Today, we shared the experiences that our youth had in attending the ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas in June 2018.
Below is a message from Katie Love, our Director of Christian Education.
Also, to view a copy of the powerpoint that was shared at the end of this message click on the following link to download the file: http://bit.ly/2L2XARJ
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Good Morning,
Thank you for worshiping with us this morning and allowing the teens to share with you their joy and experience from the National Gathering.
All I can say is “WOW”!!! What an absolutely amazing blessing it was to be able to co-lead this group to Houston. I know I can speak for Tara when I say I was blown away by the teenagers who went on this trip. Their compassion, flexibility, kind-heartedness, respect and patience were off the charts. It was awesome to see how God worked through and used each one of them on this trip. I was super excited for this trip because like one of our speakers said “often times our faith can grow so much deeper when we are pulled out of our comfort-zones and put into situations where we have to trust God and the people of God”…and let me tell you this week was full of what I call “God things”…those unexplainable things that happen to us to make us even more confident of God’s presence around us. From the speakers to the worship to the travel to the weather to the finances…God’s presence was truly felt. We as a group thank you for your prayers, financial support and encouragement that you gave us throughout the 3 years of planning and actually attending the Gathering.
Tara and I wanted to give you a brief recap of the experiences we had and the speakers we heard, especially the ones that the teens said had the most profound impact on them. Every night we had a final 15..which was about 15 minutes to recap the day, talk about the logistics of the next day, pray and talk about our highs and lows. At the end of this time we gave each teen an index card to right down the most impactful things they heard or things we did on that day. We did these anonymously and said we would use them in our Sunday worship to share their thoughts.
Let’s start with Wednesday…
Travel to and from Houston couldn’t have gone better. We arrived a little late on Wednesday night to the Gathering and with a full house of 30,000 people already worshiping we had an usher tell us where some open seating was. She said go ahead and try section 100. We walked into the immense space and there were 10 seats in a row open with 2 directly above them for Tara and I. When I say this was a GOD thing…this was a God thing…considering the place was PACKED to the rafters and most areas only had one or 2 spots open. To have our group together was such an answer to prayer for me…we actually ended up sitting in that same area every night which was also a blessing.
Finally, when I settled in my seat I looked up and my breath was literally taken away. 30,000 people mostly teenagers were in this arena. I had pictured it in my mind but until you see it…wow.. The Holy Spirit was truly in that place and hearing this group singing worship songs to their God loudly and unashamedly was one of the highlights of my 36 years.
The ELCA did not shy away from the tough topics that teenagers often face. The speaker’s topics included eating disorders, bullying, self-harm, drug & alcohol abuse, sexual assault, suicide, transgender issues, LGBTQ issues, loneliness and more. As leaders we were given Hotlines and immediate access to a team of chaplains if we needed them. I appreciated that the ELCA took a stand and didn’t sugarcoat what can be a difficult time for many young people. At the end of all of this the resounding theme was “There is Grace for that” and “Jesus changes everything”. The speakers left us with the knowledge of hope that is found in Christ Jesus.
Each day had a theme…Wednesday’s was “God’s Call changes everything”
Unfortunately arriving late we did miss several of the speakers however, we did hear Bryan Stevenson. Bryan shared with us how God called him to work on death row as a civil rights lawyer in Alabama and how his work with the Equal Justice Initiative is a call from God. He encouraged youth to consider how their vocations intersect with our calling as Christians to pursue compassion, justice and reconciliation.
Stevenson encouraged Lutherans to speak out and name injustice: “When we see injustice, it is necessary that people of faith speak their truth,” he said. “We’re gonna have to say things when it would be easier to be quiet.”
He spoke of tragic injustice facing young children who get tried as adults and caught up in the prison system, and he implored students to speak out for justice. “I think God is calling us to love and wrap our arms around the kids who are struggling, the kids who are in jail,” he said.
We ended the day finding our bus along with 30,000 which was interesting to say the least 😊 had our final 15 and got tucked in for the night to get ready for another exciting day ahead.
Tara will take you through Thursday…
Friday’s theme was “God’s Grace Changes Everything”. Friday was Synod Day for our group and because it didn’t start until 1130 we had some downtime in the a.m. to rest and hit the pool. Synod day took place right in the ballroom at our hotel and we meet and worshiped with --- other students and leaders from our synod. The worship music was lead by teens from the Synod and Bishop Sattlerlee was there to preside. We broke down the story of The Ethiopian Eunuch and talked about how we can be like Philip in the story and share our faith with others.
Following Synod day we took an Uber…which let me tell you is an awesome way to get around a city… I especially loved talking to the Uber drivers and getting to hear their stories of their lives in Houston, how the flooding effected them etc… As the week went on these uber drivers became more and more aware of this huge group of teenagers who had infiltrated their city and they were very appreciative of the work we were doing. Anyway, we took the Uber to Chacho’s Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some time to get a way from the big crowds and relax and have a meal together. Our day ended with another amazing Mass Gathering at NRG arena.
Will Starkweather, an ELCA pastor was a speaker who our teens said was one of the most impactful at the entire gathering. He shared his experience with self-harm during his teenage and young adult years. In college, when he revealed his secret to his pastor, his pastor told Starkweather four words “you’re going to hell.” Starkweather left the church, dropped out of school and fell into a deep depression—and he continued to self-harm.
Eventually he began to rebuild his life. He found a new church, then divulged his secret to the pastor. “Pastor Carla listened and then she also said four words: There’s grace for that,” Starkweather said. “Y’all, those words changed my life.”
He learned self-harm is a coping mechanism for stress and began to start sharing his story with others so they’d know they were not alone. Starkweather went on to become an ELCA pastor. Acknowledging the hurt and pain that resides in each of us, Starkweather told all who were gathered, “We are all recovering from something—and there is grace for that.”
After concluding a powerful testimony to a standing ovation, Starkweather said from his talk, he wanted people to take home with them that there is “no such thing as ‘too broken.’ Our broken places are where God brings out beauty.”
Some of the comments from our group about his talk were…
“Will’s entire speech and statements moved me so deeply”
“Will’s story really shows how you can turn pain into strength”
“There’s grace for that” really got me. It was an awesome message that had a ton of feeling behind it. “
“God’s grace is not just about the forgiveness of sin, but the overwhelming love he has for you”
“I appreciated how open the speakers were about their past and their troubles”
Between speakers we had the opportunity to worship through music. Not just music that we might be familiar with from our normal Sunday services but varieties of music from rap, rock, poetic, instrumental etc.. we also had the opportunity to use dance as an expression of our praise to God. Children of God worship differently. Some may sit, some may stand, some may clap, some may raise their hands, some may dance. The variety and freedom to worship unashamedly to our savior was powerful!!
Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ELCA pastor and best-selling author, gave the final talk of the evening. She told youth that when she was a teen, she struggled with an autoimmune disease that made her eyes bulge out. “My daily reality at your age was name calling and social isolation,” she said. “If I was a kid at the Gathering (today), I would be the kid who refused to stand up when everyone else stands up.”
Bolz-Weber said it was difficult to write in her book about the pain and alienation of her youth, which led her to substance abuse. She proclaimed to youth: “If your life totally sucks right now, if you struggle with having friends or feeling like and outsider, just know that your current reality is not your ultimate reality.
“There’s a word for when our tears turn to joy. There’s a word for when our pain is a home for those who also hurt,” Bolz-Weber said. “And that, my Lutheran friends, is grace.” She said she wishes someone had told her 15-year-old self what grace was. That’s why Bolz-Weber writes and preaches so honestly about her life experiences, because “the jagged edges of our humanity are what connect us to God and to each other.”
God isn’t waiting for you to be thinner, smarter or more spiritual, she preached. “You are magnificently imperfect. The self God loves is your actual self, not your ideal self. And there’s a word for this: grace.”
One of our students wrote that she always wants to remember the way that Nadia talked about how we need to talk and be open about not just the good things but the bad things as well.
We concluded another night by joining a mass of 30,000 people trying to get to their bus.. we followed the “Hang Luth” foam finger to try and stay together….
On to Saturday…
Sunday’s theme was “Jesus, Changes Everything”
We woke up and headed by bus over to NRG Stadium for the last time and meet with 30,000 students and leaders for our Sunday morning worship.
The Gospel lesson for the last gathering was the fifth chapter of Mark; this lesson was also used in churches around the world that follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Bishop Eaton focused on the hemorrhaging woman and Jarius’ dying daughter, those desperately needing the healing that Jesus could bring. She stated that the powers of this world are good at separating people, the clean from the unclean. Bishop Eaton closed her sermon with that even the midst of the cynical laughter of the world, “Here is the wonderful news: where it looks impossible, remember most of all that Jesus has changed everything.”
How do you commune over 30,000 people? How long will it take?” It took a dedicated team of volunteers 22 minutes and 43 seconds to commune everyone in NRG Stadium.
Following the service, we took another Uber and spent some time at the Galleria Mall (which is absolutely amazing) and then headed back to the hotel for some pool time. We finished is the evening with a nice Italian meal at a restaurant near our hotel and then headed back to plan this Sunday Service. Monday we traveled home.
We want to take just a minute and thank those that used the Gathering sponsorship board to sponsor specific areas of our week. We had fun using our thank you signs around the city and remembering all who donated to make the week possible.
Tara is going to share the giving totals for the week.
In conclusion we would love to share some pictures and videos with you of our adventure.
Thank you!