– Rozella Haydée White

I am from Houston, Texas and I grew up celebrating Juneteenth. When I left Houston in 2007, l lived in three different cities over the course of 10 years. Imagine my surprise when most people in these places (Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago) had never heard of Juneteenth. I was astonished! How could such an important part of American history be known by so few people?

Photo from Emancipation Park Conservancy

On January 1, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, abolishing slavery after 400 years. This changed federal legal status of more than 3.5 million slaves. Many, including myself, wonder about the intent and signing of the Proclamation. It happened during the American Civil War and the north needed more people to fight against the south. Releasing slaves was seen as a political move to increase people power for the war rather than a moral move to grant human beings their freedom.

However, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t reach the people in Texas until June 19, 1865. As Texas was not a battleground state in the Civil War, the initial proclamation did not apply. Slaves in Texas didn’t find out their status had changed until two years after the fact. The Proclamation was shared in Galveston, an island 60 miles southeast of Houston. Freed slaves rejoiced.

The following year, Juneteenth was born.

Last year marked an important part of history in Houston. Emancipation Park, purchased in the historic Black community of Third Ward by freed slaves in 1870, underwent major renovations. It reopened last June after a multi-million dollar project aimed to restore and revitalize an integral piece of history of the Black community and the wider city of Houston.

Here’s the thing – we don’t know what we don’t know. But at some point, we have to ask ourselves, who is telling the story of history we cling to? What perspectives are informing our viewpoints? How are we listening to a plethora of voices, bringing to bear the variety of experiences that make up a reality? This is why the Gathering has partnered with Folklore Films to prepare service learning materials. You’ll get to hear from the founder of this amazing organization, Marlon Hall, on the main stage.

So much of the history I thought of as THE history turned out to be written from one point of view. I love Chimamanda Adichie’s Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story.” It reminds us that history is often written from the point of view of the most powerful. What history have missed because we haven’t listened to the voices of the oppressed?

As you prepare to enter into my beloved city, take time to consider the history of this extraordinary place. We are the most diverse city in the United States, with a largely integrated population. We are a hospitable people, having a deep love and respect for Texas history. We welcome all, simply asking that folks be open minded and caring of our community and of our people.

Happy Juneteenth and welcome to Texas, y’all.

Rozella Haydée White is a spiritual life coach, leadership consultant and inspirational speaker and writer. She is the owner of RHW Consulting which seeks to restore hearts to wholeness and empower women to create and live a meaningful life. She believes that everyone is gifted and has the power to transform themselves, their communities and the world when they tap into their most authentic self.

– Misael Fajardo-Perez

I am privileged to be part of the commissioning service for the ELCA Youth Gathering volunteers for the second time in a row. Nearly 800 volunteers are gathering in Houston a few days before they engage with over 30,000 youth and their leaders coming from various corners of our country and from our global church partners.

I will serve as one of the chaplains for the nearly 800 volunteers during the Gathering. Chaplains will share worship responsibilities for the commissioning service for volunteers and will be accompanied by ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Easton and Bishop Michael Rinehart of the Gulf Coast Synod. Musician Rachel Kurtz will lead us in music, and at the end of the service, volunteers will be sent to the Gathering with words of blessings and affirmation.

One of the most powerful moments in this service is will begin at the baptismal font. It is at the font where we remember our common identity, which holds us together as a community of faith. The most meaningful moment to which I am looking forward is when various items from each corner of the space will be brought forth to the center of the room to be connected together to create a base for the baptismal bowl. This imagery is so meaningful for me because it acknowledges the various journeys that come together as they have for generations to receive the one Spirit poured out at Pentecost, upon the Gentiles, and now upon us.

It is the one Spirit that connects us to each other, becoming equal recipients, crafted by this same God of Love.

Thanks be to God for the continued work of transformation by the Spirit, who continues to call all people from all corners of our world to the divine purpose of sharing love. God be with all of our volunteers.

Rev. Misael Fajardo-Perez is a Mission Developer with the Wenatchee Valley Lutheran Latino Ministry.

– 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!