The Chapel of the Good Shepherd at St Francis College Milton probably seats around 80 or so comfortably. On the evening of Sunday 29 May, we came very close to capacity as dozens of youth, young adults and their supporters packed inside to stay warm and share in a great night of worship and fellowship.
Typically sensitive work on the piano from Nicholas Ng accompanied enthusiastic singing led by Imogen Sweeney and Juliana Bate. The size of the chapel means that a drumkit and band would have been quite difficult to deal with, but a night of unplugged worship worked well in the space. I must admit it was a little nostalgic to walk in singing 'Thy Word' which I would have sung at the same age as most of the young people around me.
A strong feature of any Youth Worship service is peer ministry, and we heard wonderful testimonies from three diverse young people: Sarah Windred, Liam Carlton-Jones and Jess Simon. Their life experiences have been very different but their underlying message was very similar: we heard how the Holy Spirit can grab anyone at any moment, and the words of the Bible are a greatly reassuring source of inspiration to many Christians, young and old.
After such moving input from these fantastic young Anglicans, everyone pulled on their beanies and wrapped their scarves a little tighter as we moved outside in musical procession following Scott Windred's confident guitar to take in the beautiful and unexpected centrepiece of a red fabric cross outlined in tea-candles. As we surrounded it and spent time in prayer and reflection, I looked around and recognised so many friends and acquaintances from camps and parishes near and far. To join together in one big group of worshippers under the stars like this was a real blessing, difficult to describe.
After a time of reflection, the Rev Geoff Hoyte invited us to pass a greeting of Peace with each other, and as you might expect, no-one had trouble doing that! After multiple hugs, handshakes and high-fives, the option was there to return to the Chapel for more quiet time, or to wander quietly over to Lecture Room 1 for fantastic food provided by Mr and Mrs Sweeney - a great way to continue the fun and fellowship.
Thank you to the caterers and organising committee who again did a superb job of creating the time and space for meaningful and memorable worship in a youth-friendly style. I think we are all looking forward to coming together once again at North Lakes on Saturday 20 July for our next Young Adult Worship night - keep your eye on the usual spots to hear more about it, and bring everyone you know as there is definitely something special about these gatherings, which are so Christ-centred, full of creativity and hospitality.
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