For The Kingdom, The Power And Glory Are Yours

[Pigeon Army†]

"Well, if nobody else wants to vote, I reckon that we can call it at that. Congratulations Rachel. I always knew that you would do it."

Robert drew the election to a close, breaking the silence that had followed Maddy's final vote. The second vote had gone overwhelmingly in Rachel's favour - as it should be.

Rachel nodded at her inept competition, as if to say, "Good job, it was fun," but anyone who knew her would've worked out that was absolutely not what she was thinking. She was furious that they had the guts to pull such a stunt on her - the black boy and his 'basketball team' madness, the hyperactive nutjob and his idiotic musical cues; neither of them were cut out for leadership.

"In fact, now that we've got the housekeeping out of the way, I was wondering if our President would like to start the meeting proper by leading us all in a prayer."

Robert, once again, broke the silence, and cleverly as well. Rachel grinned at the boy and agreed.

"Let's."

She bowed her head and clasped her hands together.

"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
And Deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
Now and forever."

Rachel looked up at her dutiful followers.

They know their place.

"Amen."

[D/N]

(OOC: sorry, was waiting to see if anyone else was gonna vote. Also, as this thread has gone on forever, I'd like to suggest that once everyone's responded we can just assume that the meeting followed and went well and we can skip to getting everyone on to new topics, unless anyone objects or has other ideas for the meeting)

When the third vote went Rachel's way, Imraan figured that had pretty much clinched it. Truth be told, he'd expected that result anyway. Rachel had pretty much stolen his thunder by bringing up her own version of the Active Community idea, and the rest of the group wasn't about to ruffle her feathers in any SERIOUS way. Then Bobby called it for Rachel, and he just didn't have it in him to push things any further. It was weird really. He KNEW that she'd be more active as President than he would be. Besides, she really did deserve to finish out the year given that she'd been the one responsible for the club in the first place. But he was still feeling really freaking disappointed to lose out like that. Shouldn't he be relieved? But man, if he didn't even WANT the position that much, why would he have gone for it in the first place? Did he just want the glory of winning?

Still, he smiled at the victor.

"Hey, big congrats Rachel. Be glad to keep working under you for the rest of the year. Guess I'll need something else to add to the college apps."

Bobby offered a prayer, and though Imraan spoke the words with the rest, he wasn't really directing them above. They were just words, a way of..... getting His attention, he supposed. The real conversation was going on inside.

"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,"

Sorry, I'm just feeling.... heck I don't know. Frustrated, I guess. I'm going nuts over the season, I'm serving lousy Italian food till 12am on weekdays, trying to keep my grades up, I gotta deal with scouts on the sidelines at games....

"Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth, as it is in heaven."

now I'm trying to balance that stuff with GODspeed, with the church, and I mean THAT should be the important stuff, but I'm feeling like it's just getting in the way!

"Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us."

But I mean, I can't just give up on the team, I need it for college, I need the job for college, and besides, we're gonna be really good this year! So what, now I'm trying to make up for being frustrated with the club by running to lead it? What, trying to prove myself or something?

"Lead us not into temptation,
And Deliver us from evil."

I dunno. I dunno. I guess I've just got to keep going.

"For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
Now and forever."

Just give what I can to the club, to the church, I guess. Heck, I've managed this far, it's just the rest of the year. Yeah, I can do that.

"Amen."

As the prayer finished, Imraan briefly considered Rachel's speech about her own church program. It seemed kinda made up off the cuff in response to his own idea (not that there was anything really wrong with that, his own idea with the basketball team had been pretty similar). And he didn't want to see her just abandon it like some politician's election promise or anything like that. But at the same time, did he really want to speak up and antagonize the meeting any more?

Ah, the heck with it. She'd be happy to do it as long as she was in charge, and he'd be happy to help her.

"Congrats again Rachel. Maybe next week we can get together and start working on the church idea, I mean I think we all uh, think it's a pretty good idea so it's something we can work towards."

[Candescence†]

Tristan chuckled, as he turned off his DS, and pocketed it, charger and all. To be honest, who the hell DIDN'T see this outcome coming? Rachel more or less had the club under her thumb. Oh, what the heck. Let Rachel have her ego, less harm that way. But in the case that Rachel would start getting to egotistical for her own good and started treating them like lowly followers (which seems likely, considering her rich-bitch ego), he would enjoy happily reminding her that the only one he follows is the lord himself. But really, Tristan was just giving a shot at being elected, he wasn't terribly confident of his chances anyway, and the result didn't disappoint him.

"Congratulations, Rachel. The voters have spoken." Tristan chuckled, clapping. "I concur with Imraan. Let's make good on our last year, eh? Try our best."

Then came the prayer, suggested by Bobby, and lead by Rachel. Tristan simply put his elbows on the table, closed his eyes, and linked his fingers together in front of his face. If there was any a time to talk to God, it was this one.

"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
And Deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
Now and forever."

"Well, I tried. Didn't expect to win, though. Oh, well. There's some things I want to ask of you. Firstly, I just want to get through the year, and I hope you see me through it. I'll continue to do your work, and help others, that's what I do, and I do it for others and you, you know that. Also, can you try and make sure Rachel doesn't let her ego get the better of her? You know how she is. I just hope she might be able to make a change for the better as the months go by. Okay, that's a lot to ask for. But we might as well try, right? But, I'll stay with the club, and help them do good for the school, and for our community. That's why I joined. And I hope you will help me do this."

"Amen."

Tristan didn't open his eyes, or change position. He simply listened. This was the first meeting, the election just ended, he didn't really want to make too much of a splash right now. Well, not until Imraan spoke up about the church idea. He opened an eye, listening. Perhaps it was to make sure Rachel didn't skimp on her promise? You know how politicians are.

Tristan opened the other eye, laying his hands flat on the table. "I concur with Imraan, getting started next meeting sounds like a good idea, if we wanna make good on our last year here, we gotta get to work. Who's up for it?" This was going to be an interesting year. Perhaps even more interesting than the election that just ended. Then again, it wouldn't take much to top that one.

[Killer_Moth†]

Bobby prayed along with the rest of them. He had hoped for something a bit more original, but couldn't fault Rachel. She had probably spent a lot of effort on the election, and thought to go with something to unite the group. What better way than an old standby?

Our Father, who art in heaven

God, who is great, mighty, wise and above all. We worship You on high.

Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven

Your power is good, and we wish that one day your glory can be seen by all who love you.

Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Please provide us with what we need to go on loving you, and each other. And allow us to be weak, to make mistakes, to go against your will, just as we ask that you help us to do the same to us.

Lead us not into temptation,

Temptation. Was that what this was? He didn't think there could be anything evil about admitting who he was, but was there the slight possibility. The bible had lots of laws that he didn't follow. He enjoyed bacon, and had been known to wear clothes of two different threads. Homosexuality hadn't been one of the big 10. Even there, he felt that he had at some point failed to keep the Sabbath holy, had probably dishonoured his father and mother, and if his neighbour had had an ox, then there was a good chance he would have coveted it when he was 7, and had this whole thing about cows. At no point did he feel damned to hell. God, he truly believed, was love and compassion above all things. Faith, Hope and Love. If he were to love God, how he could he deny himself when he loved?

The prayer was over, he had missed the ending. He knew it well enough, though. "Amen" Again, was this God's will, or was he misinterpreting something.

Imraan and Tristan were both talking to Rachel and the other girls were quietly sitting, listening. He was glad that there seemed to be no hard feelings about the whole election. The boys were getting excited about the proposed links with local churches, and looking for some support. He looked at his watch. It was later than he thought. He wanted to get some studying in tonight, and then an early start for a quick workout in the morning. Besides, he could feel his knee beginning to seize up again. Better make tracks before it was too bad, and he had to take his painkillers.

"Hey guys, I'm going to have to go now. But count me in, I'm more than willing to help out with whatever plan you guys come up with. Just don't go overboard, keep it realistic. We're not going to change the world. Rachel, come find me tomorrow. I still want to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing urgent, but if you get a chance, it'd be appreciated."

He stood, flexed his knee, put on his jacket and waved goodbye as he walked out the door, hoping that none of them noticed just how badly he was limping.

((Robert Barron cont'd in Looking for 'Company'))

[Dropbear†]

Just like that, it was over. Rachel won. And in a landslide victory as well. Sapphire wasn't sure if she was pleased or irritated. It seemed right, but strangely wrong at the same time. It wasn't as if she was evil or something...

Time to pray. She faintly registered Barron suggesting a prayer, and then snapped back to reality in time to hear Rachel start.

"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hey God, it's me again.
Hallowed be thy name,
Just wondering why this meeting felt so weird.
Thy kingdom come,
It's probably just me, though, I mean, I did forget about it in the beginning.
Thy will be done,
Anyway, show me what I should do in these situations
On Earth, as it is in heaven.
Wonder if you have any trouble in meetings. Heh, you'd probably be stuck in a board meeting with Jesus and the apostles, trying to work out something.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Anyway, help my family and friends.
And forgive us our trespasses,
Let me learn from my mistakes
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And try not to let karma give others a bad time.
Lead us not into temptation,
Help me to make the right decisions in life
And Deliver us from evil.
And maybe I'll see you one day. Hopefully not too soon.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
Thanks for everything that is good.
Now and forever.
From Sapphire.
"Amen"
Amen.

((Sapphire continued in Chicken Soup for the Soul ))

[Solomir†]

Tiffany tried to listen to Imraan, Tristan, and Rachel give their speeches. She really did. It's just that speeches never did a good job of keeping Tiffany's attention. There were usually more interesting, pressing, or amusing things that Tiffany would ponder on. Like what Peter was doing right now. Or what sales were on at the mall, since she was going to meet with Peter there after the meeting...

So when it came down to the actual voting, Tiffany was a bit unsure of where to cast hers. Maybe she should've listened to what they had said. Imraan had said that he wanted to do more in bringing God to the people outside the club, both in and out of the school. There was also some mention of the basketball team, but she couldn't remember the details. Tristan had said some words, but the music he had put on as his "theme music" was even more distracting than the other things she had been thinking about. She was trying to pick out chords and counter-melodies in the piece, and had drifted from anything Tristan had meant to say. Then Rachel stepped up and started up her rousing speech. Or it would've been rousing if Tiffany's focus was anywhere near the words coming out of Rachel's mouth.

First Bobby voted for Rachel, saying that the club should develop themselves and work toward helping the school, or something like that. Which was probably the gist of what Rachel's speech was about. She vaguely remembered some buzzwords that Rachel had used, like "spiritual needs" and "student community", and figured they were probably a big part of her attempt to win votes. Then Sapphire cast her vote, also for Rachel. Following this, Maddy gave a short speech, addressed to each of the people running for president. To Imraan, she commended his vision and motivation. To Tristan, she thanked for the chance at something new. In the end, she sided with the founder of the club, the one and only Rachel Gettys.

One. Two. Three. Tiffany could count, and it was obvious that Rachel held the majority of votes. A quick look around the room confirmed that Rachel had a guaranteed position as president, even if Tiffany and the new girl voted for somebody else. Wait, when did that new girl show up? Tiffany clearly hadn't been paying too much attention to her surroundings today.

Tiffany really wasn't sure who to vote for. She felt pressured to change her vote to Rachel, but something nagged at her to not waver and to keep voting for Imraan, even though he wouldn't win. She didn't really have to decide, because Bobby at this point decided to bring the voting to a close, naming Rachel as the president of GODspeed, yet again. He then called for Rachel to lead them in prayer.

Tiffany liked it when people led prayers. Mainly because Peter had made a habit of excluding traditional prayers from their youth group, instead opting for personalized prayers for the occasion. As he had told them, these prayers are a better reflection of how one communicates with God. She was a little bit disappointed when Rachel began with the words for the Lord's Prayer.

As she said the words to the prayer, Tiffany felt, almost compelled, to look around at her classmates around the room. They all were deep in thought, deep in prayer. This was what it meant to be in GODspeed. Sometimes, Tiffany just needed a little reminder that the people in this club did keep the faith.

The prayer ended as simply as it had begun. It seemed the election was the only thing on today's agenda, so people were slowly trickling out. Bobby had left, and so had Sapphire. Tiffany checked her watch. Peter should still be at the mall. Tiffany grabbed her bag, yelled a quick "Bye" over her shoulder, and dashed out of the room, hoping to be able to catch the next bus over to the mall.

((Tiffany Baker continued in Roses Without Thorns))

[Pigeon Army†]

((OOC: Sorry about the delays. Real life intervenes.))

The hubbub after the prayer was negligible, at best. Imraan mentioned something about meeting up with Rachel later to go over the "church idea", and Tristan backed him up.

Great, she thought snidely, they want to help. Isn't that just great. However, she didn't say this to them, opting instead to turn to them and smile politely, nodding in affirmation.

Then Robert chimed in, dulling their unbridled enthusiasm. "Hey guys, I'm going to have to go now. But count me in, I'm more than willing to help out with whatever plan you guys come up with. Just don't go overboard, keep it realistic. We're not going to change the world. Rachel, come find me tomorrow. I still want to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing urgent, but if you get a chance, it'd be appreciated."

Rachel nodded in reply, and said quietly, "No problem, Robert. I'll be sure to do so."

After that, the members started filing out, one by one, first Robert, then Sapphire, then Tiffany. Rachel took that as a cue for the meeting to end, and called out after the leavers, "Remember, same time next week!" She then proceeded to put the cupcakes and the diary back in her bag, and walked towards the door. She glanced back at Imraan and Tristan, who were still in the room.

"You boys staying in here, or can I lock the door?"

[D/N]

The club was starting to file out, with the orders of the day completed and everyone needing to move on with their busy lives. Next week, they could get back on track with meetings involving the whole school and not just the Seniors, and they wouldn't have to worry about any of this political junk anymore. There were more important things for Imraan to worry about, like how his volunteer schedule. And his basketball, of course. The team would have never gone for that silly idea anyway.

And so when Rachel had nodded her approval to them further discussing things next week, Imraan had nodded back, leaving it at that.

"Alright, sounds good to me, Rachel. Lock it up when you're done, cause I know you'll be the last to leave."

The rest of the group had packed up, although he thought a couple of them seemed troubled about something. Bobby, for one. And Tiffany had seemed distraced through the last half of the meeting. Well, he was available if needed, although to be honest, he wasn't ENTIRELY wanting to bear other people's crosses right now.

He followed the rest of the members out, trying to focus on the good things. After all, the club was going strong. Rachel would continue to lead, and he'd managed to get his motion pushed forward, so really all that he'd hoped for had been accomplished.

And sure, he'd complain about the little things, but how much could he really complain about overall? God was good. And he was doing good, in His name, and sure it was hard, but he would receive good things in return. Imraan could feel it.

(Imraan Al-Hariq continued in The Daily Grind)

[Candescence†]

Tristan chuckled, as everyone began to file out. Rachel hadn't answered the question with words, rather, a simple nod, which was enough for him. The meeting was over as quickly as it had started. That was strangely quick. But he didn't mind that. At this point, Rachel had asked if he and Imraan were sticking around.

He rose to his feet, smiling. "I'll be outta here in a moment... Here's to a new year. Once again, congrats, Rach."

There were more things on his mind, but Tristan could still notice what the others were doing. Nothing out of the ordinary, though a couple of them seemed troubled, but it didn't seem like a serious issue, he might as well ask later, it was best not to intrude on others so quickly.

He let Imraan go in front, as he slid his headphones back on... Hmm. What tune would be good for this? Now that he thought about it, playing music in the middle of the election seemed somewhat silly in hindsight. Perhaps they were right, and he wasn't taking things very seriously? Maybe. Did it matter to him? Nah. Then he came upon a good song. 'Libera Me From Hell'. That was strange, yet strangely awesome, no surprise, considering it was from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Well, at least he tried to do some good for everyone, and hopefully, provided that Rachel didn't turn her nose up at this idea at the next meeting, it would happen anyway. Helping people was in his nature, after all. And he didn't ask for anything in return. That good feeling was more than enough for him. He followed the others out, wondering if there was anything else he had forgotten to do today. Maybe a bit of tennis? Sounds like a plan.

((Tristan Matthews continued in A Few Administration Issues))

[Pigeon Army†]

((OOC: Right, let's GTFO of this classroom. ))

"You boys staying in here, or can I lock the door?"

Imraan and Tristan obliged and left, saying some vacuous final words and giving empty congratulations to Rachel as they did so. The room empty, Rachel glanced around and then locked the door behind her with the key Mrs. Torrance had provided them. She didn't like Mrs. Torrance - she always thought the woman was creepy and rather hysterical when things didn't fit with her strict moral views - but Mrs. Torrance was the only teacher crazy enough to trust a student with a key to a room, and Rachel was milking that for all it was worth. Rachel was loathe to say she was taking advantage of Mrs. Torrance; no, Rachel was simply making use of the resources available.

Rachel walked down the hallway of the Language Arts Wing, smiling that deceptively innocent smile of hers. GODspeed was in her hands for one more year - and what a year it would be.

((Rachel Gettys continued in An Apple A Day))

[ElTejon†]

((Dan Forrest's intro))

As he watched the rest of the students file out, with Rachel staying behind to lock the door behind her, Dan couldn't help but wonder about his decision to join up with GODspeed. Their purpose seemed truthful enough, of that he was certain, jut by observing how they interacting with one another. He'd met a lot of good people today, people who shared his passion for the Bible and his desire to spread the message of God to needy ears.

Still, there was something about the whole proceeding that struck him as a bit... "political" he guessed was the word for it. This Rachel girl seemed ardent enough in her beliefs, but there were a few things about her that came across to him as belying a personal ambition that she kept well guarded and hidden behind a nurturing, saintly smile. Her words during the prayer rang true, but it was the way the other students acted around her that struck him wrong; he'd noticed an almost servile element to some of the run ins she'd had with the other members, and that was something that he'd hoped never to find in an organization of this nature. As far as he was concerned, personal politics and class struggles held no place in a Christian organization. Sure, there could be a leader, but not someone who ran the whole show to the point where they had everyone jumping at their beck and call.

Shaking his head, he turned and walked away, his heavy footsteps reverberating like drumbeats down the mostly empty hallway. Clearing his mind of any negative thoughts, he forced himself to think of the positives. He'd made a few new friends at least, and for now that would be enough to keep him coming back to GODspeed -- he owed them that much at least... At the very least.

((Dan continued in A Prayer Before The Struggle))