National Youth Gathering: Saturday July 18, 2015

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: