Confirmation will take place this Sunday, April 27 th , at the 10:30 a.m. service. Once again, we have a great class of young people who have been meeting since September under the guidance and direction of Tom and Sandy Barth. The Barths have been faithful teachers of this class for many years and have shared their knowledge, faith, and good spirit with our communicants. Through their commitment they have touched the lives of our youth in so many spiritually uplifting ways.

Which leads me to the subject of youth in America today. Every generation has a tendency to criticize the trends and the characteristics of the next generation with common refrains as: 'They don't have it as tough as we did; too much technology at their disposal; too much organization of their activities and not enough time to "make their own play," too many material possessions and not enough idealism'. Back in the 80's at the church I served in Minnesota we had a "Spiritual Renewal" weekend with civil rights activist Julian Bond as the special guest. After he delivered his speech which included criticisms of the current generation of youth which, in his mind, lacked a passion for change, a member of the congregation who was also the chief judge of the U.S. 8 th Circuit Court of Appeals (the late Donald Lay) challenged Mr. Bond's assertion that the generation of that day didn't have any desire to make a difference. He cited numerous examples of what young people were doing in the 80's and said that he had great faith in this generation.

When I look around at the quality of youth right here in Manhattan I see great determination and idealism in the current generation. Whether you agree or disagree with Senator Obama's politics, it's hard to overlook what his candidacy has done to inspire the involvement of hundreds of thousands of young people in the electoral process. I see it in my own kids who continually engage their father in spirited discussions about the condition of their country and the world.

And what has emerged in the church is the increased awareness of young people in the areas of the environment and global poverty, along with the continued call to make Christ the cornerstone of life. In addition to worship and fellowship, many Christian youth are adopting causes that help relieve the enormous problems of poverty and disease across the world. It is refreshing and invigorating to see this happen and to watch the rise of involvement among young people especially in areas that are literally "life and death" issues for millions of people. Many youth are responding to the call of Christ: "Love one another as I have loved you."

Come this Sunday to celebrate the confirmation of our communicants as we help prepare them for a lifetime of service in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us support them in every way we know how, and let us admire and appreciate their hopes for the world.

Faithfully,

R.C. McConnell
Pastor