As we continue to adjust into the scary new reality of the unknown, we hope that you take the scripture below to heart. God is will us through this mess. God is with the sick, the poor, the anxious, the doctors, the public health officials, the grocery store workers, the elderly, and each and everyone one of you.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
    though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
³ though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble with its tumult. 

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.
⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kindoms totter;
    God’s voice utters, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge. 

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord;
    see what desolations God has brought on the earth.
⁹ God makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    God breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
    God burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations,
    I am exalted in the earth.”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

-Psalm 46: 1-11

You’ve probably never wondered how many tables and chairs it takes to make a Gathering
happen. Me either! Well, until I said yes to serving as the Operations Team Leader for the 2018
ELCA Youth Gathering. (For the record we used 9,555 chairs and 750 tables of varying sizes.)
Our team is the logistics branch of this event. We coordinate meals for volunteers, assign
spaces for offices and events, host the bishops, manage signage for spaces, and keep the
master calendar of everything happening across the city for our time in Minneapolis. It’s
spreadsheet central.

We’re a small group that spends our time behind the scenes making sure things run smoothly.
We work with the teams of the Minneapolis Convention Center and U.S. Bank Stadium to make sure your experience is focused on faith formation.

Part of our team training is problem solving. What would you do if….? Last cycle, one issue was
music stands. They weren’t in the storage unit as we thought. Our solution – a rental truck and
a middle school band director who was our person of the day for actually being at school during
the summer break. Synod day bands had music stands. Alleluia!

We don’t know what’s coming each day but our promise to you is to work hard so you get to
spend time with your young people. That time is priceless. You are part of their faith journey.
My prayer is that you take the time to share your journey of faith with them. We are thankful
for you and your young people are too.

Tammy Jones West serves as an assistant to the Bishop in the North Carolina Synod with responsibilities in most things around Leadership. She is married to Eric who is a CPA and we have one son, Robert, who graduated in 2019 from UNC -Chapel Hill and is in graduate school at NC State in statistics. Tammy serves as the Team Leader for Operations for the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering.

by: Matthew Felbein

Hello! My name is Matthew Felbein and I am thrilled to be able to serve as one of the Gathering Hosts for the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. This will be my second Gathering, and even though it is still about 450 days away (I might be counting already…) I couldn’t be more excited!

Currently, I am a junior in high school and I try to be involved in everything that I can. Music is a huge part of my life as well as my faith. I love sharing music at my church whether it’s in a brass group, the high school choir, or playing the organ and piano. I’m also involved with a lot of theater and music activities and my school.

I was absolutely blown away by the 2018 Gathering in Houston. From the first night, I felt named and claimed as a child of God more than ever. Seeing thousands of people of all different backgrounds from all over the country come together for worship, service, and lots of fun was an incredible experience. Without a doubt, it was one of the best weeks of my life and it really did change everything. When I left, I knew I wanted to be able to inspire people like I had been inspired by the emcees, speakers, musicians, and volunteers at the Gathering, and I am so blessed to have this new opportunity!

I can’t wait to see how God’s boundless love fills us in Minneapolis in 2021. See you then!