What do you think of when you think of springtime? Growth and rebirth, the smell of rain, a baseball game, Easter, or all the beautiful flowers, perhaps? I was always reminded of the annual trip I took down to Florida to visit my grandparents over spring break. Though I'm not in Florida and my "spring break" is a little longer than usual this year, I am still reminded of one spring break in college in my sophomore year. I was working on a project for a class called Video Games and Learning.
My videogames and learning class used a book called Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age by Kurt Squire with a foreword by James Paul Gee. Through the course, I realized that these two men dedicated their lives to examining video games to see how people learn through video games. They came up with many interesting principles and ideas, like the Just in Time principle where a game teaches patience by giving you the information you need just exactly when you need it, and not before. It was one of these principles that I have found to be especially helpful during this time: the checkpoint.
A checkpoint in a video game is usually a safe space that you can return to if you lose or die in a tough section later in the game. One often overlooked aspect of the check point is how safe it is for the player. This only makes sense as it wouldn't work very well to come back with a bunch of bad guys surrounding a player, but it also allows the player a space to think and rest. Seeing as we all just entered a "new level" with this global pandemic, I think we all need to find checkpoints along the way: places we can sit and think safely, without having to be preoccupied with COVID-19. I find I can always escape the panic of the coronavirus by losing myself in a good book, movie, or game (video games and board games). However, I find I experience even greater comfort with God through worship and prayer.
Palm Sunday is next Sunday and we want to create a special service for the start of Holy Week to help everybody to feel relief during this difficult time. We are asking those who feel comfortable to create short video of themselves or their family waving a "palm branch" outside and exclaiming their joy to the lord, saying "hosanna!" and send it in to the staff. We have included a sheet to help you create your own "palm branch" and we request the videos be sent in through email. Please add your voice to help create a virtual palm procession and get everybody to a new checkpoint on Palm Sunday!
