets we made guesses and we were way off. The hoodys were 80 dollars. Finally we went to the replica Yankee shirts. They were over 200 dollars. We all started laughing. After that we went back outside and the rain had stopped so we took our seats and started watching the game again. The Yankees had a shutout going when we left.

Alyssa Brown (12^th grade)

Today was a busy day; my group went to a clothing bank at an old army terminal in Brooklyn. We sorted through tons of clothes, first men’s then women’s clothes. The clothing brand Chaps (for men) had just donated a boatload of shirts, jackets, sweaters, pants, etc. Most of the clothes that were donated were used as samples and were made in foreign countries such as Korea, China, and Taiwan. In order to get import taxes reduced, the factories cut minor holes in the clothes and we had to throw those clothes away because they sent a message of inferiority to those receiving the clothes. We also bundled a ton of women’s sweaters and on our break, we went down to the pier and saw the Manhattan skyline. When we got back to YSOP headquarters, two social workers talked to us about working with homeless people and how they lobby the NY State Congress to pass laws in favor of homeless/low income people. It was a pretty long seminar but also inspired me to want to help and volunteer more. Then we came home and went to the baseball game which you already read about and now we are about to go to bed to get ready for tomorrow!

Sarah Hoyle (9^th grade)

So, I guess none of you blog readers have heard from my group yet. But Jill, David, Hannah, Katie and our leaders Sam and Jennifer and I are all in a YSOP group on Manhattan. On Monday, we worked in a place called Food Change where we made food to ship out to different agencies that would distribute it to hungry people. Hannah, David and I chopped 250 POUNDS OF POTATOES! It was actually really fun. We also chopped some carrots and onions and celery and other vegetables to put in a delicious pot of beef stew. We had lots of fun. On Tuesday we worked in the Love Gospel Church…yea. It was defiantly a new experience, but there were WAY too many volunteers. 52 in a room half the size of the church fellowship hall. When we prayed as a group right before we served the food, there were lots of AMENS shouted. It was intense. We had the job of resetting the tables after they had been cleaned as the guests were leaving the soup kitchen. Then today our group worked in a place called Furnish a Future. Apparently it was on the Today Show, and for good reason. This two story warehouse building was filled with furniture and other necessary household items that had been donated and would be given to individuals who were starting in a new home from being homeless. I thought it was really great that there was SO much new/slightly worn furniture to give out. We had the job of putting the finishing coat of varnish on about 20 nightstands. During lunch break we walked around the neighborhood and it was very interesting to see the differences between each block we walked. We saw a VERY fresh poultry house that had chickens and rabbits sitting in cages to be slaughtered for meat. You definately don’t see places like that on your average street in Clemmons! This has been such an awesome experience for me and I’m really looking forward to these last few days!

 

the one about gooth’s year-end event

sunday night was our year-end event. and what a night it was. we played about a dozen different outdoor games, and only one of them bombed completely! pretty good odds, if you ask me. we played:

• the spontaneous-keep-the-4-foot-beachball-in-the-air game – we had a huge, 4-foot beach ball that we’d see how long we could keep it in the air. we got it stuck in the tree twice. ian climbed up the tree to fetch it once. we kept hitting the ball on the roof, but it would roll right off. pretty cool. jacob said, “this ball is one of the best things to play with!”
• light sabers (with noodles) – using 3 different colors of noodles among the youth, they used them as light sabers with one another…when one got hit on the leg, they dropped their noodle and picked up one of another color and dueled with someone new. jacob said he liked this game a lot.
• flying noodle relay – using two noodles, you launch one into the air with the other, spinning it off the end…we used this method as a relay race…kinda like the blow-up-the-balloon-and-let-it-go relay…wherever it landed, you picked it up and spun it into the air again…until you crossed the line.
• finger tag – hold one hand with a partner, try to tag their knee with that finger while they do the same
• toe tag – hold both hands with a partner, one tries to tag the toes of the other
• triangle tag – too hard to explain
• inchworm – a rather close & intimate activity, but cool to do and see…several were quite accomplished at it!
• rock, paper, scissors tournament – Molly won
• group juggling – with several objects, including the 4-foot beachball
• QUIDDITCH!! – rather chaotic, but fun to play and watch. basically 3 games happening at once: ultimate frisbee rules, using a ball as the quaffle and hula hoops on poles for the goals; dodgeball for the bludgers & short noodles (1/3 length) for the beaters bats; and keep-away with the seekers for the snitch. two teams played each other, while two other teams lined the sidelines and keep the bludgers flying (dodgeball) and playing keep-away with the snitch. fun times!
• a variation on dodgeball – this is the one that bombed. poor explanation from the leader (that’s me).
• bear (a.k.a. point) – basically, wrestling while trying to get from point a to point b.

then we had a cookout that 3 of the parents had prepared for us. Meredith came to eat with us. she is doing much better, but still having some struggles. it was her first time to the church since her surgery.

overall, it was a great night. the storms stayed away (unlike last year’s year-end event), we laughed together, prayed together, ate together, played together, celebrated together, and grew together, all while making memories that will last a lifetime.

ps – the cardinal in the window is still hanging around, pecking on the window and chirping at me.

 

the one about golfing at oak hollow

i went golfing today with a group from clemmons presbyterian church. we have a regular golf outing scheduled for the first saturday of every month, where any number of members and friends join to play a round of golf and enjoy some fellowship, amidst a bit of friendly competition. of course, the biggest competition is always between pastor bill and roger.

i’ve played golf for about 20 years. well, let me back up. i first played golf about twenty years ago. i’ve been playing on an inconsistent basis ever since. i’ve always enjoyed playing, even though i am terrible. but there is something about the game that keeps my interest. could it be the fellowship with the rest of my foursome? could it be the thrill of driving the golf cart? or, could it be that i enjoy being outside? i would say a little of each of those things.

at union-psce, i took a course on educational theory. our final project was to construct a theory and write a paper to defend it. the opening excerpt, which stated my question and rationale, read:

Can the church offer spiritual guidance that encourages young people to seek God during the “quiet times” of one’s day? Can the church find ways to encourage a disciplined, committed, and inspiring spirituality in the busy lives of young people? I believe the answer is, “Yes.”

The purpose of Christian Education is to enrich the lives of people with the love of God. A more specific purpose of Christian Education is to offer young people a practical way of introducing or re-introducing God to one’s life as one walks along one’s faith journey, as well as making spiritual practices and prayer accessible. The challenge that churches face is encouraging young people to look into one’s busy life and finding quiet time. Practical spiritual practices can be introduced into this time, so that one will in turn weave God and God’s love into the larger fabric of one’s spiritual journey. The thought behind the simplistic and perhaps un-prioritized way of praying that I will introduce in my practices is not meant to simplify one’s prayer life or reduce one’s commitment to God. Rather, the underlying purpose is to lay a foundation for spiritual growth. The truly theoretical part of this idea is that as young people begin to bring God along on one’s journey in those “quiet times” that currently exist in one’s busy life, a greater thirst will develop that will allow these simple prayers to develop into a more disciplined, committed, and inspiring spirituality.

I bolded the sentence that i would say is my thesis. Although the paper was written with youth and young adults in mind, the practical portion of the essay presented options that other folks could try. so why do i bring this up when i’m talking about golf? well, golf was one of the main inspirations for the theory and the paper. the short version is, i realized one day that i found myself talking to God when i was showering, brushing my teeth, driving, walking across campus, and a host of other things. i am part of a multi-tasking generation. it didn’t surprise me that i found myself talking to God – better known as praying – while i was doing other tasks. when i thought about the activities and things i’ve done in my life, i realized there were other times that i found myself praying without necessarily knowing it. one was when i used to mow the lawn; another, when i played golf. it was these two things that allowed me to expand my theory to include adult men – a group of people not necessarily known for their spiritual practices. this is what i said about golf:

Outdoor sports and activities offer a deeper level of relationship with God. Talking with God in the midst of the wonders of creation can heighten one’s appreciation, reverence, and praise for God. Golf, for example, presents many options for prayer. When driving or walking out onto the course, one can breathe a deep breath and take in the surroundings – the trees, wildlife, water, grass, sky, sun – and offer a prayer of thanks to God for these things. Thanking God for the gift of play, the gift of God’s creation, and the gift of fellowship – both with fellow Christians and with creation – is a good practice of the discipline of thanksgiving. Golf is a wonderful example of God and humanity working together. God provided the materials, and people moved them around so that a game could be played and enjoyed, without ruining the integrity of God’s creation. At each hole, one should really take a moment to look at the nature between each tee box and green. If this is not one’s first time to a particular course, look for things that may not have been noticed before. One could talk to God like a caddy and get advice on what club to hit, what angle to approach, or whether to “go for it” or “lay up.” Let golf, as well as other outdoor activities, be a way to explore God’s creation and experience humanity’s presence in it.

thinking about golf in this manner opens new possibilities to one’s game. today, i played on a course that i have never played. 10 men and 2 women from cpc met at oak hollow golf course, in high point, nc. http://www.oakhollowgc.com/index.cfm it is a unique course, in that it is situated on a peninsula stretching out into ocala lake. it offered challenges and scenery i haven’t enjoyed on a golf course. the setting of some of the holes along the banks of the lake made for beautiful scenery, as well and challenging play. let’s just say that i got to experience a number of the aspects of creation found in the golf course – trees, sand, water, tall grass, wind. but i do have to say, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day…the sun was bright, the wind was blowing (nice to feel, but not so good for the game), the leaves have filled the branches of the trees, birds and other water fowl dotted the fairways, flowers were in bloom…a beautiful day and a beautiful course. a great way to experience God’s creation with friends.