I think there’s always a feeling of anxiety and apprehension when one of the biggest youth events in your calendar doesn’t go ahead the year before because we’ve all been snowed in; and all you have been doing in the week leading up to Essential this year is praying that the weather remains at a suitable temperature and climate in order for it to go ahead! It did go ahead and Christ Church Cathedral filled with teenagers from around the United Diocese. After the awesome “Fire Guys” fire performance, just over 450 people seated themselves around the stage, which took pride of place again in the center. As the Cathedral lights went down 6 individual candles were lit as each person with a candle said confidently that ‘Nothing Separates us from the Love of God’. The Discovery Gospel Choir then got the Cathedrals hips moving and filled the room with joyous song, along side the DJing skills of Sam Stott and the brilliant music of Ferg Breen & Luke Sweetman all mixed by the excellent engineering of Paul Donnan. Greg enthralled us all with curiosity as he spoke about the Prodigal Son while being restrained in a strait jacket (yes, you heard right!), which was covered with the words ‘LOST’. He then went on to talk about one of the most important and beautiful actions that can happen to anyone…to embrace and to be embraced. Greg then shook off the strait jacket to illustrate that we don’t have to live lost and wrapped up in ourselves and that the Father embraces us, like the Prodigal Son on his return home. That God’s desire is to embrace us and lavish grace on our lives. To respond to this wonderful talk, we like to do an offering to the community gathered. Greg challenged us all to rise up if we wanted to “be the embrace” to others, and with that hundreds in the Cathedral rose to their feet and we all spread out to offer them orange wristbands with the words ‘Embrace’ on them as a reminder that they are not only embraced but need to remember to embrace others. The evening was closed by the MC (Susie Keane) introducing Archbishop Jackson for the final word and blessing, encouraging us to be with God and do for others. Everyone then furthered the event by filling the crypt for tea/coffee and Christmas treats sponsored and hosted by Urban Soul.

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