citizens with the saints

I’ve had calls from congregations who have questions about the upcoming 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. Some ask because they want to know why they should go if they went last time. Some ask out of rumblings centered around some distrust for the church at large. Others just want to know – what is this all about? So, here’s my two cents, and why I am for the first time a part of a gathering team.

I was asked to serve on the Practice Discipleship Team as a coach of the coaches. Each synod has a Gathering Coach (ours is Liz Fisher) and a Gathering Coordinator (ours is Heather Langan). The coordinator position is not new but vital to sharing information about the gathering. The Coach piece is new to this gathering and one of the reasons I said yes to this team. The Coach has the wonderful opportunity to provide high quality youth ministry training to all the adults in our synod, through face-to-face trainings like those that happened at synod assembly, at fall convo and others around our synod. PLUS, free webinars are happening so that anyone can be a part of these trainings without ever having the first plan to attend the gathering. SO, the gathering team is investing in training adults even if they don’t attend the gathering. I liked that idea. I also said yes because I have great respect for and trust in Catherine Anderson and the Rev. Todd Buegler who are leading this day of the gathering. Getting to work with Jo Mueller as my coaching co-hort didn’t hurt either. These are folks you want to work with and be a part of things they dream up. So, I said yes. Now, Jo and I have divided up the synods and I have 32 coaches to check in on and guide through this process. Enough of that – here’s why I think you should consider this event.

1. Relationships – we have a new and sustained friendship with the people of New Orleans. It’s one of the reasons we go back to Upper Darby, PA each time we do a synod mission trip. You get to know folks and accompany them as they go about their journey of ministry.

2. The theme – the gathering team wrote it best – “The theme, citizens with the saints, is drawn from the second lesson for Sunday, July 22, 2012 (Ephesians 2:14–20), paraphrased here:

Jesus is our peace. In his life and death on the cross, Jesus broke down the dividing walls so that we are no longer strangers and outsiders, but we are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. The foundation of God’s house was built of apostles and prophets, and Jesus, the cornerstone, holds it all together.

The theme also blends the rich faith history, diverse cultures and arts of New Orleans with the communion of saints that is present whenever and wherever God’s people gather!”

3. The experience, three days centered around Discipleship, Peacemaking and Justice  - “The Gathering program is built around three core practices in which young people will be immersed before they come to New Orleans, while they are attending the Gathering, and again, in the communities of their congregations and synods when they return home.

The core practices — Discipleship, Peacemaking and Justice — serve to accentuate God’s greatest commandment: to love the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:34–40).”

4. Practice Discipleship - What is Practice Discipleship? During this day, we will gather as a synod – a first in gathering practice and one for which I am extremely excited about. We will be together as we journey toward deepening our faith and finding ways to work together when we return home.

 ”At our baptism, we are called to follow Jesus and enter a life-long commitment to Practice Discipleship. We return to New Orleans to deepen our faith together so we can return to our communities and the places Christ sends us to share the good news. Youth do not make this journey alone. Trained, caring, faithful adults are essential to accompany youth as their faith matures, so this Gathering begins for adult leaders long before we enter New Orleans, through training opportunities to deepen your ability to walk with young people as they follow Jesus.”

5. Practice Peacemaking - What is Practice Peacemaking? – the Convention Center will become a place for interactive learning. 

“The mission of the ELCA Youth Gathering is to accompany young people in their faith journey to understand their vocation and articulate their faith in Jesus Christ. Practice Peacemaking will help young people become more conscious of their own call through focusing on how they can strive for justice and peace within themselves, their communities and the world. This justice and peace is achieved through Christ’s reconciling work in the world. We are invited to participate in this work by accompanying neighbors next door and across the world. At the Gathering, youth and adults will be invited to step into a global community of interactive learning as together we learn how God gives us the capacity to live God’s vision of “one new humanity” (Ephesians 2:15) through the cross of Christ.”

6. Practice Justice - What is Practice Justice? – you may not have a hammer in hand but you’ll get to start your day in the Superdome and see how that place changed the history of New Orleans during Katrina. You will then either hit the streets with your feet or board a bus to your next destination. At the end of the day you will process what it means to practice justice wherever you are.“The Practice Justice day of the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering is a witness to Jesus’ invitation to hit the streets, to follow one’s convictions with actions, and to do God’s work with our hands. Many have asked that if we are doing God’s work with our hands does that mean everyone will get dirty at the Gathering? Yes, it does.

On the Practice Justice day, the clean and predictable lives of many of us will get messed up a bit by learning about the ongoing struggles in New Orleans. New Orleanians want us to know about their struggles, they want us to see the truth of their lives because after the initial rush of public interest following Katrina, people have steadily stopped paying attention. Now, six years after Katrina, New Orleans still needs our attention.”

So, the “agenda” of the gathering centers around the baptismal journey, living it, practicing, experiencing and struggling with what it means to be children of God together. By training adults to journey with these young people, the gathering team is investing not only in a 5 day experience but in a life-long journey of discipleship, peacemaking and justice. Join me!

Tammy

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