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Juneteenth: We Will Breathe

by Joe Davis

Juneteenth commemorates a day when my ancestors could breath a little more freely. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, enslaved Africans were read federal orders that they were freed, even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed over two years prior. They didn’t know they were free because, in spite of the law, they were still brutalized by those who weaponized power. This was this liberatory announcement that initiated the joyful reunion of long-separated loved ones and the work of reconstructing after centuries of being held down by the harsh American slave system. 

Today, families of African descent throughout the United States celebrate this Freedom Day, which gave us a brief moment to inhale deeper than before. However, as a Black artist and educator living in Minneapolis, MN during an uprising that has sparked freedom demonstrations around the world, I know that oppressive powers have only shifted their weight on the necks of vulnerable Black bodies as we cried out to breathe. 

I can only imagine how profoundly the Giver of all life and breath (1) must become enraged and grief-stricken every time the breath in our bodies is snuffed out by violent power. But I needn’t imagine this response, as Jesus incarnated this reality when he protested abusive authority decrying those holding power through violence as hypocrites and snakes (2) and damaged temple property when it was being valued more than the humanity of his people (3). Although divisive and controversial to corrupt religious leaders and exploitative lawmakers, Jesus embodied a form of justice not rooted in revenge or retribution, but instead in restoration and healing. Even though he could have commanded an army of angels to battle on his behalf (4) his love for the most vulnerable was held so deeply in his body that he lived and died among them in a communion of shared vulnerability. Jesus gave his all, his last breath, to empower them, and to empower us, to rise again. His desire was that we would all be freed from the grips of power-hoarding, death-dealing systems and breathe in the abundance of life-affirming community. 

Jesus intensely understood the soul wound and how violence, at its core, is a spilling over of trauma and suffering from one body to another. Resmaa Manekem, body-centered therapist and author of My Grandmother’s Hand: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, describes the soul wound as trauma routinely passed on from person to person and from generation to generation. The only way to stop the cyclical pattern is not punitive force but reparative action and a commitment to the practice and process of healing. This calls for the healing of the oppressor and the oppressed, as stated by Dr. Joi Lewis, Twin Cities healer, author, and founder of the Healing Justice Foundation. Dr Lewis states, “Oppression is not an inevitable state of affairs and no human being would agree to oppress another person or agree to be oppressed if they weren’t already hurt.” 

The wounds of violence reach the innermost essence of our beings, it viscerally impacts our flesh and becomes ritualized in every part of society and culture from policing to politics. When we heal the systems that live inside of us, then we can also heal the systems that live outside of us. And that is the path to collective liberation that Jesus calls us all to embody (5). 

Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, speaks to this call, an ancestral echo of the struggle for freedom heard in the litany of voices throughout history. If we listen, we can hear it resonating in the song of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam—among countless other scriptural leaders —organizing themselves and their people to escape the slave system of pharaohs and kings who denied their demands for human dignity until death was too close to home (6). Once their lungs were no longer constricted by the tyrannical rule of empire, they had enough space to breathe new life into prophetic visions of Jubilee, where prisoners could be liberated, debts forgiven, and the land renewed (7). 

I long to live in a world not of crippling dependence on guns and cages as lethal enforcers of systemic injustice, but a world where our bodies and our institutions rise with the deep, slow rhythms of healing. We don’t live in that world yet, but it’s worth working for with every breath we have.


Joe Davis is a nationally-touring artist, educator, and speaker based in Minneapolis, MN, whose work employs poetry, music, theater, and dance to shape culture. He is the Founder and Director of multimedia production company, The New Renaissance, the frontman of emerging soul funk band, The Poetic Diaspora, and qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. He has keynoted, facilitated conversation, and served as teaching artist at hundreds of high schools and universities including New York, Boston, and most recently as the Artist-in-Residence at Luther Seminary where he received a Masters in Theology of the Arts.


1: Genesis 2:7 (CEB) the Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. 

2: Matthew 23 (CEB) Jesus Calls Out the Legal Experts and Religious Leaders; Matthew 12:34 (CEB) Children of snakes! How can you speak good things while you are evil? What fills the heart comes out of the mouth. 

3: Matthew 21: 12 (CEB) Then Jesus went into the temple and threw out all of those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. 

4: Psalms 91:12 and Matthew 4:6 

5: Luke 17:20-21Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom was coming. He replied, God’s kingdom isn’t coming with signs that are easily noticed. Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is!’ Or ‘There is!’ Don’t you see? God’s kingdom is already among you. 

6: Exodus 12:29-50 

7: Leviticus 25: 8-18

Jesus Changes Everything: Day Five of the Gathering

Worship focused on the final daily theme, “Jesus Changes Everything” concluded the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston. Volunteers gathered in the early hours of the morning at NRG Stadium ready to receive instructions on communing the over 30,000 attending the one final worship service, closing the days of Service Learning, Interactive Learning, Community Life, Synod Day, and Mass Gathering.

Raeann, a member of West Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Osceola, WI, was one of the many volunteers receiving instructions on serving communion. She said she was immersed in the “happiness of everything we took in here. It’s hard to explain. I am grateful to be with my siblings in Christ.” Youth participants from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Gastonia, NC reflected on the mementos, friends, and connections they made in the days of the Gathering. They were also excited to serve communion to fellow participants, something they never imagined they would get to do at the Gathering.

Scripture of the previous days was present in the worship service: God’s call to Moses, Jesus meeting the woman at the well, Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch, and the resurrected Christ joining his disciples on the road to Emmaus. These were reminders of the daily themes: God’s call, God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s hope changes everything.

The Gospel lesson for the last gathering of over 30,000 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.”

Savanna Sullivan, Program Director for Young Adult Ministries, gave a contemporary witness in the worship service. She shared her experience of preparing to leave for Rwanda as a Young Adult in Global Mission, but before her departure, her doctor said her immune system was compromised and recommended she not leave the United States. After a conversation with her father, Sullivan stated, “I’m ready to live for this.”

Sullivan’s words resonated with Carsyn, a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Salsbury, NC. On hearing the contemporary witness and other Gathering speakers, Carsyn said, “The energy in the stadium has been amazing. I am ready to live for God and for everyone.” Sullivan wanted those attending worship to take these words home with them, “If our joy is just for this place and for us, it isn’t God’s joy. God’s joy is for everyone. Everywhere.”

Two questions that came up during closing worship were, “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.

Worship closed with the reveal of the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering: there was a lot of purple, a sneak peak of “Spoonbridge and Cherry” and Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and pyrotechnics to reveal Minneapolis, MN as the next location.

Even though the Gathering has concluded in Houston, sharing the experiences are far from over. Make sure to check the Gathering Blog for more stories of what happens when the Gathering is lived across the ELCA.

 

 

God’s Hope Changes Everything: Day Four of the Gathering

On the last full day of the ELCA Youth Gathering, the daily theme was “God’s Hope Changes Everything.” Synod Day, Service Learning, Community Life, and Interactive Learning were taking place in various locations around the city of Houston.  

 One of the many Service Learning sites was the Houston Food Bank. More than 900 youth participants were hard at work in the facility. They were busy sorting and packing not just food items, but also toiletries and health products. Trini, 16, of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Houston said that the Gathering will leave a lasting impact in the city she calls home. She said, “The Gathering will make Houston a better place by spreading goodness.”  

 Piny, 16, and Joy, 14, from St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, MN were helping pack food and products at the food bank. With working in the food bank for Service Learning, Piny said she was glad she had the “ability to help others in need. It gives us a chance to stop thinking about ourselves and to help others.”  

 At their Synod Day, youth in the La Crosse Area Synod enjoyed forging relationships, worshiping and connecting in faith under the theme, “God’s hope changes everything.” Sharice, a teen from the synod, shared her faith story, inspiring her peers with a message of hope: “We are the future of this church.”  

 It was also Synod Day for the Delaware-Maryland Synod. Some synod youth groups attended Houston’s “Families Belong Together” rally beforehand to protest the separation of undocumented children and their families. In his opening message Bishop William J. Gohl, Jr., told youth there’s power in coming together for this time of community as a synod and “there’s power in inviting others to come inside (the church).” Throughout the afternoon, youth leaders guided their peers through activities and worship.  

Back in the NRG Arena, youth were having fun playing with inflatables, singing karaoke, dancing, and relaxing. Ojulu Cham, 18, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Austin, MN, especially liked playing games and meeting new friends in Community Life after a morning spent wrapping and packing beans at the Houston Food Bank.  

Live Bible study at Community Life were “idle tales”; Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rev. Jodi Hogue, Rozella Haydée White, and Rachel Kurtz sat down to have a discussion on God’s hope and the Road to Emmaus in Luke’s Gospel. The conversation between these four powerful women today focused on women being the first witnesses to the resurrection, and how the hope of women is how the resurrection came to be known today.  

Mass Gathering was an expression of how God’s hope changes everything. The speakers tonight covered intense topics that need to be discussed thoughtfully and honestly within our faith communities.  

Stephen Bouman, executive director for ELCA Domestic Mission, opened up the final evening of the Gathering with a heartfelt speech on current issues facing the US and this church, including gun violence in our schools, racism, and the ongoing demonization of refugees and immigrants. Bouman shared how he has seen signs of hope in the work of his church, the ELCA, in its advocacy work, fighting hunger in the US and beyond, building peace globally, and accompanying migrant families and children through its AMMPARO initiative. Kelby Anderson, 16, from Zion Lutheran Church, Iowa City, IA, said he appreciated Bouman’s timely message of hope and how he connected it to current events. 

Youth were moved when Jamie Bruesehoff and her 11-year-old daughter, Rebekah, shared their story. Rebekah is transgender. “When I was younger, I was worried and confused. Why did I have to go through all of this?” Rebekah shared. “I’ve come to learn that God does not make mistakes. I was created in the image of God to be me.” 

Since claiming her gender identity, Rebekah has went on to speak to lawmakers and others, advocating on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly those who are transgender. “Transgender kids are just like other kids,” she said. “We need to be loved and supported.” 

 As she wrapped up her speech, Rebekah called on youth to make a difference in their own communities and congregations and show others hope. “I hope for a church and world where people are not only welcomed but they are celebrated,” Rebekah said. “Go out. Start something. Help somebody struggling in their community. Cheer them on. Throw them a party. Paint a giant rainbow flag outside. That’s what I want my church to do.” 

Faye, 15, Atonement Lutheran Church, Rochester, NY, said, “I really liked (Rebekah’s) message no matter how old you are you can make an impact on someone’s life.” 

Maria Rose Belding, executive director of MEANS Database, spoke about her journey to create a national nonprofit database connecting people and organizations with extra food to donate it to nearby hunger nonprofits. She opened up to youth about her anxiety and depression in high school while she was working to create MEANS.  

Belding also discussed her sexuality and past trauma. When she came out to her mentor as queer, he raped her. “What happened to me what not my fault, and if this happened to you, it wasn’t yours either,” Belding said. “God’s hope and love and grace are enough for every queer rape survivor, and every hungry person who has been told to just be more responsible, and everybody in recovery from something, and every child and parent torn apart at our border.” 

Belding’s message deeply resonated with Katie, from St. Philip Lutheran Church, Raleigh, NC. “Being a woman and knowing those types of experiences and being able to hear (Belding) talk and claim that she knew it wasn’t her fault was really powerful to me,” Davidson said.   

Joe Davis, a poet, musician and recent ELCA seminary graduate, inspired youth with a message of hope amid adversity.  “I am a Black man and I am speaking in front of one of the whitest church denominations. My very body is the hope of my ancestors, my very presence is a prayer,” he said. “In a world that speaks death to me … my existence is resistance. I am here for a purpose and a reason.” 

Davis told you they were here for a purpose and reason, and he encouraged them be bold in their faith. “You may have been told to shut up and sit down but I wanna tell you to stand up and speak out,” he said. “We’re no longer in a church building but we are building church.” 

After his talk, Joe Davis said he wanted Gathering participants to remember to “have more reasons to hope than despair. We have to practice hope like a discipline, and it is best practiced in community.”  

Ten Avenue North closed out the evening with a spirited performance of songs that touched on God’s love, grace, and hope. Youth were energized and inspired, and many said the concert was their favorite moment of the evening. Isabel, 18, New Creation Lutheran Church, San Jose, CA, appreciated that lead singer, Mike Doney, “was so in touch with the crowd and brought his view of God into it and explained it and it really made sense.” 

 ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton expressed that she wanted participants to find a way to not just take the hope expressed at Mass Gathering from this one night. Behind the stage, she said she hoped participants would take the entirety of the Gathering experience home with them with them when they depart Houston. Her hope was for participants to maintain the sense of community as they return to their homes across the ELCA.  


Follow the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering on social media:

Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #ELCAYG2018!

Follow instructions to download the ELCA Youth Gathering app here.

God’s Grace Changes Everything: Day Three of the Gathering

“God’s grace changes everything” set the tone for the second full day of the ELCA Youth Gathering. Youth and adult leaders dispersed to Synod Day, Interactive Learning, Community Life and Service Learning sites around Houston.

Seminarian Kelsey Brown, vicar at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, Calif., was extremely moved to serve with her youth at Freedmen’s Town for Service Learning. Brown believes the Holy Spirit worked through the founders of Freedmen’s Town, in the lives of freed people making a difference. She felt the presence of the Spirit today, as the people of the neighborhood still occupy this rich history, and that such a difference will continue to live on.

Logan, a youth participant from Incarnation Lutheran Church in San Diego, felt the significant history of this Service Learning location. “The history of this place is beautiful, empowering, and strong. This was built from being enslaved and being treated in a way no human ever should be. They went from being in slave houses to being able to build their own city.” Jon, from Lutheran Incarnation Church of Poway, CA was inspired that ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton participated in Service Learning at Freedmen’s Town. He said, “It was pretty great to see the head of the Lutheran church out here with the youth groups.”

In the Interactive Learning at NRG Center, Katie Hrybyk from St. John’s Lutheran Church, MD, visited the Women of the ELCA exhibit on human trafficking. She was surprised to learn how many people become victims of human trafficking but was glad to discover her church is working to end it. “The more people that know about (human trafficking) and are aware of it, the more we can do about it,”Hrybyk said.

In the “God adores you!” space sponsored by Reconciling Works, Aiden, 17, and Z. (name changed for privacy) were writing cards of encouragement for people in the LGBTQIA+ community. “I learned (here) that I can be more comfortable about my sexuality around other faith and other Lutherans and… it really hits me in the heart,” Aiden said. “It’s really difficult hiding who I am.”

Z. has also hidden her sexuality from her parents. “I now know it’s okay to be who you are; God still loves you,” she said.When asked if she’s had any uplifting moments at the Gathering, Z. remarked, “Literally right now—I actually got one of these (God adores you!) cards. One of them actually said, ‘Add me on Snapchat’ and they added me and said, ‘I would love to meet you.’”

At the “People on the move: A migrant and refugee experience” exhibit, sponsored by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Lutheran Disaster Response, and the ELCA’s AMMPARO initiative, participants walked through a simulation reflecting the journeys of people who are migrants and refugees.

Marta Vuola from Christ the King Lutheran, Snohomish, WA, followed the long, dangerous, and traumatic path of the Rohingya, an ethnic group fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Vuola was shocked by the experience. “I am so privileged, why do other people go through this? … It’s hard to think of it,” she said. “(This) gave me more empathy for others.”

ELCA missionary Chandran Martin spoke with groups about the ways Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting refugees in Bangladesh and worldwide. Upon learning this, Masame Fletcher, also from Christ the King, said, “It’s really amazing, we’re contributing to a big thing, and I feel proud to be part of it.”

Youth also enjoyed interacting with the ELCA World Hunger Global Farm Challenge, checking out ELCA colleges and universities, playing sports and more.

Grace was the primary focus of Mass Gathering.

Elizabeth Peter opened the evening by examining the Biblical story of the Ethiopian Eunuch, who was stigmatized and stereotyped. “Maybe you’ve been stereotyped, too,” she said, later adding: “There are times where I feel like I’m not always included. I don’t always feel welcomed in the church. Because of my skin, my gender, my youth, my hair, the way I talk and dress.”

She asked the over 30,000 participants in NRG Stadium if they knew how they judged and excluded others in the church and in the world. Peter reminded everyone they are a vehicle for God’s grace, and grace can show up not just in unexpected places, but also unexpected people. She wanted everyone present to know and remember after tonight, “You are indeed in the limitlessness of God’s grace.”

God’s limitless grace was reflected again and again as others took the stage to share their stories, including Michaela Shelley, who has been fighting mitochondria disease since she was a teenager. For a long time, she was angry at God and at everyone.

Then she started connecting with other teenagers with mitochondria disease, eventually creating an online support group for teens like her that has now connected 500 people from 20 countries. “No matter how many times you curse God, he still loves you no matter what,” Shelley said. “God’s grace is not only about forgiveness but about the way you can become the person you are meant to become.”

From her powerful testimony on God’s grace, Michaela Shelley wanted people to remember that even in the midst of her honest words on life and death, that children living in similar situations could still be a normal kid.

Singer Tauren Wells brought the crowd to their feet with upbeat, thoughtful songs expressing God’s deep love for us. “It’s hard truth and ridiculous grace to be known fully known and loved by you,” he sang. “I’m fully known and loved by you.”

Will Starkweather, an ELCA pastor, shared his experience with cutting during his teenage and young adult years. In college, when he revealed his secret to his pastor, that pastor told Starkweather he was going to hell. Starkweather left the church, dropped out of school and fell into a deep depression—and he cut.

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 cutting 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 greeted friends behind the stage. 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.”

“One of my best friends at school is cutting,” said Julia Novak, 15, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fredrick, Md. “When one of your friends is cutting it impacts all of your friends.” Seeing Starkweather talk helped her see “people aren’t alone in what they’re doing and you can always get through it.”

Cassie Cole, 17, from a church in Florida, agreed: “We have a member in our group who used to self-harm. … I think (the speech) was really powerful to her.”

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.”

The implications of God’s radical grace mean that God’s grace is also for our enemies, she said. The uncomfortable truth is this: “salvation of my enemy is also wrapped up in my own salvation,” Bolz-Weber said.

In closing out her speech, Bolz-Weber called on all who were gathered to renounce the devil in his many manifestations—in our racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism and other forms of hatefulness.

She asked: “Do you renounce the lies that tell you grace isn’t real, that there’s anything grace can’t redeem?”

The crowd responded, “I renounce them.”

“Well, me too,” she said. “Amen.”

Jamie Jimenz, 18, Augusta, GA, loved how honest Bolz-Weber was about her past and her flaws. She related to Bolz-Weber’s experiences with bullying, and will remember “how (hardships) make you feel now is not the way you’re going to feel for the rest of your life.”

“I liked Nadia and how she used her story to show that god shows his grace to everyone and doesn’t discriminate,” said Olivia Sullivan, also from Evangelical Lutheran, MD.

For Sullivan, the most powerful moments of the night were when she and youth around her were singing and swaying together to music. Following Bolz-Weber’s speech, youth with “Loved” shirts flooded the stage and floor as the House Band performed its final song.

“Words can’t really explain it, but there was this power and you could really feel God’s love in the arena,” Sullivan said.

God’s Love Changes Everything: Day Two of the Gathering

Transformative love was the theme of day two of the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering.

On the first full day of the Gathering, Service Learning, Synod Day, Interactive Learning, and Community Life were in full operation. Makenna, 18, and Cosette, 17, of Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI were packaging children’s books at Blast off for Books. Makenna said packing the books for the local community was important because “I’m helping get books together so everyone can have access to reading them.” Cosette stated, “This is a good way to give kids an opportunity to gain knowledge and prepare for the future.”

Participants from Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, IL had fun at Community Life. They were anticipating discussions that were taking place for their Synod Day. Their synod, Metropolitan Chicago Synod, were going to talk about current immigration issues in the United States and how the church is called to respond.

The many activities of the day led to the second Mass Gathering. Caroline Meeker opened the Mass Gathering by sharing her battle with anorexia, a disease for which she was hospitalized at the age of nine. 

“I couldn’t stop the voice in my head telling me not to eat,” she said. “I was literally disappearing, physically and mentally.” In the hospital, receiving nutrition from a feeding tube, Meeker felt like she’d lost everything.  

As she recovered, she began noticing God. “God was there in my family, church and friends. God was everywhere,” Meeker told youth. The experience helped her see God doesn’t give us hardships, but “God promises to be there.”  

Grant, 17, from Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Barnesville, Minn., said Meeker’s story made him realize, “God doesn’t judge you by how you look, but how you act, how you feel and believe in him.” 

Meeker’s message also left an impression on Clark Lenczycki, 17, from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Portland, Col. He was reminded “God is with us through the hardest times, it’s really his love that gets us through the hardest times, it’s always there.”

Other highlights included musical performances from Ryan Brown, Rachel Kurtz and Guardian Drum and Bugle Corps. “I thought the music tonight was phenomenal,” said Luke Thomsville, 17, also from Our Savior’s, Barnesville, Minn. “Each of the individual singers had their own moments. I loved the traditional Mexican dancing and the drumline at the end.”  

Deacon Erin Power spoke about the importance of finding a church home and how we are called to express and embody such a home for a world in need. Power hoped that participants would go home with the realization that “Our call as the church is to embody radical hospitality and we need to proclaim this message.”

Youth were also moved by Reverend Aaron Fuller’s heartfelt speech about his ministry as a wrestling coach and Navy chaplain. Fuller only became a pastor recently, after working as a Naval Officer and struggling with his own demons related to his identity.

“I used to keep people at a distance,” he told youth. “What changed? In my own life, my own dark moments, people walked alongside me. The thing I was going through never scared them.” Today, as a chaplain, Fuller accompanies sailors and wrestlers as they wrestle with life’s ups and downs. 

“The world needs us to be courageous and walk alongside others in [dark] moments,” he said. “What they don’t need us to do is fix their problems and save their world. What they do need is love.” Fuller’s hope was that those attending the Mass Gathering would have the “courage to see suffering in the world, not turn away and enter into it.”

Fuller’s story left an impact on Nicholas Blonstein, 18, from Grace Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, Calif. “This meant a lot to me today,” he said. “People have struggles in their lives that we don’t always realize. People aren’t always what they seem in the outside. Just standing with those people (when they struggle) is enough.” 

Houstonite and storyteller Marlon Hall closed out the evening by blessing ELCA youth with a message of love—and a call to action.  

“You were born to make an indelible mark on the world that no one can erase,” he said. “If you don’t make that mark that mark won’t be made. You make this mark by the love of God.” 

Hall spoke about his and his partner’s hardships during their eight-year struggle to conceive. Then he welcomed his daughter, Phoenix to the stage. He said his daughter is “now and forever a physical manifestation to me that God’s love isn’t earned, it’s welcomed.” 

Hall then shared a story about an encounter with Joe, a man who transformed Hall’s vision of love. Joe took Hall’s phone from a convenience store, then returned it to Hall in the parking lot as though it was a gift. “Joe was trying to give me a blessing that I already had,” he said. “So is true with the love of God.” 

This idea really resonated with Taylor Hohenbrink, 17, from Hope Lutheran Church, Fresno, Calif. She said Hall showed her, “You can’t be given God’s love because you already have it.” 

Comforter Berjbo, 14, who is attending her first gathering, said every speaker gave her goosebumps. Her takeaway from the evening? “God’s love changes the way we look at people, the way we speak of his word . . . it just changes the way we look at life.” 


Follow the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering on social media:

Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #ELCAYG2018!

Follow instructions to download the ELCA Youth Gathering app here.

The Gathering Begins: God’s Call Changes Everything

The June 27 opening night Mass Gathering of the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering was marked by spirited testimonies of God’s call, fitting with the day’s theme: “God’s call changes everything.” For the 31,000 youth from around the country in attendance, the opening Mass Gathering brought a new sense of belonging in Christ. 

Before the doors to NRG stadium opened, the Gathering participants and adult leaders were anticipating what the night—and the week—had in store.  

“I’m excited to look around and see 31,000 people who all believe what I do. On mission trips we’ve been with other groups but they’ve all been from different denominations. Here we’re all together and we share the same beliefs,” said Alexis, a Gathering participant from Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wis. 

Katelyn from Union Lutheran Church in Schnecksville, Pa., was looking forward to seeing Agape* perform: “I love how he puts religion and music together.” 

A group from Augustana Lutheran Church in Boone, Iowa, was at the front of one of the lines to get into the NRG Stadium. They’d been standing in line since 4:30 p.m. and were eager for the doors to open at 6 p.m. “I’ve been to a Gathering before and I’m honestly looking forward to everything this week, but the mass gatherings are my favorite part. I’m excited to see Agape*, Rachel Kurtz and Tenth Avenue North,” said Claire, from Augustana Lutheran. 

As the first Mass Gathering got underway, Gathering participants witnessed a memorable, energizing introduction to this five-day faith formation event.  

Highlights included words of welcome from Michael Rinehart, bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, and a poetic performance from Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, the current Poet Laureate for the City of Houston. 

LZ7, a Christian electronic dance music group from Manchester, England, brought youth to their feet with high energy, joyful songs illuminating God’s presence in the world.  

Carly, 14, from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Bismark, N.D., felt inspired by the presence of so many other Lutheran peers. “I felt like I belonged, I didn’t feel out of place at all,” she said. “I really liked how all the bands started playing and we all started dancing.”  

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton set the tone for the evening, calling youth to become the “alternate face of Christianity” and disciples who reflect a “God of grace and love, who welcomes everyone.” 

Tuhina Rasche, an ELCA pastor and writer, told youth her call began with a simple invitation to dinner hosted by her college’s Lutheran campus ministry. Rasche started attending their worship services, and one day, while singing a hymn, she was struck by an encounter with God.   

“God sent me messenger after messenger after messenger, setting fires all around me and I finally realized, oh hey, there’s a fire,” she said. That fire was the Holy Spirit acting in her life. “If a former Hindu can be a Lutheran pastor then, yeah, God’s call changes everything,” Rasche said. 

Rasche’s talk resonated with Isaac 15, from Bethany Lutheran Church, Joyce, Iowa. “She felt like she didn’t belong, but everyone just accepted her,” he said. “(Her talk) was the most inspiring to me.” 

The Gathering’s House Band introduced the theme song for the week, “This changes everything,” grounded in Ephesians 2:8.

 Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., closed out the Mass Gathering, encouraging 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.  

Libby, 17, Bethany Lutheran Church, Joyce, Iowa, felt empowered by Stevenson’s words: “It makes you want to welcome people and not judge them.” 

Taylor from St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Clarksburg, W.Va., connected with Stevenson’s message. “I really liked the lawyer, Bryan. My dad is in law enforcement, so I spend time around lawyers and people in law enforcement, and I love hearing their stories. The story of how he [Bryan] helped the boy was really inspiring and that’s the kind of stuff I want to do.” 

Laurel, also from St. Mark’s in Clarksburg, W.Va., said she loved Stevenson’s speech: “I liked that he probably made a lot of people uncomfortable with what he was talking about because you have to be uncomfortable to make change.”  

Gathering participants will hear more from change-makers as they move into day two, meeting under the day’s theme: “God’s love changes everything.” 


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