Life in the Justin Building has changed a lot over the years; new faces, new directors, even new paint jobs. However, a few things have remained constant over time: a strong sense of community, a general aura of chaos, and Revolution Weekend. If you’re unfamiliar, Revolution Weekend is our annual midwinter retreat and, to many, the crown jewel of our retreats and events. You’ll often hear people, not only current and former youth but also parents and staff, refer to it as “the best weekend of the year”, and they’re not wrong. But what makes that one weekend in January so special?
I have experienced many Revolution Weekends; six as a youth and two, soon to be three, on staff. I’ve seen more silly games played, heard more Taylor Swift scream-sung, and watched more lifelong bonds and inside jokes form than probably anyone else. In spite of that abundance of evidence, though, my grasp on what makes that weekend so special came during my very first Revolution Weekend, in 2013. It was the very first one held at Glen Lake, in fact, but we ran around the gym, hiked to the cross, and ate Girl Scout Cookies in Graham Lodge in the exact same manner that the youths do today. Although, that first time, we (the seventh grade girls) did hold a group marriage ceremony to the five members of One Direction, and while I’d love to see that happen again, I’m not holding my breath.
Anyway, that very first Glen Lake weekend, the weather was mild, and many of us were in shorts. To get to the cross atop the hill that the camp backs up to, you have to cross a small river. When the water is cold it can be unpleasant, but it’s ankle-deep at most at our crossing point and usually a very easy crossing. That was not, however, the case for one of my poor friends, who slipped and fell directly onto her backside, getting her presumably neon pink Nike shorts wet. My friends and I traveled in a pack of five or six girls at that time and, without hesitating, one of the others declared in solidarity, “If you get your butt wet, I’ll get my butt wet!” and proceeded to sit down in the river beside our poor damp friend. All of the group soon followed, willingly risking embarrassment and discomfort just so our one friend didn’t have to go through it alone.
Not only did that story go on to become the foundation of my friendship with those girls, it also exemplifies the spirit of Revolution Weekend: through it all, highs and lows and unexpected dips in a river, you never walk alone. This is also a central part of TEAM, the theme of Revolution Weekend 2025. This theme is one we’d suggested as a joke initially, but the more we talked about it, the more we realized it was incredibly relevant. Our group is large and has diverse interests and hobbies, but one thing that has been trending up in recent years is the amount of our kids that are in sports, both club and school. There are a lot of pros to playing sports, but also a lot of damaging mindsets that can be created by them as well.
Over the course of the weekend, we will be reflecting on what it means to be a team together as children of God and members of our Justin community, as well as deconstructing the phrases we commonly hear as participants of team sports; “leave it all on the field”, “there is no I in team”, and “protect the family”, to name a few. Hearing phrases like those and others repeated over and over makes it feel like you have to give up pieces of yourself to contribute to the common goal of your team. It starts to seem like if winning games, matches, or championships is not your primary focus, then you’re somehow doing it wrong, and you’ll be a worse player and teammate for it. This detracts from the true benefit of working as a team: bringing out the best in each other, so that you can be your best together.
This idea of community that works for the betterment of ourselves and others will be our central idea all weekend. One of my favorite movies, which happens to be 1/3rd of the greatest movie trilogy of all time, is Disney’s 2006 masterpiece High School Musical. At the end of the movie, three rival organizations (the drama club, scholastic decathlon team, and basketball team) all work together, and end up celebrating their shared victories through, of course, song and dance. The song that concludes that unparalleled cinematic excellence is titled “We’re All In This Together”, and there could not be a more apt description for Revolution Weekend 2025: TEAM. As Zac Efron and co. cheerily and correctly proclaimed, everyone is special in their own way, we make each other strong, we’re not the same but rather different in a good way, and together is where we belong.
I can’t wait for Revolution Weekend 2025, and hope to see many of y’all there!
Claire Manno
Youth Ministries Program Staff
