"Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards all"

We had a great meeting last night which I thought I'd share for anyone who wanted to borrow it.
We started with a game we call Plates, but I've seen it called "Islands" in other books.  Have your group stand in a circle around some paper plates scattered in the middle. Explain the game: "when I say go, you must run and touch a plate. Anyone who touches anyone else at any point is out.  The last person to touch a plate in each round (or anyone not touching a plate) is out.  Go!" At the end of each round, take plates out.  Last night, I had youth who lay on plates, snatched plates and ran, etc.  The game was over in minutes. Other years I've had youth who've also immediately ripped the paper plates into small bits and distributed them around the circle so that no one was ever out.  See what your group does!
We followed up with these questions for discussion, and would have concluded with candles for the last question had we not run out of time:

Is there a way to play the game so that no one is ever “out”? Is there any reason NOT to play the game that way?

You have all heard this famous quote of the Christmas season, "on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
Most of us want world peace, but where do you start? Is it possible to have world peace without goodwill – fostering cooperation and trust – right here among your peers? Is it possible to have a good relationship with others if you don’t have inner peace yourself?

Questions:

1) When in your life do you experience cooperation or a sense of community? Where do you experience competition or conflict?

2) Conditions that create conflict are:

- instability
- inequity
- powerlessness
- fear
- uncertainty
- unclear boundaries
- conflicting beliefs

Going around the circle, have each person name and describe some of the biggest conflicts you’re experiencing in your life right now. Can the root of each person’s conflicts be traced to one of the above categories?

3) What do you think about this quote: “World peace will never be stable until enough of us find inner peace to stabilize it.”

4) What sorts of things do you do or say everyday that show you are at war with yourselves or others?

Worship: Peace Pilgrim wrote, “There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them -- so keep seeking! If what you do has brought you inner peace, stay with what you believe is right."

What brings you inner peace?

Fundraising

It's that time of year. We've got to make money, and quick.
When you have to earn in excess of $25,000, which we do for our service trip this year, bake sales and car washes just don't cut it. 
We've gotten good at raising (a lot) of money over the years. We've done spaghetti suppers and pancake breakfasts; published a church recipe book; offered Friday night Kids Nights Out (babysitting at church) and photos with Santa; hosted rock and folk concerts, a dance-a-thon and a contra dance; done Christmas Tree sales and dump runs; provided yard work, snow shoveling, computer and tv/stereo component set-ups; sold carol-grams and Gingerbread House Kits for Humanity; and delivered pies at Thanksgiving and subs on Super Bowl Sunday.
Basically, if you name it, we've done it. We even admit to selling the donated Sunday Social Hour food once when we were really hard up (which gave us the idea to sell lunch after church on Sundays!).  This year we're selling everything from stock in our trip to jewelry made out of hardware, electrical, and building supplies.  
Since the reality show The Apprentice aired, we've also divided our youth group into smaller teams of 5-10, had them create team names and posters, and compete to see which team could come up with the best fundraiser and earn the most money.  
It's a lot of work, and as several parents each year will always point out to me, it would probably be easier to just ask each youth to pay for the total cost of his/her trip, or to contribute some amount of money for our youth program expenses.  
But fundraising not only builds our bank account. It builds responsibility, gratitude, pride, and a great team.  By the time we arrive in the Gulf Coast this February, we will already know how to work together, and we won't waste any of the precious time we have because we'll know - probably down to the last cent! - how much every minute actually counts.