I have now had the joy of watching two RYG (Redeemer Youth Group) plays come together during my time at Redeemer. Both years, I have been struck by the way the entire community has collaborated to pull off the productions. In addition to the work put in by our cast and crew of RYG members, there are the efforts of Maggie, Laura, and Val, our director, choreographer, and music director, each of whom puts in extra hours at church and at home getting the show just right. Members of the staff dedicated extra time to help produce and print our bulletins. Parents of RYG members past and present turn up to design and sew costumes; run lights and sound; coordinate props; design, build, and paint sets; stage manage; and get everyone’s hair and makeup just right. And then there are the members of the parish who, though not directly connected to RYG, donate to the bake sale, provide meals at rehearsal, attend productions, ask after our progress, pray for us, and cheer on our youth.
In the three years that I have been a part of it, this is what I have seen RYG to be about: showing up for each other to create a space where everyone feels welcomed and loved (and a space that invites a healthy amount of goofiness, too!). To me, this is an outgrowth of the love of Christ, who embraces all of us, even when we’re at our messiest, and calls us to do the same. However – if you have ever been a part of any kind of community (like church, for example), you will know that this is much easier said than done. No matter how old you are, we all have bad days – we all make mistakes – we all get annoyed – we all act out of our own pride and pettiness. The trick is how we continue to show in in spite of that, expecting better of ourselves and one another. Together, we figure out how to look through our own shame at a misdeed to take responsibility and ask for forgiveness; or through a friend’s snappishness to their fear, and offer grace in response. If we can do that, working through the icky feelings to reach and meet the desire for love and acceptance that is beneath, there is so much beauty to be found.
This is an ideal – as I wrote, bad days happen. No one is perfect. But striving to create a place of welcome and love, that expects our care and compassion towards one another and all of God’s creation is a worthy task, and the world could use more idealists. So thank you to everyone for helping RYG create that kind of place with the play and in our parish.
~Rebecca