If your week has been at all like mine, feel free to be encouraged and inspired by the responses to an S.O.S email I sent to some youth group members yesterday, when I realised I’d mislaid (well, I have just tidied the study) their original contributions, which I’d intended to turn into a display on “Our dreams/God’s dreams” for the board by the west door.
The final display is headed I HAVE A DREAM and reads like this...
The prophet Joel looked forward to the coming of God’s Spirit, and prophesied that when the Spirit came the young would see visions and the old would dream dreams.
God’s Holy Spirit is alive and active in our world today, and inspires us to share in God’s dreams for creation…and to work to make them a reality.
I dream of…..
- a world where 2 and 2 equals 4 for everyone, not 7 for the rich people and 1 for the poor
- a world where the young share their creativity, the old share their wisdom, the poor share their hope, the rich share their wealth, the clever share their perceptiveness,the foolish share their contentedness
- a world where we recognise and set aside our prejudices instead of making them the unconscious basis of our judgements
- a world where people think not “If I help that person, what will happen to me?” but “If I don’t help that person, what will happen to them?”
- a world where people smile and greet their neighbours, rather than passing by with heads down or eyes averted
- a world whose people live and believe in forgiveness
- a world where the staircase to heaven has a rope from God, a harness from the Church and a handrail from the people of the nations
Do you dare to dream your dream too?
See what I mean? They're wonderful, aren't they??
*Important note to Koinonia: any of you guys who are reading had better stop right now,- I’d hate your heads to swell so much that cycle helmets aren’t a feasible option!
What WONDERFUL WONDERFUL people these are who replied to your desperate plea for help. You should LOVE them very much (and feed them cake).
ReplyDelete*deflates head*
This sure gives me hope for the future. A great way to end the week on an upbeat note. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to hear such happy things. Keep sharing them!
ReplyDeleteI've copied this to take to our PCC awayday which is supposed to be thinking about a mission statement for the church..... partly so I can hand it in as an assignment and mostly because we need to think about why and who we are, not just get on with things, or not. Your youth group might just have helped us with that. Off to find a flipchart now... happy days!
ReplyDeleteFeedback from PCC: lovely, and very liberating.... but did teenagers really write that or did you tidy it up? Our Soth London group express themselves rather differently though with no less effect.
ReplyDeleteOK Mary (plus PCC) I tidied up the one about prejudice and the one about forgiveness, because these dreams were expressed in a longer form that I couldn't fit onto the flame shapes I was using for the poster...otherwise the words are exactly as they appeared in my in box. I did say these were extra special yoof, didn't I!
ReplyDeleteHope your away day was fruitful and enjoyable x
These are totally wonderful - and just what I needed to hear.
ReplyDeleteThankyou - and I don't think anyone can ever say enough positive things, so keep them coming :-)
Incredible.
ReplyDelete