6 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Youth spend New Year's Eve in catacombs

By Michael Wacht

CASSELBERRY — Youth across the country and around the world will celebrate the new millennium by stepping back in time almost 2,000 years to experience life as a Christian in the early church. In a dark room lit only by candles — with no Bibles, hymnals or Book of Worship — youth will have a chance to revisit the catacombs of ancient Rome as part of the Catacomb Project, says the Rev. Samuel “Skip” Parvin, pastor of Tuskawilla United Methodist Church here and primary writer for the project.

According to a release from the United Methodist News Service, the Catacomb Project is part of an initiative being developed by the United Methodist Publishing House’s (UMPH) youth market business unit. It includes a youth-oriented study of the book of Revelation titled “Unlocking the Mysteries: 150 FAQ’s About Revelation and the End of the World.” The initiative’s goal is to use the “experience of the Christian community in hardship” to teach kids about persecution in modern times and the message of hope Revelation has for those being persecuted, according to Crys Zinkiewicz, senior editor of youth resources for UMPH.

“Revelation is not a document of gloom and doom,” Parvin said. “It’s about having hope in time of adversity.”

Although the Catacomb Project can be run at any time, Parvin said he likes the idea of doing it as a millennial event because “it encourages the kids to think about what it means to be a Christian at the turn of the century.” He also said the project can be done in conjunction with the study of Revelation, either as a prelude or conclusion. “It puts them [youth] into the frame of mind of the people that John was writing to,” he said.

The first step of the project is creating a catacomb environment as plain or as elaborate as the youth director wants it to be. The point is to “create a feeling that you are underground, meeting in secret and in a place where you have to fight for your faith,” Parvin said.

Each participant should have a lighted candle during their discussion, which should center on what the kids remember of the Bible, hymns, liturgy and creeds and think is important to pass on to other people. Following the discussion, Parvin recommends holding a worship service coordinated by the youth that focuses on what they recalled while in the catacombs.

Despite its emphasis on the past, the project has one foot in the 21st century. Youth from around the world will be able to log on to a Catacomb Project web site with links to sites about modern Christian persecution and a chat room where participants can share their experiences and understanding of persecution, Zinkiewicz said. “Throughout the world, the persecution that Christians face is so intense,” she said. “It’s a real eye opener to learn how those folks hang on, especially through the message of the book of Revelation.”

Parvin says he hopes the Bible study and New Year’s Eve activities will teach youth that “God really loves His creation; he doesn’t want to destroy His creation.” He also hopes they will realize that “God doesn’t just count by thousands.”