A Wing and a Prayer

Last night was the first meeting of the new youth program, Fusion. Fusion is all about cross-community relations and, ultimately, peace-building. We’re meeting every week for six weeks to talk about our identities. Then, in the spring, we’ll meet for another six weeks to discuss the identity of our community (Protestant/Loyalist, etc.). Eventually, the youth from our group will meet up with youth from other communities. Hopefully, this summer we’ll be able to go to Germany for a weekend and learn about the Holocaust. About ten kids showed up last night, which was more than the leaders were expecting. Fusion was kicked off by the arrival of grant money, which allowed us to refurbish the youth room and buy technology (computers, data projectors, cameras, and the like) to help with the program. The plan for Fusion activities stretches over two years and is pretty ambitious. However, the only money we have for this program is what we’ve already spent on facilities. It’s an exercise in trusting God to provide what we need, when we need it – but not before. Word of the Week: Gob. It roughly translates to “mouth,” although it surfaces most commonly in slang phrases. A mother says to her crying baby, handing him a pacifier, “stick that in your gob.” Or an angry child says to another, “say that again and I’ll give you a black gob.” Or if someone is in a particularly bad mood, they might “eat the gob off you” if you get on their bad side.