Our youth Lenten Study is inspired by the book In the Room Where it Happens: A Lent course for groups or individuals based on the musical Hamilton, written by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
To get started:
This week at home, view the movie Hamilton in its entirety. (It is approximately two and a half hours long. And note, if you haven’t seen it before, there is some strong language and content.) If you’ve seen it before, this is a good time to view it again, so that themes are fresh in your mind.
Although this musical is energetic and gets us moving our feet and bodies to the rhythm of the beat, we must not forget that we are being guided through Lent.
Bishop Hudson-Wilkin reminds us:
“We are being called each week to take our turn to walk towards the light; to investigate the mirror – it’s a Jesus mirror. In looking at the mirror we get to see the light – to see Jesus. We get to see and name who we are. We get to see the things around us that we have allowed to shape us. In looking into this mirror, we get to see something of the light of Christ that we are being called to and drawn by, and we get to acknowledge all that we can be in Christ.
Each week our gatherings will begin and end with prayer. “Let’s use these moments to gird ourselves and each other as we prepare to speak the truth to one another about the journey we are on and the challenges along the way. We gird ourselves as we remember when we have allowed the things that others say about us to take [center] stage, pushing Christ to the fringes, as we gird ourselves as, in the strength of Christ, we stand (rise up), ready to walk in the light and strength of God.”
The title of the book, In the Room Where It Happens is an invitation to all of us to be present and engaged– whether in a living room, in church, at a restaurant, the park, Founders’ Hall, or the Orange building — as we discuss this life-giving themes.
Whether you’ve been to church or to youth group often, or you’ve been away for a while, Lent is a beautiful time to come together as a community. Let us be in the room where it happens.
This Lenten season, we will reflect on the themes of:
- Identity and Belonging
- Ambition and Temptation
- Forgiveness and Redemption
- Love and Sacrifice
- Hope and Courage through Adversity
About the author of In the Room Where it Happens: A Lent course for groups or individuals based on the musical Hamilton:
The Rt Revd Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin, MBE, QHC, is a British Anglican bishop, who has been suffragan Bishop of Dover since 2019. She is the first black woman to become a Church of England bishop, and also is the first black woman to hold the role of Queen’s Chaplain.
Watch this short video to learn more about Bishop Hudson-Wilkin: Making History: Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin | ITV News
