– Ed Kay

I never fully appreciated the size and scope of the ELCA Youth Gathering until I sat on the floor of the bare New Orleans Convention Center, counting out thin pieces of cardboard that would be used for what was to be the first Synod Day in a Gathering cycle in 2012. In 2015, it was thousands of “Jesus is Good News!” tattoos and prayer journals.

And in 2018, there will be loads of new supplies that will be sorted and delivered to the ballrooms and meeting spaces around Houston as our Synods gather for their day together. But what really makes the Synod Day an integral part of the Gathering experience is not the truckloads of supplies or the work of planning teams near and far.

The power of the Synod Day is the creation of a unique community of Christ, gathering around Word and Meal, honest sharing and beautiful music, and deep conversation with holy moments.

Unlike many other aspects of the Gathering, the Synod Day is when you’re with the people you’re closest with, geographically at least. Your bishop is with you. The musicians are talent from your own churches and youth groups. The testimonies are from young people from your own cities and towns. This is a community that forms with people from your own neighborhoods, even though you may be hundreds or thousands of miles from where you call home. But, in a way, it too is a kind of home as well.

The Synod Day is more than the couple of hours you’ll spend together in a Houston hotel ballroom—it is the beginning of new friendships and the renewal of long-standing ones. It is the community who will bring the story of Jesus back from Houston into your own communities and neighborhoods.

– Ally McDonough

The Youth Gathering was a wonderful, faith-filled experience that left me with more memories and friends than I will ever get in a lifetime. In the summer of 2015, I went to the Gathering in Detroit. Before the trip, I heard many rumors of churches not going to Detroit because of the stigma surrounding the city. Honestly, I was a little apprehensive as well. As soon as my group got to Detroit, however, all of my preconceived notions were gone. Detroit was beautiful inside and out. Through many hardships, the city is still living and thriving one day at a time.

My favorite part of the Gathering and reason I am writing this article is because of one little girl who impacted me more than any speaker did at the Gathering. Her name is Hope. Pictured with me (I am in the pink bandana), Hope was the shining light on an otherwise wet and dreary day.

She was a local kid who lived in the neighborhood where we were working. Every day for three days, Hope came out and helped create the beautiful mosaics on the back of the dug outs. Hope came over to my group’s dugout and asked if she could help. A system was soon put in place where I would put the mortar on the back of the tile and Hope would choose the final resting place of the tile on the dugout. For over four hours, it was a beautiful symphony of working together to beautify a city so surrounded by negativity and media-bashing. Hope was living out the true meaning of her name in creating beauty in her city and community.

My day with Hope taught me that even with all the negativity, a helping hand and a serving spirit will unite us all.

– Don Romsa

As someone involved in Lutheran Campus Ministry, I was asked, “Why a Youth Gathering?”  My answer?

I’ve seen firsthand that the Gathering builds community, deepens faith, inspires service, and even transforms lives.

During my thirty years of working with college and university students in Lutheran Campus Ministry, I have listened to many of those students talk about their personal experiences at a Gathering.  These young adults have often said that the Gathering was a turning point in their life and also in their faith. It was an experience in which Jesus became real and relevant for them, and they were touched by God’s invitation to “change the world.”

I have listened as young adults shared memories and moments of their time at a Gathering – memories and moments like these:

As I sat in the large gatherings with other youth, I felt surrounded by people who had important hopes and dreams – just like me.

I was challenged to think in new ways about how my faith and life are connected.

We didn’t just talk about the need to love others – we went into surrounding neighborhoods and acted on that love.

I was deeply moved by the words and thoughts of the speakers who shared their real-life faith stories.

I was treated as if I was really part of the church – not at some future time, but NOW.

I realized the Lutheran faith community is much larger than I could ever have imagined – it extends all around the world.

I had a chance to talk about things that really matter in my life, and how those things are shaped by my faith.

I felt the presence of a gracious and loving God in my life – it was a transforming event for me.

Almost 45 years ago, I accompanied a group of youth to the 1973 Youth Gathering in Houston.  Not only was their faith deepened and their lives transformed, but mine was, too.  May the 2018 Youth Gathering in Houston be the same kind of gift to all who come!

Pastor Don Romsa is the ELCA Program Director for Campus Ministry.

– Zoe Clark

Hi, I’m Zoe and I’m 19 years old. I had the opportunity to go to two Gatherings and I am so excited to share a little bit about how the Gathering changed young adult life.

In New Orleans, I was one of the youngest participants in my group. I did not know what would await me, but I knew that it would be great. In New Orleans, the Gathering showed me that I was part of a community much larger than myself. It ignited my desire to do service and step up in leadership. When I returned home, I knew that the next time I went to a Gathering, I wanted it to be a different experience.

In Detroit, I was one of the oldest participants. I had a little bit more knowledge going into the event. Because of that, I felt that it was important make the Gathering an inspirational experience for others since I had already had the experience for myself. I reached out to leaders in my community. I was lucky enough to assist in leading Synod Day, where I found myself in a role that made the Gathering so different from the one I attended before.

For Houston, my third Gathering, I am helping to write the Pre-Gathering curriculum. I plan to volunteer at the Gathering as well. I always find my way back to this event, each time in a different role. My involvement with the Gathering is coming full circle, exactly as I had hoped after experiencing New Orleans.

When I first heard, “Why the Gathering?” my answer immediately was, “Why not?” That’s not really an answer, considering that it gives zero insight.

The Gathering sparked something inside me I did not know I had; it made me feel part of something bigger than I knew existed. The Gathering enabled me to grow in my faith, leadership, and service, along with providing me with the ways to do so.

The Gathering theme for Houston, “This Changes Everything,” has never been more accurate in my life and the lives of so many who have gone, served, and experienced. It’s time to see what the Gathering will ignite in you.

– Lisa Jeffreys

Why the Gathering, and why service learning? Because Jesus!

That’s the easy answer, right?

But the answer really is because of Jesus.  Nothing about organizing service learning experiences for the Youth Gathering is easy.  Yet the church places great value on cultivating meaningful service learning experiences at the Gathering.

Jesus calls us into relationship with others: other perspectives, other backgrounds, other everything.  The churchy word for that is accompaniment.  Accompaniment means we value the relationship built in service learning enough to do the really hard work of listening, respecting, inviting, and engaging fully in the experience.  Jesus models this kind of ministry when he invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner, when he shares a drink with the woman at the well, and when he walks alongside two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  It’s about connecting our stories: my story, your story, God’s story.

Detroit is still buzzing about the Skittles explosion that was created at the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering.  A few week’s after the event I received this email from one of our neighborhood partners, a resident of the Detroit Osborn neighborhood: 

“We prayed for helping hands but never imagined the most loving hearts that would come along with them! Our team, ‘Pathway from Playfield to Paradise‘ worked on relentlessly to uncover the sidewalk buried for decades (so the children no longer have to walk in the street) and created beautiful planters from the tires that have been dumped (causing horrible mosquito infestation). May God continue to bless you always ELCA. You bring hope for a better future!”

I am excited to see how the Spirit will move through participants and service learning partners in 2018 because, you know, Jesus.

Lisa Jeffreys was the Service Learning Coordinator for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering 

– Jason Poole-Xiong

Even after 20 years, I still remember my first ELCA Youth Gathering. The memories are some of the most formative and joyful of my entire life. I remember being nervous and scared to travel and to be with other youth, especially that many other people for a week. However, it was the number of people, the enormous number that I remember most—being with over 35,000 Lutherans—was something I was never expecting to be so unforgettable.

The feelings of hesitation and not knowing what to expect quickly moved into feeling the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. So many other people in the same room shared my faith and felt that their faith was important enough for them to take a chance to come to the Gathering.

I have had the pleasure to attend seven ELCA Youth Gatherings as a participant, an adult leader, and a volunteer. Each one was unique and each one shares a special place in my faith journey. That is why the opportunity to serve as a Synod Coordinator for the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering was something I couldn’t pass up.

I know that the Gathering is a transformative event and an opportunity in our faith journey to experience God’s presence in a very real way.

We have the privilege to walk with young people who are transformed and will return home to make their faith an integral part of their daily lives.