"Early to Rise, Early to Church"
As the winter sun comes up over snowswept Clay County, Iowa, there's more going on than feeding cattle and frying sausage. The lights are on each Lenten Thursday at one or the other of the two churches in Peterson (pop. 469), where teenagers gather for their own 7 a.m. "Lent Event."
The program consists of
• a brief welcome from the host pastor;
• a short devotional by a well-known layman (mayor, teacher, football coach);
• 20 minutes of involvement: a chancel drama, simulation game. Serendipity-style Bible study, movie with response time, or some other way for students to do business with what the season means;
• at 7:30, breakfast in the basement, prepared by church volunteers.
"By 8:00, they're out the door to catch the school bus," says David Hawk, pastor of First Congregational Church. "We started this in 1980, and every year the response has been strong. We see young people on these mornings we never see any other time of the year. We hear about follow-up discussions on the bus, in study halls, and sometimes even in classes."
"Kids make a point of waking each other up in time, sharing rides, and helping get chores done early in order to get friends there."
"Meanwhile, our adults get excited about the results, too. One woman said, 'Can you believe kids would get up at six in the morning just to go to church?!'
"They do."
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