Is there a doctor in the house?

I am amazed at how much better I feel today than I did yesterday. Easter morning for me was kind of rushed. I had two projects going at once. All day Saturday I prepped for the Pancake Breakfast. A couple of adults and a couple of students helped me fry bacon. We cooked 18 pounds of bacon! By the time we were through, I was wishing I was a vegetarian. Needless to say, I had a zit pop up on my forehead bright and early Sunday morning. By the time I got to church Sunday morning the Sun was just beginning to peak over the ridges that surround the church. The dark sky and the cold wind hurried my steps as I finalized the directions for the leaders and students doing the rest of the Pancake Breakfast. I then was able to turn my attention to the other project: Sunrise Service! I am so glad we did this! I was amazed at how much talent a 13 year old can have playing guitar or another standing up and reading out loud in front of the church. I am pleased that those guys were able to do what they did.
Then the hard part came. After the Sunrise Service, I went to the Pancake Breakfast. I stood there amazed at the buffet of pancakes, bacon and peeps! I did the unthinkable! I ate pancakes topped with strawberries, whipped cream and syrup and yes, M&M's! I think I began to crash mid way through the reading of the Creed at the 10 o'clock service, but it was worth it! If you didn't get to enjoy the breakfast with us go ahead an plan for it next year. I look forward to topping what we did this year. Next year however, we may need an in house doctor just in case I go into a sugar coma.

Where's my finger rocket?

If you've been to the Presbyterian Youth Summit in the past, you may or may not have had a good time. From what I hear among our students and other students at Summit this year was that previous years were lacking in substance and style. This year, however, was very impressive. From inspiring messages from the speaker to the ever popular Finger Rocket Olympics, the entire weekend was well put together and planned to succeed. My favorite part of the weekend was the Finger Rocket Olympics. I am sure some of you may be wondering what a finger rocket is, but you can't know until you've shot at a bowling pin or a teammate on a slide with one. The most important part of this weekend wasn't the frivolous games or the silly skits, although they were awesome. The most important part was Sunday Morning, when about 150 students and their adult sponsors engaged in what I consider the apex of the weekend. This crowd of young people and adults joined together in communion. To me this beautiful exchange of bread and wine (it was grape juice for you parents who may read this) tied the whole weekend together. Our speaker's series for the weekend culminated in the common meal of our Lord and as he emphasized, it was a meal of unity and justice. At the Last Supper as it is commonly known, Jesus broke down social and ethnic barriers associated with the first century's dinner party etiquette. When Jesus broke the bread, he not only symbolized the body broken for our sins, but he broke the barriers of class separation. As he raised the common cup and instituted the new relationship between the Divine and the Human, Jesus demolishes the separation of the peoples. In a singularity of purpose Jesus offers everyone who thirsts the common cup from which we must all drink. In this moment of common unity, or community, we are bound one to another and are indeed made responsible to one another to bring about growth and sustenance. As we feed our spiritual selves from one plate and one cup, so we are responsible to feed the whole body with spiritual food and spiritual wine. There is one meal, one faith, one tie that binds all together. It is this unifying meal that makes our finger rockets and skits worth the time, effort and energy. Without unity and common purpose, we are nothing but a distraction to the world.