On the night of October 4th, FUMCWP’s Diversity Committee and Cinnabar, a film series program and young millennium ministry, co-hosted 25 Central Floridians at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum for an evening of documentary and storytelling. The Vibrant Family pillar’s mission promotes discipleship, learning, and multigenerational connections. Diversity Committee’s mission is to listen deeply to all points of view and develop relationships towards candor and authenticity. The documentary film, Shelter, featured a series of gripping stories of homeless youth in New Orleans. A panel discussion was also held with directors from Covenant House and Foundry’s ministry partner, Foundation for Foster Children, as well as Serenity, a 23-year-old transgender woman, who experienced homelessness. These speakers all shared transformational stories from those who are often invisible to us.
“You have no idea what it’s like to look around and know everyone is getting paid to be there.” – Raquel
Raquel shared this powerful quote from one of her beloved foster young people. She noted that it’s challenging for abandoned children to trust again, especially when their families of origin were unable to show up and model unconditional love. Youth, who were traumatized, often fall prey to short-sighted “survivor” mindsets. That’s why it’s so important to encourage young people to find what they’re most passionate about in order to ignite their “spark of fulfillment.” These are important steps to healing and wellbeing. Looking at our own interior lives, we may want to ask ourselves how our life passions might compel us to walk alongside vulnerable youth in hopes of empowering them. What are the roads to recovery for us all?
Cinnabar’s next event will be a narrative film screening and circle-up discussion on the night of November 13th (6:30-9:30pm). For more information, send David Witwer an email at cinnabar@cbfilmseries.com. We would love to have you!