“Will Starve For Food.”

Imagine seeing that message scrawled on a carboard sign held by some teenager at a busy intersection. Would you stop long enough to think about the message?

This weekend our youth group at First UMC of Williamstown is participating in 30-Hour Famine, an effort spearheaded by the social service agency World Vision to raise money for starving families worldwide and raise awareness of the issues of hunger and poverty across the globe and across the street. From 8am this morning until 2pm tomorrow, some 30 teens and adult leaders, along with several members of our congregation, will go without food, consuming only juice and water for sustainence.

Fasting is one of those spiritual disciplines we don’t talk about much in the church anymore, at least not in our church. But it is one of the most powerful ways we connect with God as we come to rely on Him alone to combat the feeling of emptiness in our bellies. We look to this time to be a very powerful experience for all the participants. I’ll blog more as the event goes on, but please hop over to the IHS (In His Steps) Youth Group blog site to follow the experience as it’s felt and shared by the youth of our church. And if you’re real hip & cool, you can follow us on Twitter for real-time updates and blog posting notices!