DuluthCommunityNews

It is below freezing outside, but in here temperatures are high enough that windows remain open and fans are kept running in order to keep it cool. The smell is faintly reminiscent of a sweaty high school locker room, but no one in attendance seems to mind. This skateboard park does not seem like a place where you would expect talk about faith and God to take place, but that is what makes it so unique.

Extending further into the Encounter Youth Center of Duluth, located at First Street and Second Avenue East, one sees the many shapes and sizes of skateboard ramps and railings. People from age 13 to their early 20s roll up and down the ramps on their skateboards as they smile and cheer for one another. The entire building is open for use, but practically everyone is crowded into the only indoor skate-park in Duluth.

There is a constant rumble that comes from people off to the side of the skate-park. People are either taking a break to chat with friends or simply watching the others skate. The only thing to temporarily break this sound is the occasional “Ohhh� or “Yea!� that gets yelled almost simultaneously by those who see a difficult trick get landed.

“Alright everyone, we will be locking the doors and meeting upstairs in just a few minutes here. Everyone start to clear out of the skate-park,� says a muffled voice over the loudspeaker.

It is 5:30, time for the weekly Sunday night Youth Church. The children begin to clear out.

Peter Cpin is one of few directors at the Encounter Youth Center. He has helped to run the Sunday night program since it started in 2003. While others had skated and talked about their weeks with their friends, Peter was in the kitchen making enough pancakes for close to a hundred people.

According to the Web site, the Encounter offers free admission to the building Sunday nights from 4 to 8 p.m. Anyone over the age of 13 is invited to come use the gym and skate-park except during the half hour for the Youth Church service. Cpin said that this normally consists of a short prayer, a small meal, and some sort of an activity. During this time, discussions about things that are relevant to the Duluth's youth are also common.

While some of the children come in and sit down on the floor and others grab chairs from the back of the room, most choose to use their skateboards as a seat instead, as if they never wanted to part with them. Once everyone has found a place to sit, Peter introduces the group to the evening’s guest speaker, Matt. According to Peter, Matt is visiting from a local Lutheran church

He begins to speak, and everyone grows instantly silent. He shares a few short passages from the Bible. Each child pays close attention to him.

When Matt is done reading, everyone shares in a moment of silence followed by a prayer for those in need. Once the prayer is over, everyone begins to disperse throughout the room for the rest of the evenings events. Tables start to be set up as Peter heads back into the kitchen to begin serving the pancakes he had spent most of the night preparing.

Peter flops pancake after pancake onto each plate, bearing the same continuous smile that each of the children has held all night. “Thanks Peter,� they say while squeezing the syrup onto their plates before going to sit down and eat.

As people finish, a few go into the kitchen to begin making Christmas cookies, something Peter said “not all children get to do.� The others began to slowly go back downstairs to the skate-park in small groups just as they had come up.

While the cookies are being made and the clean-up begins, Peter talks with some of the children as they start to leave throughout the evening. He knows almost everybody by name, and they all certainly know him.

“I'll see you next week!� says more then one child to Peter as the evening comes to an end and groups of people begin slowly leaving.

“I'll be here,� Peter responds, reassuring them that they will be able to come and share in food, prayer, friends and skateboarding again next week.