By Rachel Houng
New Hyde Park Memorial High School hosts a variety of people from different cultures. For many, April was a month of great religious significance. The Seekers Christian Student Association chose to host an Easter event in order to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, usually a holiday known for the Easter bunny and egg hunts, is an important day in the Christian calendar that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It concludes with Holy Week and the end of Lent, where many students participated in fasting and prayer. Holy Week includes the celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper where some Christians participated in the breaking of bread and distribution of wine to signify the blood and body of Christ. The Last Supper is followed by Good Friday where Jesus was crucified and ends with Easter, the resurrection.
The Seekers Club engaged in a day of feasting and skits in order to celebrate Easter. The food was sponsored by New Hyde Park Baptist Church and began with prayer.
Source by Rachel Houng
(Left to right) Junior Ashlin Benny, senior Melinda Mathew, sophomores Abby Chacko and Isabelle Jacob greet hungry Seeker members with bright smiles. Juniors Grace Heskial, Aparna Shibu, sophomores Sophia Jacob and Tessa Lalson, junior Ashley Pulinthanathu and Isabelle Jacob celebrate Easter with good food and fellowship.
The Seekers were graced by many outside visitors who were invited and had previously worked with the kids. Ms. Jen Halfant is part of an outside organization known as Youth for Christ and acts as an adviser for the club who helps plan events, coordinates food and connects the club with outside churches.
“I love working with these kids because they are passionate about their faith, and they’re inclusive. They were really excited about today because it was about celebrating Easter. I’m really excited for the next event,” Halfant said.
“For this event, we really wanted something new and exciting for the club, so through the help of Jen, we came up with the idea of the Bible skits which was the perfect opportunity for the kids to learn more about their faith and also stay engaged and active. At the end of the day, we are new leaders, and just seeing the students strengthen their relationship with God and each other puts a smile on our face,” Benny said.
Seekers members were split into three groups and created modern-day skits of stories in the Bible. Coach Dolan and Ms. Caliendo then judged the students. The winning skit was group 2, who recreated the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
“I definitely liked the winning group; they had the best modern twist while still keeping the authenticity of the story. I knew what the story was immediately,” Seekers adviser Ms. Caliendo said.
Many students enjoyed sitting in anticipation of their peers’ modern retelling of biblical stories with which many of them had grown up.
Source by Rachel Houng
Group 2 members successfully put on a modern rendition of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Group 1 put up a fair fight as they put on a modern twist on the Parable of the Lost Sheep while Group 3 reinvented the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
“I found it funny, entertaining, but it also allowed the members to have a better idea of the Bible,” senior Nikson Alex said.
Planning these events took dedication from its officers, but many of them expressed that it paid off.
“Seekers’ events always go according to how excited people are to come. Thankfully, Easter is an incredibly important holiday to Christians, so celebration came with praise. We are so incredibly grateful that Seekers is partnered with an outside organization called ‘Youth for Christ,’ which makes planning for big events much easier. We were able to organize praise and worship with an outside band and allocate food for everyone with a local church,” John said.
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