One of my favorite things about Urbana is the ending. I don't mean that I like Urbana being over. Rather, I think that the last night of Urbana, December 31, is one of the coolest ways to ring in the new year.
Allow me to set the stage for you. The final night of Urbana actually has 2 acts. The first act is the normal plenary session. There's the amazing worship, great speakers, wonderful arts ministries, and the like. The crazy part about the first session is communion. Have you ever seen 16,000 people all partake of communion at the same time? Think about the logistics it takes to get something like that done. And they do it in less than 30 minutes! It's pretty amazing.
What gets even more amazing is the second session though. After the first session ends around 9:30 or so, there's a 45 minute intermission followed by a worship set that goes until the midnight. I can't think of a better way to end the year than with 90+ minutes of praising Jesus after being in his presence for 5 days. It's always an amazing spectacle to see.
This was my fourth Urbana and as I was thinking back, I actually realized that for as great as the last night is, I don't think I've ever had a care free experience ringing in the New Year Urbana style. Let's run though the recap:
- 2006: My girlfriend at the time broke up with me 3 times during Urbana. The final time came right in between the first and second set on the 31st. Needless to say, I was less than excited.
- 2009: The worship leader lost track of time and actually did the countdown 2 or 3 minutes after midnight. Everyone in my section of seats knew it so it was a bit of a downer.
- 2012: The night itself went great! The problem was the phone call I got in the middle of the night because a car of ACFers had skidded on some ice and the car spun. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured but I was less than pleased when I heard that not everyone was wearing a seat belt. I didn't sleep really well that night, which is kind of amazing given how tired I probably was.
- 2015: This year we decided to skip the second set altogether. Ezra was at Aunt Judi's, Megan and I were both exhausted, and my parents had come in for the early session so we had a ride ready to go. Instead of getting up early in the morning to check out and do all that stuff, we decided to spend the second set packing and heading out. We made it to Aunt Judi's in just enough time to see the clock strike midnight and Ezra get up for a midnight snack. =0).
Do I regret any of my New Year's Eve escapades? Nope! They are each memorable in their own way. This past year in particular felt like the right call. I'm getting older, and New Year's Eve doesn't have the same meaning it used to... well, except for watching Casablanca at midnight, which I've done every year since I was 10. =0).
Have an excellent day!
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