– Tuhina Verma Rasche

Emcees. Speakers. Musicians. Dancers. Producers. Coordinators. Guides. It takes a community with numerous talents and skills to create a lively and meaningful experience for each night of Mass Gathering. It also takes time, patience, humor, and grace. The Mass Gathering team brought people together to embody what the Mass Gathering will be. There was singing, dancing, and speaking. There was also space and time to get to know one another and to create new friendships as preparations continue for our time together in Houston.

As one of the speakers, this gathering has been a sacred space of sharing the stories and experiences that have brought us to this place of preparation. We’ve been able to care for one another in ways that are representative of the church. We’ve held space for one another to share our gifts in this space.

This space and time of preparation has been holy ground.

It is this memory of sacred and holy ground I will take with me to Houston.

There have been tears of joy and a lot of laughter. There have been so many conversations over breaking bread together (and also over Swedish Fish and gummy bears). So much care and preparation has been taken by the Mass Gathering team. It’s at this foretaste of the feast to come that I cannot wait for all of you to see what will happen each evening of the Gathering.

– Molly Beck Dean

(Click here to read last week’s entry, Gathering Hopes and Goals, Part I)

The Gathering is an awesome way to meet Lutherans from across the world, but ultimately, we hope this ministry strengthens your congregational group.  You will be with us in Houston for a maximum of eight days and the Holy Spirit will move in powerful ways in that short time.

However, we know that the real “magic” happens back in the young people’s home congregations.

Often the Gathering is used as a spring board for a congregation’s youth ministry as they restart or re-energize. Whether it’s the bus ride to Houston or a meal time at the University of Houston or a late night Final 15, we hope that the various parts of this ministry deepen the connection that youth have to their peers and adults in their home congregation.

The final goal of the Gathering is that young people learn about the ELCA. Some will come to Houston and realize for the first time that they are part of something bigger than their congregation. Others may have strong connections with their synodical ministry, but not be fully aware of what we do throughout our country as a Church.  And most young people (and adults) have a lot to learn when it comes to how the ELCA is present with our global Lutheran siblings and doing ministry across the world. I hope that young people meet ministry partners in the hall of NRG Center and are amazed at the many and creative ways we are Church together. I hope they hear and see that there are opportunities for young leaders to be engaged right now in many parts of the ELCA’s call to be Christ in the world.

And finally, I hope they go home and share with those in their home congregation about the ELCA and the ways they are most passionate about engaging. 

Perhaps I should have opened with this, but maybe you are thinking, “why are these five things Molly’s hopes and goals for participants?” The answer is actually quite simple – because it’s what I have experienced each time I’m a part of this ministry.  My first Gathering was as a high schooler in 1997. I journeyed on a bus from small town North Dakota to New Orleans.  It was my first urban experience, the first time I realized my Church was so huge, the first time I saw people of color who were Lutheran. I think it was at the Gathering that God solidified my heart as a youth minister. Several of the other youth who journeyed with me at the Gathering are still my best friends because we grew in our relationship with God and each other that week in ways that are hard to put into words.  

And each time I return to MYLE, the tAble and the Gathering, I am challenged and affirmed in new ways as a Christian, as a leader, as a woman, as a mom, and as a friend.  My eyes are opened and my heart breaks. Every time I’m a part of this ministry, I am brought to tears because of the incredible beauty and the haunting darkness in people’s stories and in our world.  Even though I’ve been a legit ELCA church nerd since high school, each cycle I learn something new about what our Church is doing with and for God’s people across the world and I am proud to be part of the ELCA. 

This is a powerful and transformational ministry if you are brave enough to let your guard down long enough for the Spirit to enter in, if you can be quiet long enough to listen to someone different than yourself, if your prayer is to be open to what God is calling you to, if you realize the strong roots of a community will ground you no matter the strength of life’s storms, and if you imagine yourself as part of something bigger than you. 

– Molly Beck Dean

Faith formation in teens is the mission of the ministry of the Gathering.  It is the hub from which all things come for the tAble, MYLE, and the Gathering. We strive to create environments and opportunities for faith formation through worship, Interactive Learning, Bible study, Service Learning, and fellowship. Some of the faith formation experiences at the Gathering can be replicated – you can bring them to your home, congregation, or synod and create the same experience for others there. Some are unique to this ministry because of its size and scope.

There are also several hopes or goals that I have for those who come to the Gathering, especially the youth participants.

The first is that they are both affirmed and challenged in their faith. I hope that at least once during their time with us that each young person feels the undeniable presence of God and is affirmed in their beliefs. Likewise, I also hope that each participant has a moment where something troubles their heart or their mind enough to challenge their faith. Maybe they have to rethink what they have been taught about God. Maybe their heart breaks over a story they hear and they have to wonder why God would let such a thing happen? Our faith is deepened on the mountaintops and in the valleys.  It is my hope that participants can be vulnerable enough to let both happen while they are at the Gathering, surrounded by caring adults and peers.

MYLE, the tAble, and the Gathering are opportunities to experience new perspectives. It is my hope that youth and adults will open their minds and hearts to let in those perspectives. For some, that will happen in NRG Stadium through a speaker’s story that is different or even contradictory to their own story. For others, the new perspective is being in a large city. Others will experience a new perspective by learning the story of the organization and people they serve with on their Service Learning day. No one is trying to change another person’s mind on an issue or invalidate one story in exchange for another, but rather we seek to expose our participants to stories, sensations, and situations that are new and encourage growth.

Intentionally, and often completely unintentionally, we know that the Gathering is a place for young people to ponder who God is calling them to be. Vocation is how we live our baptism out in daily life, how we are the hands and feet of Jesus in our corner of the world. The Church needs to have a stake in the development and understanding of our young peoples’ vocation. Gathering leadership hopes and plans for moments of “aha!” as our young people meet inspirational people, hear their stories, and then listen to the nudges of the Holy Spirit calling them to something similar in their lives. Almost every time I’m at an event representing the Gathering, someone will tell me that the Gathering helped them realize they were meant to be a social worker or a volunteer or a youth director or an advocate and on and on.

– Ben Bernstein

Hello ELCA, my name is Ben Bernstein. This will be my second Gathering and I am ecstatic to experience this one as an emcee. I felt that God called me to apply to be emcee because I felt that God wanted me to use my voice within this church. God has blessed me in so many different ways since I have been named one of the emcees. With only two months approaching before the Youth Gathering, my excitement levels are going through the roof.

My life was changed through the 2015 ELCA Gathering in Detroit. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of worshiping our awesome God alongside over 30,000 different siblings in Christ. In those moments, I was able to see that I was not alone in this journey of faith. My fellow Lutheran youth on the other side of the country were experiencing the same high school struggles as I was.

People in our church are passionate about the Gathering. I have had the honor of seeing God at work through so many different people within our church to allow the Gathering to be a success. The ELCA understands that this Gathering of over 30,000 youth from all across the denomination can impact the community of Houston in so many positive ways. I am excited to see how the Spirit of God can lead us together this summer to impact lives in the city of Houston. God has given us youth the ability to change everything.  My hopes and prayers for those who experience this Gathering is that they will take what they learn in Houston and use it in their very own communities.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

The Gathering remembers beloved colleague, friend, and child of God, Donna Marie Wiegel.

Donna was born April 14, 1952 in Spencer, IA. She grew up in Des Moines, IA, attended college at both the University of Iowa and Drake University, and attended graduate school at DePaul University in Chicago.

Donna worked with the ELCA for over 25 years. She began with the Women of the ELCA, then worked with the Gathering beginning in 1997. As an event planner, she was instrumental in organizing multiple Gatherings every three years, with some Gatherings reaching an attendance of over 40,000 youth.

When Donna began working with the Gathering, all registrations were handled with paper. Every registration came through the postal service. Donna coordinated the efforts to open the mail, organize registrations, enter the data from the registrations, and process payments. Donna began the system of streamlining to the current online registration system where congregations participating in the Gathering could manage their own accounts. She was a master of logistics and scheduling, performing this ministry with kindness and grace.

Donna knew many of the adult leaders with the Gathering on a first name basis. She was not just a colleague to many these leaders, she was also a beloved friend. Donna was well known for her compassionate heart and her embodied expressions of kindness, joy, and love. She was a passionate advocate for youth and young adults. Donna’s dedication and passion for ministry was not just expressed with her work with the Gathering, but also as a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church.

So many friends have shared their memories and stories of Donna in these days, so numerous that they sadly cannot be contained in a single entry. The themes that come up in these stories and memories are Donna’s capacity for generosity, her immense kindness, her faith in Jesus, her love of justice for all peoples, fighting and caring for the marginalized, and embodying her faith in Christ daily in the world.

When she wasn’t working with the Gathering, Donna enjoyed the simplicities of life. She loved being in the sun, at the beach, and on her bike. She reveled spending time with her daughter, Tatiana, and her beloved granddaughters.

Donna will be missed by so many. She has left a lasting legacy in her dedication to the ministry of the Gathering.

– Abby Botten

I am beyond thrilled and blessed that I will be at my third ELCA Youth Gathering, this time as an emcee. Being an emcee for this summer’s Gathering brings a whole new excitement to my experiences, and most importantly, to my faith journey. I was so excited to see this year’s theme “This Changes Everything,” because it is a big testimony to the amazing things God does in my life daily. 

Sometimes God works in the most unexpected ways. I did not understand what it meant to have a truly intentional relationship with Christ and how much Christ does for me until this past summer. I ran weekly mission trips in St. Louis with an organization where I got to hang out with 70 high school students each week. This past summer was the most difficult experience I have had thus far in my life, yet it was the most rewarding time because of the Lord’s work in it. Having a relationship with God changes everything, because God becomes our strength, our peace, and our encouragement through the easy and difficult times. God changes everything because God draws us near and places us in some weird situations so we can learn and grow in the love God has for us.

I am excited to be an emcee at the Gathering because this role is a little outside my comfort zone, but that is the best part! We grow SO much as Christians by leaving our comfort zone and putting full trust in the Lord; that God will support us wherever we are, and ultimately, trust that God wants us in that position as well. I cannot wait to walk alongside all of you throughout the week and experience the goodness God has to bring us.  

Abby Botten is a senior at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In her free time you can find her leading youth group, being active, drinking lots of Caribou Coffee, and pretending she is a better dancer/singer than she really is.

Gathering interviews continue with Joy Emenyonu. Joy attended the 2015 Gathering in Detroit; that experience led her to apply to be one of the Gathering emcees. Get to know Joy before you see her at Mass Gathering.

Tell the Gathering blog readers a little bit about yourself.
Like most people my age, school consumed my life. I always had my hands full with extracurriculars and a rigorous academic schedule. This work has simultaneously destroyed my mental health and built me up as a person I am proud to be today.

Where do you see God most active in your life?
I attribute my academic success to God and God alone. I wouldn’t be here getting ready to take on my bright future if I hadn’t turned to God every step of the way.

What is your favorite thing about your church/ faith community?
My youth group, the place where my relationship with God first took place is probably my favorite thing about my community. It’s a group of beautiful kids with different personalities and aspirations who all just want a deeper understanding of God. It is in my youth group that I expanded my faith and learned about the true love of God.

What are you most excited about being a Gathering emcee?
I originally applied to be an emcee because I had a great experience in Detroit. I learned so much and it was practically life-changing. I had an amazing time and I knew that participating in the Gathering would only further my enjoyment

The theme for the Gathering is “This Changes Everything.” How does this theme and these words connect with you as a member of the church?
The theme “This Changes Everything” to me means that even with the slightest understanding of God’s love, a whole new world of possibilities is opened. With God’s love, there are no boundaries, no borders, no room for prejudice, and no room for racism. Anyone can do anything and simply understanding that changes everything. 

What is your biggest hope for you when you come home from the Gathering?
I hope that this Gathering will allow me to meet more empowering people. People whose faith is stronger than mine in every sense and who I can learn from and aspire to be like. 

With the theme “This Changes Everything” and your hopes and expectations for the Gathering, what is your biggest hope for your church/ faith community when you return from Houston?
I hope that my faith community can grow in wisdom and understanding from this great experience and that we grow closer because of it. 

– Joshua Serrano

My favorite story from scripture is the disciples walking to Emmaus. It was through traveling and breaking bread together that Jesus showed up and is revealed to them.  In my mind, great stories involve taking a long journey that bring about transformation. For instance, I love the movies Lord of the Rings, Stand By Me, and Wild because the principal actors in each movie travel to a destination and are transformed along the way.

So it is with our ELCA Youth Gathering.

We travel with young energetic high school students who are sharing their lives with each other and hoping meet Jesus on the way. God moves among them because they must band together and learn how to be a supportive community to each other and serve the world at the same time. Through the miles of walking we do, the learning, the service, and the worship, we have Jesus in our midst calling us to see others as he sees them.

I’ve only attended one Gathering and the groups of kids I attended with had good relationships with each other.  My hopefulness tells me that the kids that I’m bringing this time will see Jesus in a new way and seek to bring God’s Kingdom to earth in the communities in which they are involved.

I’m excited that youth gather together and realize that the community of Lutherans they are part of is not as small as they might think. My favorite thing about the community of God is our willingness to travel with youth on their journeys of faith and grow with them as we travel to Houston this summer.

Rev. Joshua Serrano serves Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in San Carlos, CA (South of San Francisco). He’s loves to read, practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and talk to people about their faith.  Two kids keep him occupied all the time and continue to teach him to shut up and love life.

– Molly Beck Dean

“On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson is certainly on the soundtrack of my life as Director of the Gathering. I do a good bit of traveling for the Gathering and my other work with Churchwide faith formation.

As you probably guessed, most of my travel is to the Gathering’s host city to meet with planning teams, hotels, city officials and partners. I also build into my travel schedule trips to different synodical events, continuing education conferences, and time with ministry partners like the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and Lutheran Campus Ministry.

If I’m honest, I have a love/hate relationship with so much travel. I have two kids and a spouse at home and leaving them on a regular basis, sometimes for extended periods of time, is hard. I also try to be fully present with whatever I am doing when I travel, so emails and to do lists back at the office tend to pile up when I’m on the road.

But I love the things I get to do when I travel.  Meeting with the various planning teams gives me such joy as I listen in on their faithful and dedicated dreaming, planning, and problem solving on behalf of the young people of our church.

Gathering staff are also the connectors between the teams.  It’s important that staff are “in the know” so we can share with others what each team is doing. Spending time with youth at synod gatherings and other events feeds my soul in real ways.

I’m a youth minister at heart, so spending time with young people and their journey with Jesus is a must for me in order to be the best Gathering Director I can be.

I also really value being with the people of the ELCA as we plan for and reflect on the Gathering. I want to hear about your Gathering experiences and memories, how we can equip you better for the ministry of the Gathering, and your ideas for the future.

Maybe I’ll be in your neck of the woods when I’m on the road again!

One of the ways to express the values of the Gathering is through giving.

Giving can change everything.

There are multiple ways to give an offering: in-kind, Sunday morning, and a special offering. Get to know the organizations that will be in relationship through the stewardship of the Gathering.

In-Kind Offering: Blast Off for Books
Lifting up literacy in the Houston area will be part of the Service Learning experience. The Houston Independent School District estimates that 74% of the students in the district come from families who struggle to provide books for their children. New or lightly used books from the Amazon Wish List and this flyer will be accepted. Gathering participants can bring books with them, or they can be shipped to:
Faith Lutheran Church
Blast Off for Books
4600 Bellaire Blvd
Bellaire, TX 77401

Sunday Morning Offering: Local, National, and Global
Local: Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod
One third of the Sunday morning offering will go to the hosts of the Gathering, the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, also hosts to the 2009 and 2012 New Orleans Gatherings.

National: Prison Congregations of America
Another third of the Sunday morning offering will go to Prison Congregations of America, an ecumenical organization that establishes worshiping communities in prisons across the country. The worshiping community is both financially supported by churches on the outside and by visiting the community as worship guests.

Global: Global New Starts
From Houston to around the world, the Lutheran church is bringing people together in faithful community. One third of the Sunday morning offering recognizes that God’s work not only happens in the United States, but also all over the world.

Special Offering: Global Farm Challenge
The Gathering will be partnering with ELCA World Hunger for the Global Farm Challenge. Many youth groups will raise funds before the Gathering in June and many will bring their offerings when they get to Houston. This offering is so special that at the Interactive Learning Space in the NRG Center, youth and young adult leaders can engage in an experience that will immerse them in the experience of what it’s like to be a farmer in different parts of the world.

Thank you in advance for all that you do and for all that you will bring to the Gathering!