ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) — Youth from three Christian denominations spent Martin Luther King Day Weekend exploring commonalities of their respective faiths through worship, education and community-building activities.
Nearly 2,500 students in grades 6-12, group leaders and chaperones traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the Jan. 16-19 event sponsored by The Presbyterian Church (USA), The Episcopal Church and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
The gathering is thought to be the only nationwide ecumenical event for youth sponsored at the denominational level.
"This is the only thing we do that brings young people together with people of other denominations," said Brian Prior, a regional youth ministries coordinator for The Episcopal Church.
The tri-denominational gathering featured worship services from each faith perspective. During the Baptist service, for example, Colleen Burroughs, executive vice president of Passport — a youth camping ministry partner of the CBF — described distinctive Baptist beliefs like freedom to interpret the Bible and the freedom of local churches to select their own leaders.
Popular Baptist preacher Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., challenged students to "move from beyond being a believer to becoming a disciple."
"The difference between a believer and a disciple is a believer has it in his head," Campolo said. "A disciple is somebody who is willing to take the dare and hear Jesus say, 'If you would be my disciple, forsake all, take up the cross, follow me.'"
Campolo "dared" students to live lives characterized by prayer, joy and love toward others.
"It's about time we break out of our cultural boxes and recognize that all kinds of people are wonderful, not just the kinds of people that society says are wonderful," Campolo said.
Campolo said being a disciple also involves courage to move beyond what society expects.
"When Christ is in you, you become daring, and you dare to become friends with people who society pushes off to the margins," he said. "You dare to reach out to those that church people have questions about."
Youth studied Bible verses in interdenominational small groups graded by age, including one morning session exploring multiculturalism and faith at Disney's Epcot Theme Park.
Disney's Youth Education Series — a program for youth groups that uses Disney theme parks as a behind-the-scenes classroom setting for subjects like arts and humanities, leadership development and natural and physical sciences — modified a regular curriculum about understanding other cultures to allow Passport to add a faith component using Bible verses and discussion questions.
Students at Epcot's Morocco pavilion, for example, learned about similarities between Christianity and Islam, while those at the England pavilion discussed church history including the Protestant Reformation and Anglican Church.
"Cross-cultural dialogue is what we're after," said event coordinator David Burroughs, president of Passport.
Ruth Perkins-Lee, minister of students at Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., edited the faith-based curriculum.
"This was an outstanding weekend of celebrating our uniquenesses while living in our Christian unity," said Bo Prosser, coordinator of congregational life for the Atlanta-based CBF. Prosser termed the Epcot component "a fabulous learning opportunity to look at the effects of world cultures on us."
Stephanie Vance, a small-group leader from First Baptist Church in Madison, Ala., challenged her students to "find out who people are in your world — who they really are."
Vance said understanding other people better will make it easier for youth to communicate with people who have different cultures or beliefs.
"It's been a great weekend," Vance said "I think it is going to make a real difference in them."
Bill Roark, a youth ministry worker at First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., said learning how other Christians worship helped youth "realize that all three denominations serve the same God."
Carol Ann Hoard, minister of students and activities at First Baptist Church in Shelby, N.C., said she enjoyed being in a small group with members of her own youth group, where she got to know them better.
"Waiting in line to ride rides gave me a chance to have that one-on-one time that I don't normally have with the youth," Hoard said.
Students asked to describe the weekend used terms like "great" and "awesome."
This was the second Faith in 3-D event. The first, held in 2006, grew out of friendships Burroughs made with other youth leaders while representing the CBF on the Ecumenical Youth Ministries Staff Team of the National Council of Churches.
The Episcopal and Presbyterian churches assigned paid staff to a task force that planned the gathering. Not having a full-time staff member assigned to youth, the CBF asked David Woody, minister of faith development at Providence Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., to participate.
"My role has been making sure that CBF had a voice in what was going on," said Woody, the only minister who works in a local church included on the planning team.
Prior, rector of Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Spokane, Wash., said one goal is for youth to build on their ecumenical relationships by working together with other youth groups in their local communities on mission projects like Habitat for Humanity.
The CBF sponsored Faith in 3-D through its Congregational Life Team. "I am grateful for visionary partners like Passport who continue to provide quality spiritual formation events," Prosser said. "It was a great weekend."
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.