Sunday July 19, 2015 - Closing Worship

Sunday July 19, 2015 - Closing Worship

Today was a bittersweet day.  We are ready to return home to our beds and lives, but we are saddened to leave.  The National Youth Gathering has been such an incredible event.  It has certainly been stimulating, and at times overwhelming.

This morning, the only event on our schedule is closing Eucharist with 30,000 of our closest brothers and sisters.  We were selected to serve communion, which is a humbling experience.  We had to be at Ford Field at 7:30 to wait in line for the sacristy where we picked up our chalice, paten, bread, wine, anointing balm, and offering bag.  Communion was served in groups of 5, at about 200 stations throughout Ford Field.

Worship was fantastic.  It was overwhelming to hear so many Lutherans recite the liturgy that we are all accustomed to.  Everyone knew when to respond, pray, confess, and sing.  It was the largest worship service of the ELCA, and it was powerful.

Bishop Eaton presided over both word and sacrament.  Her sermon was filled with contextual references relating our time at the gathering to the experience of the disciples in the story.  She encouraged us to proclaim the Gospel message in our home towns, to share our experiences of the Gathering, and the share the stories of the people of Detroit.

At communion time, everyone in Ford Field was fed within 10 minutes.  Our youth were tasked with serving section 225, and they did a wonderful job.

Today mark's the literal end of the Youth Gathering in Detroit, MI, but there is no doubt the story and work continues beyond this place, beyond this day.  The message of Detroit is not one of despair and desolation, but it is one of hope and perseverance.  Detroit is Detroit, and just like any relationship or personal experience there are ups and downs, successes and failures, times of struggle and hardship, and times of great joy.

Detroit doesn't need our sympathy or our hand outs.  Detroit doesn't need a push or leg-up.  It doesn't need someone to pick them up or feel sorry for them.  Detroit, like any of our brothers or sisters, is in need of companionship, accompaniment, and prayer.  When any member of the body of Christ is in pain or need, the whole body is affected.  The people of Detroit are resilient and determined.  They are driven and hopeful.  The goal of this Youth Gathering experience is not to swoop in, do some work for them, feel good about ourselves, and then leave them as fast as we arrived.  The goal is to walk with them and accompany them in their time of hardship.  To show up, work, and leave is detrimental to the experience.  Rather we were called show up as promised, walk with them in hard times, listen to their stories, return to our various communities and tell the story of Detorit.

Together, as the whole body of Christ, we are called to Rise Up Together by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in both word and action.

Thank you for supporting us.  We look forward to sharing our stories.

Love,
The St. Paul's Youth.

Pictures:

Our communion set. 

The dome at 7:45am.  All the white shirts are youth groups serving communion.

Another 7:45am picture.

Signs downtown welcoming us.

The youth serving communion.

When in doubt, sway it out.

Bird's eye panorama.

Waiting for worship to start.

Sway.

Elevator selfie!  We're ready to pack up and head out.

Saturday July 18, 2015 - Proclaim Story Day

Saturday July 18, 2015 - Proclaim Story Day

Today was a great day for many reasons.  First, extra rest and free time.  Second, a good dinner.  Third, Skillet!  Let me explain.

Today was our Proclaim Story Day.  Proclaim Story is a day dedicated to gathering with our synod to explore God's story and our story, and worship together as we listen to and proclaim the story that Jesus is good news.  The day long call and response was: Jesus is? Good News.  Jesus is? Good News.  Jesus is?  Good News

So the first great part about today was that our Proclaim Story Day didn't start until 12:30; therefore, we were able to sneak an extra hour or well needed sleep.  We were all dragging our feet a bit more than usual today.  Plus, we had to stay late after last night's dome event to receive communion training.  It is in those late night moments that we give thanks that we are blessed to be in a hotel downtown.  We get to walk 15 minutes everywhere while many youth groups have to walk 15 min, wait 45 min for their bus, then travel 30 min to their hotel outside of the city.  I digress

The extra sleep was fantastic!  After sleeping in, we had about 2 hours of free time.  We decided to revisit the Cobo community center and play around.  Ryan, Daniel, and Chris made their way to the floor hockey section, while Erin, Greta, William, Sarah, and Joan painted a mural.  The murals will be used to decorate abandoned houses and neighborhoods throughout to Detroit.

Towards the end of our free time we snuck downstairs to a place called "The Playground" to play Ga-Ga Ball.  Erin and Greta were fierce Ga-Ga Ball competitors, and made game-lasting alliances with some folks from Minnesota.

At 12:00pm we visited the Old Lutheran store.  Ryan, under no persuasion what-so-ever purchased a "Lutheran Chick" t-shirt.  Erin, Greta, and Sarah all purchased "Lutheran Stud" t-shirts.

At 12:30pm we transitioned into the large ballroom for our Proclaim Story day.  The time was a healthy mix of music, large group teaching, small group reflection, personal witness, personal refection, question/answer, and worship.  We took an in-depth look into the story of the paralytic man.

Mark 2:1-12

"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ²So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. ³Then some people^* came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. ⁴And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ ⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ ⁸At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’¹²And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’"

We spent time pondering the perspective of different characters within the story.  We reflected on which character we most associate with and why.  We discussed who the people in our lives were that assisted us in times of need.  We talked about how we can be advocates for others.  We spent delicate time contemplating God's story with our story.

At the end of our time we worshiped.  Bishop Bolick preached a wonderful sermon, and Bishop-elect Tim Smith broke bread.

After our Proclaim story day, we immediately caught the people mover, which took us to Broadway Street and a small restaurant called Small Plates.  Small Plates was a delicious Tapas-type place with lots of incredible food.  They portions are small, but the flavor profiles and delicate attention to details were unbelievable.  Because the portions were small, we decided to order a large variety of foods and share them with each other.

Here is a sampling:
Signature Mac & Four Cheese Gratin, Tempura Shrimp, Chicken & Waffles, Blackened Lamb Chops, BLT Sliders, Shrimp & Grits, Beef Bruschetta, Detroit style White Pizza, A Caprese Salad, and more.  


After a week of fast food and snacking it was a well deserved and well needed meal.  At the end of the meal we surprised Joan and Chris with free desert and a wonderful rendition of "Happy Birthday."
Immediately following dinner we rushed to Ford Field to find floor seats.  There are a limited number of seats and the youth really wanted to be on the floor because Skillet was performing tonight.  Well, the good news is that we found amazing floor seats, but the bad news is that when Skillet performed they didn't allow our section to rush to the stage.

Tonight we had the privilege of 4 incredible speakers, two of which I will highlight.  

The first is Veronica Scott.  Veronica is one of CNN's 10 Visionary Women in the World and has also been named  a 2015 Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur.   She is the founder and CEO of The Empowerment Plain in Detroit.  The organization began with a single idea: design a coat specifically for people who are homeless.  That idea has now transformed into a system of empowerment for people who are homeless to learn how to produce coats, giving them an opportunity to earn money, find a place to live, and gain independence.  Veronka is the youngest recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award.  She spoke about her journey from trying to pass one simple college project to becoming the Founder and CEO The Empowerment Plan.  She gave insight to her experiences and advised the youth to take opportunities seriously by not waiting around for something to happen.  Her story was inspiring.

The second remarkable speaker was Marian Wright Edelman.  Marian is the founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund and has been an advocate for disadvantaged Amerinans her entire professional life.  She is a graduate of Superman College and Yale Law School, and was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar and directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Miss.  She has received the presidential Medal of Freedom Award, the nation's highest civilian award.  She presented staggering numbers about child poverty.  She stated that we don't have a poverty issue, we have an injustice issue.  She was powerful and passionate.

The final act of tonight's dome event, and probably the youth's favorite, was a performance by the band Skillet. Skillet was formed in Memphis, when two of the founding band members took the advice of their pastor to form their own band as a side project.  The name skillet is still somewhat of a joke among the band members, as they each came together from separate bands and different styles of rock.  The resemble a heavy-metal band but have a Christian message.  They were Loud.  Very Good, but very loud.  The youth loved it!

Today has been a long day and we are looking forward to some sleep.  We are sad that our time has passed so fast, but we are not overlooking tomorrow's worship, the largest Lutheran worship service in the World.

Thanks again to you all for your continued prayers and support!

Good night.



Some Reflections:

"I finally did well in GaGaBall. So Skillet was pretty legit. Life is good." - Erin

"My ears hurt from skillet and my hands are numb from all those high fives. A good day." - Greta

"We can't wait around for a savior to show up, we are the saviors through Jesus Christ." - William

I played floor hockey and scored 6 goals in 5 minutes!  Also, Skillet!"

Pictures:

This is Amos, and he's from Malaysia!

Youth from around the globe! 

Group picture with might Joe Lewis.

Some of the many 4'x4' paintings.

Ga-Ga Ball.

Ga-Ga Ball.

Selfie with Bishop Elect Timothy Smith.

Thinking and reflecting about which character we are in the story of the
paralytic man being lowered through the roof.

Applying our burdens and hinderances on the butcher paper.

Proclaim Story Day.

The Locke twins with Sandra Cline.

People Mover selfie.

Chicken and Waffles!

The food was incredible!

Family dinner at Small Plates.  It was delicious. 

DJ selfie.

To conga or not to conga...that is the question.

SKILLET!

Ryan sporting his new Lutheran Chick shirt!

The youth painting a 4'x4' mural to be hung in Detroit.

The final product.  "PAZ" is Spanish for "Peace."

Friday July 17, 2015 - Proclaim Justice

Friday July 17, 2015 - Proclaim Justice Day

Today was a day defined by the phrase "hurry up and wait."

The day started wet.  We woke up to rain, which made us nervous because today is our Proclaim Justice day.  It's the day that we have the opportunity to join 10,000 other youth in orange shirts and go out into the communities of Detroit in service.

Proclaim Justice day has two launch phases due to a limited number of buses, and we were scheduled to be on bus 55 of the second launch.  The late launch left us with two options this morning: sleep in, or attend morning worship.  We gave the youth the option, and they decided they wanted to go to worship in Cobo center at 8:15.

Worship was a wonderful experience with a mixture of traditional liturgy and non-traditional music.  Bishop Eaton presided over communion.  Rachel Kurtz, a well known lutheran singer song-writer, and Agape, a Lutheran rapper, led us in music.  Worship was a refreshing way to begin our morning.

After worship we went to Hart Plaza - the launch point for all Proclaim Justice buses.  Our check-in time with our servant companion (a college-aged volunteer who serves to lead us to and from our service project) was 9:30am.  At 9:30 we hurried to our servant companion, sat down, broke out the cards, and waited.  Hart Plaza featured a DJ and MC who was in charge of entertainment and stalling while we waited for our bus to arrive.  The kids enjoyed dancing the hustle, cha-cha slide, wobble, and more while we waited.

At 12:30 they called our number and we walked to the bus.  We were on bus 55 with 4 other groups.  One of these groups was from Macedonia Lutheran Church in Burlington, NC.  

We drove 20 minutes to our service project site on the SouthWest side of Detroit.  Near the town of Highland Park, there is a 100 block neighborhood dedicated to renewal.  The effort to renew the neighborhood is led by a group called Focus: HOPE.  Focus: HOPE is a community center dedicated to education, job and skill training, and advancing the surrounding community by embracing the diversity of people, beliefs, and ideas and working together to overcome racism, poverty and injustice.  

There mission statement is: 

"Recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person, we pledge intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, poverty, and injustice. And to build a metropolitan community where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and affection. Black and white, yellow, brown and red from Detroit and its suburbs of every economic status, national origin and religious persuasion we join in this covenant." 

See more at http://100.focushope.edu

Here is a great article about the Focus: HOPE area: 

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150721/NEWS/150729986/before-and-after-how-volunteers-transformed-100-blocks-of-detroit

We, along with 8 other buses, spent the afternoon cleaning up the streets on the corner of La Salle Blvd and La Belle Street.  The streets were overgrown with weeds, shrubbery, trash, and used tires.  One youth member commented on the number of tires lining the streets.

During our service work, a man by the name of Cummings drove by in his landscaping truck and trailer.  He made it to the end of the block and then turned around.  He parked his trailer and pulled out a lawn mower, gas powered hedge clippers, and other professional tools.  We were using a limited number of shovels and rakes, so his professional tools were more than welcomed.  I spoke with him as we worked and he said, "I was driving by from another job and saw everyone working, so I thought I would help.  I only wish that once you all were done here they would keep the work up, but they won't."

Cummings went on to tell me that he grew up in Detroit working with computers.  Once he was laid off due to budget cuts he started flipping houses and providing landscape services.  As his kids grew up he made the decision to move away from Detroit so that he could raise them in an area where they would receive a good education and grow up in a safe environment.  Cummings still makes the 45min trip to Detroit to care for the lawns of several senior citizen customers who prefer his service.  

After our service project we were pressed for time to get to Ford Field.   We were invited to participate in what they call "mass cast."  The mass cast is made up of youth group volunteers who agree to arrive early to Ford Field for rehearsal and then participate in some capacity during the evening programming.  We were tasked with sitting in assigned seats and initiating glow sticks when cued during the final song.  The glow sticks formed the shape of a heart.  There were four hearts around the dome.

We hurried to our mass cast orientation, which was scheduled for 5:00pm and only took us 10 min.  We then had 2.5 hours to wait.

The highlight of tonight's dome event (at least for the adult leaders) was a Mo Town performance by 2 of the original Temptations, 1 member of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and 1 other perform.  They performed a medley of the greatest Mo Town hits, including some Jackson 5.  We never guessed that we would get to see the Temptations in Mo Town!

Today was a GREAT long day!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

A few reflections:

"I discovered my love of Lutheran Rappers and saw 30,000 people do the whip simultaneously. I'd say 'we've got swag'" - Erin

"Another amazing day in an amazing city full of amazing people....simply amazing!!!" - Ryan 

"Our power comes from Jesus!" - William 

"I was struck today by the number of people who came up to us and said thank you." - Greta 

Pictures

Waiting in Hart Plaza for our bus to launch.

A panoramic view of Hart Plaza.

Morning worship with Rachel Kurtz, Agape, and Bishop Eaton.

Erin building a card tower while waiting for our bus.

On our way to the bus!

Waiting for our bus.

Gloving up.

The street we worked on.

Chris hard at work.

Ryan carrying brush to the pile.

William carrying weeds to the pile.

Working hard!

Joan maintaining the pile

One of the other youth groups working near us.

Ms. Dale and her peers representing the Keep it 100 project.

The group with Ms. Dale.

The Focus: HOPE Center for Children.

Closing song.

Wednesday July 15, 2015 - Opening Day

Wednesday July 15, 2015 - Opening Day 

Today is the official first day of the 2015 National Youth Gathering.  We are so excited!

Since we arrived to Detroit a day early, we had plenty of free time to explore the city.  This morning we drove our the The Heidelberg Project to walk the streets and take in the artist's unique way of turning trash into art. There is a post dedicated to it here: http://stpaulsdurhamyouth.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-heidelberg-project.html

After The Heidelberg Project we drove around the city attempting to "get lost."  Because our hotel is downtown and we can walk everywhere we miss (thankfully) the experience of a 20-30 minute bus ride in and out of Detroit each day; therefore, we drove around the outskirts of the city to see the brokenness that is so often reported in the news.  

Today we started our quest for taking a photo with a youth group from all 50 states.  We've covered a quarter of the country today, even Alaska.  One of the joys in meeting a new youth group is trading with them.  We made buttons with St. Paul's Stained Glass Window on them, and we often trade them for other buttons, wristbands, clothespins, or stickers.  Gotta collect em all!

This evening we went to Ford Field for the Opening Mass Gathering.  It was breath taking to look around the dome and see 30,000 youth ready to Rise up for God.  We listened to some incredible music from Lost and Found, the House Band, and Agape.

The key note speaker for tonight's Mass Gathering was Dr. Luke Powery, who is the Dean of Duke Chapel in Durham, NC!  He was a powerful speaker with an incredible voice which often breaks out in  to song.  Dr. Powery drew our attention to the ending of the Gospel according to Mark, where Jesus was crucified, died, and was risen, but the Gospel account says very little about the Resurrection.  He talked about Mark's abrupt ending to the Gospel story, and how the rest of the story is still being written through the body of Christ today.  Jesus tells them Mary, Peter, and the Disciples that he is going ahead of them to Galilee.  Jesus is always ahead of us, and whether we like it or not, ministry is being done.  Dr. Powery called on the youth of the ELCA to Rise Up Together, to break the silence of fear created through oppression, doubt, and uncertainty, and proclaim the Good News that Jesus Christ has overcome sin, death, and the devil, and together, with the power of God in Christ Jesus, ministry is happening.

It's been a very long day, but we are eager to experience all that the week has to offer!

Thanks for checking in and caring for us during this incredible journey! Rise Up!

St. Paul's Youth!



A few personal reflections from today's experiences:

"Unashamed we shout out, sing loud, holy is the Lord.  The music from the house band during the dome event at Ford Field tonight  " - Chris

"30,000 Lutherans, colored T-shirts, and cell phone lights!  We covered a quarter of the country in photos today!" - Joan

"And when we all rise up together we will all go down to the empty tomb, peer into it, and tell Hell to 'Go to Hell'." - William paraphrasing Dr. Luke Powery

"I made a goal to talk to one person, but I ended up talking to everyone I met." - Sarah

Pictures