Youth 2007 brings together United Methodist teens
Mar. 5, 2007
NOTE: Photographs available at http://umns.umc.org.
By United Methodist News Service*
If you can sing, act, slam dunk or play a mean game of Operation, you could be on your way to fame, fortune and loads of fun at Youth 2007.
Aspiring filmmakers, singers, athletes and others between ages 12 and 18 will have a chance to compete at The United Methodist Church's largest quadrennial youth event, set for July 11-15 in Greensboro, N.C. More than 5,000 youth and their leaders already have registered for the event.
Youth also will have a chance to speak their minds on issues related to the church at the "speaker's corner" or step out of the chaos into a reflective and meditative prayer labyrinth.
Worship leaders, speakers and workshops will expose participants to the multitude of resources and insights that will help them grow as Christian disciples and make a positive impact on their communities. Through a missions pavilion, youth also will provide service to the people of Greensboro and beyond.
Ready, set, action!
Insight, the first online film festival for United Methodist youth, gives youth groups a chance to tell stories related to faith and spirituality on video or film.
Youth groups can submit short videos (3 to 10 minutes) in any genre--documentary, fiction, animation. A panel of judges will decide on the winning films or videos and award cash prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250 for the top three. Winning entries will be shown during Youth 2007.
"Insight will give young people 12-18 the opportunity to experience faith through a medium with which they are already comfortable," said Jay Clark, staff member with the Division on Ministries With Young People of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, which sponsors the event.
"We are excited about this opportunity to blend the areas of technology and faith," he said.
May 1 is the deadline to enter the film festival. Information about entry requirements, suggestions for help and instructions for uploading are available on the Insight Web site, www.InsightFilmFest.org or by e-mailing InSight@GBOD.org.
Got soul?
The Upper Room Ministries magazine for youth and young adults, devozine, has announced a SoulTunes Contest for youth bands and songwriters. The winners will perform the winning song live at Youth 2007.
Youth bands and performers, ages 13-19, may enter online (mp3 format only) at www.devozine.org or send their song on a CD with entry information to devozine SoulTunes Contest, 1908 Grand Ave., P.O. Box 340004, Nashville, TN 37212. Entries must be received by midnight, Central Standard Time, on March 31.
"devozine knows that music is a huge part of youth culture today. And music is often the medium that young people use to express and to celebrate their faith," said editor Sandy Miller. "Because devozine is 'devoted to God + devoted to prayer + devoted to youth,' we are calling youth bands, vocalists and songwriters to write and record an original song that expresses their devotion to God," she said.
Slam dunk
Youth visiting the Nothing But Nets pavilion will have a chance to slam dunk basketballs or spike volleyballs for the ultimate award--saving lives.
The people of The United Methodist Church are in the big leagues with the National Basketball Association's NBA Cares Foundation, United Nations Foundation, Millennium Promise and the Measles Initiative to provide insecticide-treated bed nets to Africa, where a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds.
The nets cost $10 each, and 100 percent of each gift goes to the cost of buying and distributing them to families in underdeveloped nations where mosquitoes typically transmit malaria at night while people sleep. Health officials say the nets can reduce transmission by as much as 50 percent.
Malaria infects more than 500 million people each year, and most malaria victims in Africa are under age 5.
A fund-raising contest will net three youth and adult companions a paid trip to the United Nations in New York. Winner of an essay contest will have an opportunity to participate in an Africa trip to deliver the nets. A Web site, www.umc.org/nets, will be up in mid-March with more information about the contests.
Remove the funny bone
"Operation Vote!" is an opportunity for youth to name The United Methodist Church's new online Web site for teenagers.
Teens who visit the United Methodist Communications' booth can vote on a final name for the online site, which officially launches under its new name at the end of Youth 2007. A $2,000 grand prize awaits the youth/group nominating the winning URL.
The Web site is designed to offer a teen-relevant, online venue to share the values, inclusiveness and living embodiment of The United Methodist faith community, and actively invite seeker teens to journey into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
While at the booth, teens who vote on the site's new name can qualify to attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest game of Operation, a classic board game in which players test their hand-eye coordination by using tweezers to remove plastic ailments from an imaginary patient. The current record is one minute and two seconds.
"Youth 2007 provides so many areas to explore. Everyone that comes to this event should be able to find some activity that suits their needs," said Clark.
"Yet, it is not what and how participants feel at the event that I'm most concerned about. It is [people] going back to their local churches and communities as changed persons ready to make a difference; people going home ready to stand up for what they believe, and be a catalyst for positive change. That is where I hope to see God at work in this particular event and in the lives of the young people that come," Clark said.
For more information about Youth 2007, visit www.Youth2007.org, or call the Youth2007 event office at (877) 899-2780, ext. 7058.
*Information for this report was provided by Jeanette Pinkston, director of media relations, United Methodist Board of Discipleship.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org