Synod Youth Workshop

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Synod Youth Workshop
2000's Memories Main
From Jane Els (2001) God is good... I’ve been going to SYW off and on since 1991. I’ve seen many changes in the event that only made it better. I’ve seen them outlaw bad stuff like smoking and keeping the adults awake all night. And I’ve seen them institute good stuff like labyrinths, the Lords Prayer in sign language and youth-led music leadership. I was also there the year Alex Thornburg introduced the shout out “God is Good” with the response: “All the Time.” That would make it around 2001. We were in Wal-Mart for Town Night. I always enter Wal-Mart with trepidation because you never know what the kids will do. Since the store is huge and has tall shelves you can’t really see anyone but the people right in your area, in your aisle. I knew enough to know we weren’t the only Synod people in the store. It was Wal-Mart on Town Night, for crying out loud. I heard a sound on the store PA system. It was the creaking of someone turning on the microphone and moving it close to their mouth. My heart stopped when I realized one of the Synod kids had commandeered the PA system in Wal-Mart. We would all be thrown out of the store and never allowed back. Probably my picture would go up on the walls of Wal-Marts all over the United States. They would arrest our kids. And every adult Presbyterian in the store would be banned from youth work forever. There was no possibility of getting to the front of the store and stopping them. I would just have to accept whatever happened. Then came the muffled voice on the PA system in a flat and muffled monotone: “God is Good.” Then, without a pause and in unison, the sound went up from every aisle and corner of Wal-Mart with gusto and confidence: “All the time!” I still get goose bumps thinking of it.
From Mike Cole (2004): PK's greatest week A young man, who is a PK (Preacher’s Kid) attended for his first time. As a PK, he has attended every kind of retreat, youth gathering etc. available, so one would expect him to have very high expectations. When he returned home from SYW, he told his mother, “That was the greatest week of my life!” Wow! What more can I say? When an event impacts one life like that it is an event the church needs. And just think, there were 318 other young people in attendance. What great things might God have done with and through them? (In a note to small group leaders, Mike wrote:) On the last day of SYW a young person handed me an affirmation letter that blew me away because in it she stated what an impact I had made on her a year ago with a simple story I told about my childhood. Somehow in that story she gained strength and made some changes in her life that made her senior year a wonderful experience. I had no idea that I had made a difference in her life until she told me. We work with these young people because we love them not because we'll get a pat on the back. But this young person's affirmation reminded me that we never know when something we say or do will positively affect a young life Thanks for making a difference! Mike Cole SYW Director, 2004
From Dawn Schroeder (2004): Incredible experience I had an incredible week! My experience at SYW will have an effect not only on my own personal faith journey, but my part in the journeys of the youth I work with! Shawn was outstanding as a small group leader, and I look forward to his energy next year with the music program. I saw that the experience touched every youth and adult there, and to have an effect on such a wide scope of age and personality says so much! I am grateful for the experience! Thanks again! Dawn Schroeder, Youth Leader First Presbyterian Church, Rosenberg, Texas
From Jesse Travis (2004): Challenge and power for faith My Synod experience this past year was very special to me, partly because I was on Planning Team and because it was my last year. Synod's an amazing place. It's so easy to see God when surrounded by such friendly and accepting faces. The week always challenges my faith and gives me a power-up for the upcoming year :) In short it's AWESOME, and if you've never been you're really missing out! Grace, Jesse Travis First Presbyterian Church - Plainview, Texas Palo Duro Presbytery




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