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
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