While waiting at the downtown convention center, a group attending the 2009 Youth Gathering plays cards.

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Julie Swan’s group worked in the Lower Ninth Ward today.

That’s a predominantly African American area not far from one of the levees that failed. The death and destruction was so massive that many people have not been able to return.

Swan, 48, is a youth adviser on the trip. She’s a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Goldsboro, N.C.

Her group spent much of the afternoon clearing an empty lot where a house stood before Hurricane Katrina. The house was destroyed. The group didn’t learn whether the homeowner survived.

Tall weeds covered the lot. The group discovered several household items among the weeds, including a pile of old record albums: the Eagles, Van Morrison, White Snake.

One teen wondered aloud about the possibility of finding an album of Michael Jackson’s, since his death has dominated headlines recently.

“Not only did we find a Michael Jackson album, we found ‘Thriller,'” Swan said.

Thriller holds the record for albums sold.

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Tom Powell (left) and Patrick Allen (right) were of different minds after their work project Friday.

Allen’s disappointment was obvious. His group had spent the day clearing litter and weeds from a neighborhood still recovering from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina four years ago.

The 18-year-old from Richmond., Va., had hoped to work on a project that would change someone’s life, such as repairing a home. Weeds, he said, will grow back.

“I’m the dissenting voice in my group,” said Allen, a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Richmond. “I didn’t think it was worth our time and effort. But I’m told that it will help even though it’s just cosmetic.”

Powell, 48, a youth leader, said the day contained an important lesson about community service.

“The youth today come here with high expectations to help the impoverished,” he said. “But those aren’t the only communities affected. God’s plan is for the work of the church to be done everywhere. In these times of reduced government services, this was an important outreach.” (more…)

Brittany Christensen, 19, of Pipestone, Minn., was among the 12,000 ELCA teens sent out on work projects in New Orleans today. Here she’s digging a hole for plants in the front yard of a homeowner in the Lower Ninth Ward. The temperature hit 91 degrees, with humidity at 44 percent.

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Courtesy of LutherTube by Brett Nelson and Zack Stoudemayer:

Scenes from the Opening of the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. 37,000 youth from near and far have come to worship God and serve in the community and to have fun while doing both.

On on the opening night of the 2009 Youth Gathering, Lutherans streamed into the New Orleans Superdome.

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They tried various ways to keep from getting separated.

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