| The body of Christ working together By Thayer Philips
Washington East Youth Coordinator The Washington East District Council on Youth Ministries held a youth rally featuring the Rev. Duffy Robbins at Gibbons-Resurrection UMC in Brandywine on March 1 at 7 p.m. The event included lots of pizza, the gospel-Motown group Seneca, and an electrifying message from Robbins, a 22-year veteran of youth ministry from Philadelphia and one of United Methodisms most popular youth speakers. The theme was The Body of Christ Working Together. The evening explored how all members of a congregation can impact youth ministry for good or ill. Comparisons were drawn between the need for all members of congregations to work together in youth ministry and the need for all parts of the Baltimore-Washington Conference to work together to accomplish the same end. When one part is in need, the other parts suffer as well. The event was meant to open the youths eyes, as well as their hearts, to the realities that exist in their congregations, district and conference. In this conference, for example, Gibbons-Resurrection UMC was hurting from turmoil surrounding their former pastor leaving and massive debts they could not pay off by themselves. When one part of the denominational body is hurting, it is assisted by many others in the body, Duffy said. Gibbons-Resurrection is now resurrecting itself despite all odds and its members have become much stronger in their faith. All too often, youth are not included in working through a situation like this and it is a shame because we can and do make a huge difference, said Ryan Stockman, youth president of the Washington East District. Stockman, 16, attends Lakeside UMC in Waldorf. | 
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