by: Kris Bjorke

Hi everyone! I’m Kris Bjorke and I am excited to serve as the Service Learning Project Manager for the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering. The city of Minneapolis, known for its parks and lakes as well as culture through the arts and music, is both a place I know and love and where I have spent my youth ministry career.

The Gathering has been a formative thread throughout my career. I was able to attend two Gatherings as a high school student. From there I had the opportunity while working at Bible Camp to serve as a leader for a busload of small congregations who were attending. Whenever serving in a congregation either settled or in interim, the Gathering was always part of the summer ministry. I also worked as Synod Day Director for the Minneapolis Area Synod twice and in Houston served as the supplies manager for Service Learning. For the Gathering to be hosted in Minneapolis is amazing— to serve alongside this capable team is a dream.

Organization experiences include; being adjunct faculty at Luther Seminary, First Third Minneapolis Area Synod Staff, co-founding InterServe Ministries along with serving as interim Children Youth and Families minister in nine congregations, Youth Leadership and six years at one congregation.

My husband Scott and I recently downsized our house and currently enjoy apartment living. We have two daughters; Julia, who lives in St. Cloud and a manager at Scheels, and Emily, a music industry student at Minnesota State Mankato and member of a local band Last Import. I enjoy all sorts of things; drinking coffee with friends, being outdoors, pets, football and hockey games, travel (with a special affinity for National Parks), being with family and quilting.

I hope you continue to be part of the Gathering in 2021 if that has been your history and if you haven’t taken part in the past, consider dipping your toes into Minneapolis as together we will partner for a deepening faith experience for our young people and ourselves.

by: Bishop Ann Svennungsen

I’m so excited that the Minneapolis Area Synod will host the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering. Minnesota, home of 10,000 lakes and more shoreline than California is filled with Lutherans – nearly 700,000 to be exact. We have 300 congregations within an hour drive of the Convention Center – each one eager to welcome you with a ready smile.

The Dakota people were the first to live here along the banks of the mighty Mississippi, with sacred sites dotting our landscape. Now we have 11 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota and one of the largest urban Native populations in the country. Minneapolis is also the largest Somali city outside East Africa. Liberians fill several of our ELCA congregations and we have churches worshipping weekly in Lao, Hmong, Swahili, Spanish, Oromo, Amharic, Norwegian and American Sign Language.

Minneapolis is the proud hometown for Prince, Lizzo and Bob Dylan. We don’t just love this city for the music. We love it for the food too – not just hotdish and Jello, but also Juicy Lucys and cheese curds, freshly-caught walleye and wild rice, pho and injera bread. 

Even more than the Mall of America, our 22 metro lakes with their sailboats and paddleboards; our 100 miles of bike paths and abundance of rental bicycles; our countless outdoor cafes, including many global markets, and beautiful 80-degree temperatures will welcome you here. We’re really proud of our city and understand why it’s one of the most popular for young adults. 

We’re ranked first in the number of volunteers per capita, which excites us to partner with you as we follow Jesus together in meaningful service in our neighborhoods.

We can’t wait to see you in Minneapolis. Even more, we look forward to gathering with you in 2021 to hear anew the good news of Jesus’ love for all creation, including you and me. See you then!

Re-elected to a second six-year term on May 5, 2018, Bishop Ann Svennungsen was the first woman to serve as bishop in any of the ELCA’s six Minnesota synods. Today, she lives in Minneapolis with her husband Rev. Dr. William Russell.

by: Bishop Abraham Allende

In my time as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod, I have been blessed to attend two ELCA Youth Gatherings – Detroit in 2015 and Houston in 2018. On both occasions, we worshipped, rejoiced, served, and celebrated God’s wonderful gifts of love, grace, and hope.

Each night at Mass Gathering, we heard powerful messages from a wide variety of speakers and sang a dazzling and diverse array of music from contemporary musicians. During the day each synod either gathered to worship together, went out into the community to serve in different sites around the city, or learned of the many ways the church serves around the world in Interactive Learning. 

The members of the communities where our young people carried out their service projects couldn’t stop thanking them, which was affirming for the youth. And it is through that service that they go out before others and proclaim God’s mercy and grace. 

In both Detroit and Houston, I came away with a renewed feeling of hope for the church. Being around these young people keeps me young. They are eager to serve and demonstrate the love of God by loving their neighbor. The many outreach ministries they performed brought glory to God. 

When we agonize about why young people are leaving church, we need to ask ourselves, what opportunities are we giving them in our congregations to offer their boundless energy and enthusiasm, their passion for the gospel? As adults, we are sometimes unable and often unwilling to give up control. God’s invasion of this world in Jesus is resisted by those who hold power, those whose lives are dedicated to keeping boundaries intact. The challenge is to avoid the temptation of refusing to let go of our sense of authority and denying youth of their willingness to serve.

by: Erin Strybis

I went to the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering to tell their story. 

I didn’t anticipate how they’d change my story, too.

When my editor and I discussed my assignment – to shadow a youth group at the Gathering for Living Lutheran – my stomach flipped with excitement. I believe this event for youth is one of the best things this church does. Not only does it inspire Lutheran teens in their faith journeys, the Gathering also affects adult participants and community members.

Walking into Houston’s NRG Stadium for opening night with my reporter’s notebook in hand, however, I felt timid. Would they accept me? Would they open up? I settled into my seat beside youth from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Laurel, Md., and let a wave of cheers and music wash over me.

In her opening message, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton urged Gathering participants to watch for God to “show up in places we least expect.” OK Bishop, I thought, observing the sea of Lutherans surrounding me, I’ll keep watch. 

I turned on my tape recorder, started asking questions, and sure enough…

          God showed up as youth served with their hands and opened their hearts to seniors at a local YMCA.

          God showed up in Interactive Learning, where I met teens who’d found acceptance at the Reconciling Works booth.

          God showed up in the stories of speakers who shared myriad challenges and gospel hope.

          God showed up in the blare of bands and synod gatherings and holy conversations.

After Friday’s Mass Gathering, Holy Trinity youth were bouncing with excitement as they exited the stadium. We pulled off to the path’s edge and I found myself surrounded, each jumping for a turn to speak into the recorder. As I watched their faces light up, I thought, Yes! This electric faith, this community, this growth is why the Gathering matters.

God showed up in the clear, honest testimonies of these 12 young people – Alicia, Caroline, C.J., Jenna, Jordan, Lewis, Madison, Michael, Peter, Samantha, Tyler and Will.

I came into their group an outsider; I left with 12 friends in Christ.

Erin Strybis (middle) is a lifelong Lutheran, mother of one and voracious reader who believes in the healing power of stories. Find more of her stories at erinstry.com or on Instagram (@erinstry).

by: Brittany Horton

Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

This verse is a constant reminder that God makes no mistakes. We are all made in the image of God just as He intended for us to be. As someone who has 50% hearing loss in both ears, I often thought people were staring at my hearing aids or making fun of the way I talked even though my disability was not as visible as others. When I got older, I became more comfortable with who I was and my growing faith played an important role in that.

Being a part of the tAble planning team was an amazing experience. Not only was I able to be a part of something bigger than myself but I was able to empower, motivate and love on others that may have experienced some of the same things I went through as a youth. When I was invited for the tAble I was not prepared for the life changing experiences and many friendships I would soon develop. I was excited to help others shine despite their differences. 

The tAble brought about a spiritual awakening that I did not even know I had. My only mission since then has been to do God’s work the best I know how and to love everyone the same. No matter what we are facing, God always finds several ways to show you that you are exactly where you are supposed to be in that moment. The tAble was an experience of a lifetime and I am glad to have been a part of it. Just like we encouraged these young people to be their true authentic selves, I want each of you to understand that God loves you just the way you are. 

Brittany Horton is a Detroit native and have been doing youth empowerment and advocacy work for the last seven years. She has a strong background in mentoring and community involvement. Brittany enjoys reading, swimming, listening to music, spending time with her family and friends as well as sharing her gifts through various ministries in her church.

by: Sophia Behrens

The ELCA Youth Gathering is an excellent resource for youth to explore their vocations. After attending the 2018 Gathering, I had a better understanding of how big our church was. I also realized that youth can have an empowering opinion about their faith life and how to carry that voice out through our vocations. The Gathering gave me a space to further explore my vocational call of social justice.

I’ve been involved in social justice issues since middle school, beginning with learning about women’s rights and later expanding horizons to be more involved with social justice issues relating to world hunger and diverse representation. The Gathering aided me in finding a way to better connect these issues to my faith life. During my Interactive Learning day, I was able to explore and talk with different organizations and ministries of the ELCA in the social justice space from immigration law to advocating for a better life for farmers across the globe. Along with my peers, I learned how I can get involved with these organizations. 

For me, the speakers at Mass Gathering emphasized the importance of faith communities and the support they give in relation to an individual’s vocation. We heard from strong speakers about a range of subjects, but the one that still sticks out to me over a year later is Maria Rose Belding. Maria founded and directs MEANS database, which helps distribute food across the country. Her words about the struggles of being a teenager and finding a way to fix and advocate for a unique problem inspired and reminded me of my vocation and how to find parallels with faith life and vocation instead of keeping them separate. 

While these were the areas of the Gathering that inspired me personally, there were countless other activities and speakers that could speak to other youth which is what creates the vast outreach of the Gathering.

Sophia Behrens is a freshman at Valparasio University. Throughout high school, Sophia was active in the ELCA Youth Core Leadership Team, her home congregation, and supporting ELCA World Hunger. Sophia was also a part of the 2021 Theme Discernment team for the ELCA Youth Gathering.