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Teens to face their conscience through Wrestling with God
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The teen ministry at the churches is using an innovative event to discuss a code of conduct in life.
YOUNGSTOWN — Getting a hold on what will interest young people poses a challenge.
The teen ministry of Sts. Peter and Paul, 421 Covington St., and Our Lady of Hungary, 545 N. Belle Vista Ave., has grappled with the obstacles and taken them down by way of an interesting approach.
The Rev. Joseph S. Rudjak, pastor of the churches, said the ministry’s core team of adults came up with Wrestling with God.
The event, which will feature three exhibition wrestling matches, is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Mindszenty Hall at Our Lady of Hungary. Young people who attend will see costumed men and women wrestlers with colorful names such as “The Crusher,” “The Bouncer” and “Tuff Tina” show their moves.
But the wrestling entertainment is a vehicle to demonstrate lessons about ethics and code of conduct.
Rudjak said wrestlers follow a set of rules in the ring. Sporstmanlike and unsportsmanlike conduct there, compared to ethical and unethical behavior in life, will be discussed, he said. There is no winning or losing in these matches; they are exhibitions of wrestling holds.
Rudjak said he found some biblical passages that deal with the concept of “wrestling with God.”
One of the most notable is from Genesis 32:24-30: “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
“And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
The idea of wrestling with God or one’s conscience about what’s right and wrong is nothing new, Rudjak said. With a wrestling ring and strobe lights, the ministry is jazzing up the setting. Discussions after the matches will focus on underlying messages.
“In the world, and in the ring, people are under stress and in competition. We’re in fear of getting hurt or losing out,” he said. “We hope the matches and lessons show the sense of drama and the fullness of choosing a life with God ... and following a code of ethics.”
Rudjak said there are instances in the Bible where the disciples of Jesus and many others are wrestling with decisions of faith and behavior. He said a passage in Matthew 15:21-28 shows Jesus’ disciples shying away from a demanding woman seeking help for her ill daughter. The woman uses words to fight for her daughter, whom Jesus heals.
Tina Bisker and Cindy Cominsky, members of the core team, collaborated on the effort with Rudjak. Both said they were looking to sponsor an event that would interest teens and not be too heavy handed about religion.
Bisker said she got valuable input from her sons, Bill Bisker Jr. and Lewis Bisker, who formed what they call the Youngstown Wrestling Academy some eight years ago. “They just liked wrestling and got together with friends for matches,” Bisker said. “And they’re into costumed characters.”
Bisker said the wrestlers compete but follow a sports code of ethics. She said the core team wants young people to understand that matches mirror life in struggles and winning and losing. Choosing to follow ethical conduct and competing honorably is the correct path, she said.
Cominsky said the wrestling matches are an innovative way to reach teens. “I think it will show people have an interest in them,” she said. Cominsky said her daughter, Caitlyn, 14, a ministry member, offers suggestions for programs that would interest teens.
“Kids today have so much to deal with and sometimes they don’t know what to do,” Cominsky said.
She noted that to participate in the teen ministry young people don’t have to belong to either church. There will be refreshments at the program. Upcoming events include a visit to a haunted house Oct. 18, teens helping teens activity for Christmas, an overnight lockdown with various activities in January and a dance in February.