On Friday February 23rd 2018, CCUM’s youth group attended Princeton University for an African American celebration. They talked about being comfortable in your own skin no matter what color you are-but mostly black skin.
During the celebration, there was African dancing, DJ’s performing and poems read. The crowd was invited to go up front and dance and we really enjoyed that part since we got to sing and dance with new people. It was a good environment where no one was judged for the way they praised the Lord.
Overall, our trip to Princeton was amazing!
Bounce Back Youth Ministry (BBYM), was established March 2017 at Christ Church United Methodist. BBYM’s mission is ‘to help youth in the community and church by empowering, educating and encouraging a personal relationship with Jesus Christ’.
In the post dawn hours on Saturday September 23, 2017, a bus carrying passengers consisting of church family and friends set out to make a 4.5-hour trip from Paterson NJ to Washington DC. The purpose of the trip? To visit the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Upon arriving in Washington, the first stop was a short visit to the Martin Luther King, Junior memorial. On this Saturday in fall, the weather was unseasonably warm and felt more like a summer beach day than autumn. The sky, a sea of blue with white fluffy clouds was the perfect backdrop for the majesty of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial. Walking into the park the first thing you see is the beginning of the Inscription Wall with quotes from Dr King’s speeches, sermons and other writings. The second thing you see is the awe-inspiring granite statue of Dr. King rising out of the Stone of Hope. For those seeing it for the first, second or perhaps the third time, the sight does not get old. 
former Presidents, First Ladies and other dignitaries stood on – a year before during the opening celebration – that caused the feeling. Once we entered the doors the feeling intensified. The museum is simply beautiful beyond words. The history of the African-American experience in this country is displayed and presented in ways that causes feelings of anger (depictions of slave ships with actual artifacts including chains, bill of sales), hurt (Jim Crow laws, actual KKK clothing), pain (Emmett Till’s coffin), hope (civil rights movement), nostalgia (Michael Jackson’s fedora, rap icons, black tv shows) and finally pride (the founding of historical black colleges (HBCU’s), achievements in sports/ entertainment, art, and the Inauguration of President Barack Obama). All are beautifully presented visually and audibly. There is so much to see and experience that one could easily become overwhelmed. The genius of the museum, however, is that it does not. The only question I had upon leaving was how soon can I come back?
