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I showed up to St. Margaret Mary's the following Wednesday afternoon.
When I arrived, Holly was waiting for me at the entrance, wearing a gray hoodie with the logo, a cross with a silhouette of Jesus, on the front. I also had my bible in my back pocket, which she had told me to bring.
Upon heading downstairs to the basement, a whole group of kids were seated in a circle. Sitting in between them was their leader, Peter Wallace. I had recognized him from church, as he would sing with the choir when they performed. I would say he was probably in his late forties or early fifties.
"Hey, I know you." he said, shaking my hand "How nice of you to join us."
"Thanks." I said back.
"Go on, have a seat." he added.
Holly and I each sat down as he got ready to begin.
"Now then, let's open up to 1 Corinthians 12."
I pulled out my bible and flipped to the said verse, as did everybody else.
"Who wants to start?" he asked.
"I will." Holly answered.
The rest of us quieted down to let her speak.
"Now about the gifts of the spirit, brothers and sisters," she began "I do not want you to be uninformed. When you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore, I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the spirit of God says Jesus be cursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit."
As she read along, I became more and more fascinated while listening. There was something about the way she did it that really impressed me. Unlike how the guys would at bible study, when they casually read the passages like any other, she actually put some heart into it. In a way, it was almost as if she were trying to better express herself. Certainly not something I had ever thought to do.
"Alright." said Peter "Who's next?"
Now motivated thanks to her, I volunteered.
"I'll go." I said.
Once again, everyone else quieted down to let me speak.
"There are different kind of gifts, but the same spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God at work."
I understood that completely. It was basically like comparing this, GLOW, to Hangin' In. There are indeed different kinds of service and working. They may not exactly be the same, but in all of them, God is always present.
"What does that mean to you?" Peter asked us.
Eventually, I chose to tell him that myself.
"Just because something's different." I answered, "Doesn't make it wrong."
"That's right." he stated "Everybody has different beliefs in life. You may not always agree with them. But there's nothing wrong with that. If people follow another religion or don't believe in God, then it's perfectly fine. We're all accustomed to our own opinions."
Moving on, he pulled out a stack of index cards.
"On each of these cards is a different bible verse."
Then, he pulled out another stack of index cards.
"On each of these cards is a different bible character. What I'm going to do is give you one from both decks and your job will be to figure out which verse was said by which character."
From there, we all took our two cards and looked at which ones we got. I in particular got Mark as my character and James 1:6 as my verse, although of course I didn't know the latter yet.
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt. Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before I found that out, as well as who had Mark's verse.
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
After that, we headed upstairs to the sanctuary.
As we were doing so, Holly tapped me on the shoulder and handed me something, a set of black rosary beads.
"I got some extra ones for you." she said, "You can keep them."
"Thanks." I said back, smiling.
Upon entering, the two of us sat together in a pew.
"I'm sure you all know how to do this by now." said Peter "In the name of the father, and to the son, and to the holy spirit."
Together, we each touched our foreheads, chests, and shoulders, while I held onto the cross that hung below my beads. Following that, we recited the Apostles' Creed, while I held onto the first bead above the cross.
"I believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the holy spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell, and on the third day rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the father. He shall come from thence to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the holy spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen"
Following that, we recited the Hail Mary three times, while I held onto the three beads above the first.
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
Following that, we recited the Glory Be, while I held onto the bead above the last three.
"Glory be to the father, and to the son, and to the holy spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. World without end. Amen."
Following that, we recited the first mystery, then the Our Father, while still holding onto the same bead.
"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not unto temptation. But deliver us from evil."
We continued on with the remaining prayers, staying there until it was time to leave.
My first time at GLOW showed me a type of youth ministry I never thought could have existed. Yes, it was indeed different from Hangin' In. But as I said before, that didn't matter. What mattered is that I was seeing it firsthand and enjoying it for myself.
In fact, I think I may have liked it more than Hangin' In.
I didn't know that for sure. But I was thinking it.
