Putting ‘Youth’ into Sunday
by Ong KayJen
The main sanctuary of PJEFC bustled with activity. Traffic wardens confirmed their positions, Holy Communion servers were briefed, ushers scrambled to find their nametags, dancers rushed to find outfits and help with makeup ("The only two days in my life I‘d wear makeup in Church are Youth Sunday and my wedding day!" claimed Grace Chow, 17), while the worship team sat in a circle on the stage, praying quietly. Outside, two kopitiam attendants were busy setting up the concourse.
All of this was at 8a.m. on Youth Sunday morning, July 13th 2008.
As the congregation streamed into the church, they were greeted by enthusiastic ushers and greeters dressed in black with colorful name tags. The air then reverberated with the sound of Tan Jin Ern greeting all as the worship team made up of youth from Impact and CUG led everyone in a time of worship. Youth Sunday also provided the youth with the opportunity to serve Holy Communion to all who were present.
Even the announcement had a distinctive difference as siblings Lim Ee Jane (17) and Lim Ben Kane (18) took a conversational approach to sharing important ‘news’ with all present. This in turn was followed by an energetic and moving dance presentation on the Creation story. This performance, entirely choreographed and performed by the young people, marked the debut of PJEFC’s Creative Arts Ministry.
The speaker for the day, Adrian Ang delivered a short sermon on ‘Bridging The Gap’ between the two generations. Altar call was somewhat different, when all the young people of the church were called to the front to pray for and be prayed for by the "more mature ones". Any adults who felt compelled to go up and pray for a young person was then invited to do so.
Being prayed for, as well as praying for, an older or younger person they did not know, was certainly a new (and possibly uncomfortable) experience for many of the young people as well as adults. However, many were open to this and prayed freely for each other.
After the service, many adults and youths said that it was a successful event and that all the teams did very well for all the effort that was put into it. The young people felt that it was ‘impactful’ as both generations were responding and pushing each other forward. If anything, Youth Sunday was certainly a milestone for PJEFC in ‘bridging the gap’.
In the end, however, it was prayer that put everything in place. Certain events did not go as planned, and some details remained messy and confused. What remained important was that the church, PJEFC, as a whole, took a step closer to each other and to God.