Practice Peacemaking (Saturday)

This is Anna. Yesterday morning we woke up very early and walked to the Convention Center to participate in practice peacemaking. After waiting about thirty minutes we walked into a theatre in the center for worship. The worship consisted of a band singing upbeat songs that got us pumped up for the rest of he day. The lead vocalist also spoke a little bit about how God's grace can be used in peace making. After forty-five minutes of singing and praising, we continued down to the top floor of the interactive center which was mostly consisted of classes. We all took a group picture (funny and serious). Next we continued down to the more active part of the center. There were many unique stations ranging from art to donations to inflatables to sports to high ropes courses. Everyone split up into smaller groups to experience different things. We stayed for hours enjoying and exploring all it had to offer. All and all it was a very fun, interactive, and informative experience.

Be the Change

"Be the Change you wish to see in the world."-Ghandi. This speech was told by a regular 18 year old in the gathering. This really touched all of us coming from a regular kid. What he was talking about is how Ghandi stood up against injustice in his community. Greg the regular kid who was speaking told us that we should stand up for the bullied, the broken, and the weak like Jesus.

Friday Night Peacemaking

On this night we rocked the house with a extra-loud hip-hop group called Rhema Soul. After their message of love and hope we heard three amazing speakers including a Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah Gbowee.

Jamie Nabozny is an openly gay man who suffered severe harassment and injuries from his classmates. His story gave us a clear picture of the pain and hurt caused by bullying. He challenged all the youth to: 1) Stop using slang words that hurt like "That is so gay" or "You are such a retard." 2) Stand up for peace and do not tolerate bullies. Lift your voice. Do not stand by silently. When you stand up your friends will back you up. 3) Tell an adult if you have witnessed bullying or experience harassment.

Diane Latiker's story was a powerful example of a mother who overpowered the gangs of South Side Chicago with love and affirmation. She simply opened her home and gave young people a safe place to socialize and have fun together. Lives were saved. Her love and peacemaking have now turned into an organization for positive and transformational hope in her community.

Leymah Gbowee - preached a simple message "You are the Hope." She said the youth here are the future world leaders. She had everyone in the Super Dome turn on their cell phone and then she sang This little Light of Mine. It was an amazing sight. Especially when large white balloons carried white banners I to the sky. God is here in a very powerful way calling us to be peacemakers.

Practicing Discipleship

On Friday morning we gathered for worship with all the youth groups from North Carolina. NC is the 6th largest group at the gathering. Bishop Bolick preached on discipleship and tearing down the walls of hostility in the world. After small group time we were supposed to go out on a scavenger hunt and practice, but we lived out our discipleship in different ways. It rained cats and dogs and so the group stayed inside at the River Walk. Nancy had a kidney stone and so many loving hands cared for her until she got to the hospital and passed it. Andrew recovered from the stomach flu and the group gave him TLC until he got his strength back. We all mellowed out at the hotel for the afternoon and collected our strength. Prayers were answered and we made it to the Dome and had awesome seats. Another night of inspiration, fun, and faith-building.

Pre blood donation

Pre hair.donation

Waiting

To give blood. Just me and my mum, don't know where everyone else has gotten to in the convention center.

Discipleship Revolution

This is Dakota... The keynote speaker on Thursday night was Shane Claiborne. He has lived his life working for justice and risking his life to practice discipleship. He told a really touching story, that impacted my thinking a lot! He told us that where he lives in Philadelphia. It is illegal to feed or clothe the homeless, it is also illegal for them to beg for money. He went on to say how he felt about that law. He had felt that it is important to treat others with kindness, so, he and his friends went out to feed the homeless with communion and then pizza. A couple of hours passed and the police showed up. He and his friends were arrested for breaking the law, on the day of his court case, he wore a shirt that said, Jesus was homeless, the judge proceeded to call him up and asked him what he was wearing, he replied with Matthew 8:20 "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." The judge replied with a smile, "you just might have a chance!" As the day went on the judge finally finally made a decision, "these men did not break the law, bad people break bad laws, these men were simply trying to make a change, case over". On that day, Shane won his first case and continues to make the world a better place!! God Bless!

Dakota Swank

Theme Song

The theme song for the gathering is "Make a Difference" by Rachel Kurtz. Here is a couple verses and the Chorus:

You gave Your life, to make a difference,
You gave Your life, to make a change.
You welcome all to your table,
You're calling us to do the same.

Chorus:
I want my life to make a difference;
I want my life to make a change.
I want my life to do some good here;
I want my life to make a change.

Working side by side, no out or inside,
Together we can make that change.
With a few or many, with a lot or not any,
Together we can make that change.

Chorus

It's Important to Practice

Each day at the Gathering has a theme. Practice Justice...Practice Discipleship...Practice Peacemaking. Just before our service project on Thursday we learned why they chose to organize the gathering in this way. It's because it is important to practice! If we want to become better at something we should practice. It is the only way to gain experience and grow stronger until we become good even excellent at a skill or task. Just like we practice sports, music, drama, even math and spelling - the more we practice the better we become. At the ELCA Gathering we are praticing our faith. We are actively stretching and moving and trying hard to become better Christians by demonstrating what Jesus has taught us and how we believe Christians ought to live for God.

Martin Luther once said, "Our faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing." (On the back of our T-Shirts) So, every day we are here, we are practicing together what is means to work for Justice...live as Disciples...and serve as God's Peacemakers in the world. Amen!

Outside our Comfort Zone

This is Julia Nance... The theme on Thursday night was Discipleship. In the Dome were heard stories from two young women who moved outside their comfort zone to live as disciples. Their names are Valerie Rivas and Megan Stubbs. Valerie Rivas told her story of how she moved outside her comfort zone by telling her parents she wanted to follow her own passion to do mission work even though it went against their wishes. Megan Stubbs shared her experience of how she stepped outside her comfort zone by going beyond what she was used to to help the people who needed her the most. Both stories were examples of how if we can move out of our comfort zone we can change the lives of others and ourselves.

"Genesis Renji"

Yesterday (Thursday) in the super dome this guy Elijah Furquan aka Genesis Renji who writes poems and is a fairly well known hip hop artist, presented a poem I though was absolutely awesome, it was about America and Jesus, and how their symbolism coincided with each other, he used the liberty bell cracking like our faith, and the revolution compared to Jesus revolting. I thought this was a great poem and so far one of my favorite presentations in the super dome ~Evan

Practice Justice Afternoon

This is Shanna... Yesterday we went to John McDonough High School. This school is one of the worst schools in the US. They have a 70% dropout rate and a very high death rate. Eight people died last year due to violent crime. The school is in need of a great deal of work and morale. In 2003 some students went into the cafeteria and open fired. Several students were killed. The school never recovered. Not to mention Katrina.....

There are two organizations devoting their time and love into this school. Morale is low and they are working hard to restore it. The efforts are already taking affect. Students are coming to see the progress and are ecstatic that people are coming to help and want nothing in return.

The youth and adults (along with 75 other youth) painted for four hours. We managed to paint a hallway, doors and class rooms.

What we took from our service is the thought of helping others that we will never meet. The youth worked hard and were exhausted. They were happy to serve. They will hold this experience on their hearts.

Thursday Morning

This is Sierra... To start off our morning in the Big Easy, we went to Jackson Square and visited the St. Louis Cathedral. It was truly an inspiring experience. The paintings on the ceiling were beautiful, and the intricate stained glass Stations of the Cross carried a powerful story of their own. After leaving the cathedral, we headed down to the French Market. This unique marketplace is where slaves, for many years, were once auctioned off to plantation owners. While there, we saw millions (literally) of winged bugs covering the street and buildings, and met several unique vendors. Cafe Du Monde and tasty beignets awaited us next as we walked back toward the square. The warm, heavily powdered treats were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Sinners and Saints

The main keynote speaker on Wednesday night was a tattooed-covered pastor from Denver, CO. She shared her story and how for most of her life saw Christians as people who were judgmental and male dominant. After recovering from drug and alcohol addiction she met her husband who introduced her to the Lutheran church. She ultimately learned about Grace and how all of us are simultaneously a sinner and saint. This made sense to her because she always felt that she had an incredible capacity for destruction (of herself and people around her) and also a tremendous capacity for kindness. Her story and her ministry to people like her who feel like outsiders from the church give a profound example of the radical Grace of God. None of us are perfect and God has a history of working with misfits like us to accomplish the work of salvation. The youth were captivated by the story and words of Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber.

Theology of the Cross

After Gumbo, learning from Bishop Hanson, and a youth band from New Orleans, we heard Bishop Michael Rinehart from the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod. He talked about the history of New Orleans and how this was where more slaves were bought and sold than any other city in America. This is also where civil rights had a mighty struggle and where racism has been prevalent for centuries. This is also the birthplace of Jazz and like the theology of the cross, this is where something wonderful came out of human brokenness. After Hurricanes Katrina and Fran, it is also a place where walls between people have come down and people have come together in love to rebuild their community. What a perfect place to be and come together as the Body of Christ.

Gumbo

On the first night, the opening speaker, the Rev. Yehiel Curry, talked about Gumbo. He described how New Orleans has perfected this culinary dish that requires a variety of ingredients and spices. He then talked about all of us, coming from across the nation, bringing our strengths and weaknesses, and how we add our spices and ingredients into the dome like a giant bowl of gumbo. He emphasized that everyone is welcome. Everyone is an important ingredient in God's bowl of gumbo.

Our awesome day

Shots from the cemeteries, St Louis Cathedral,  our service day in orange shirts

Jazz Band

After visiting the cemetery we dropped the van and walked through the convention center and River Walk. We heard/saw two different Jazz bands play and march through the crowds of youth groups from all over the nation. We have met new friends from Alaska, New England, Houston, Arkansas, Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Colorado. Everyone in our hotel is from NC and very friendly. We took a couple hours to chill in the afternoon. Next, opening worship with 33,000+ of our closest friends in the Super Dome. Can't wait!

Greenwood Cemetery

After wandering around the Garden District we drove out to Greenwood Cemetery, the largest and one of the oldest in New Orleans. Under the hot sun we walked through three different sections and felt the presence of all the saints buried in this place. It was amazing to see the variety of ornate family mausoleums and the long wall of unmarked crypts that framed off the entire cemetery grounds. Most of the burial markings indicated that the deceased were laid to rest in the mid-1800's. We saw a woman born in Feb. 1776 and a veteran of the war of 1812. Amazing! We left singing "When the Saints Go Marching In." This place is truly holy ground.

Garden District

On Wednesday morning we ventured out to see what we could find on the outskirts of the city. We explored the Garden District and admired the unique architecture and lavish plantation homes. Many are still being restored from Hurricane Katrina. The area has a New Orleans flair mixed with history and beauty.

Blogmaster Julia

This is Pastor Webb... I want to lift up a big thank you to Julia and Nancy Rhodes for setting up our Youth Group blog and posting pictures for us. We hope folks back in Asheville will enjoy reading and seeing what we are experiencing at the Gathering. More to come...

Garden district

We are just driving around the garden district just some sights

Concerning yesterdays posts

The reason they are all out of order is because the internet is touch and go on the road and I am impatient meaning if a post did not go through I wouldn't find out till later. So now the posts are out of order.

Capitain's Log: Four and One Half Hours

Georgia, nothing much, christian rap blaring.

It's really late

what possesed me to do this vlog?

Ooo ahhh pretty

Pretty water pictures so very close to New Orleans

In the convention center

Getting registered
Also some random pictures of New Orleans

We're here

Yea!!!
New Orleans!

And then depression set in

430 stuck in the traffic jam but look at the water

Welcome to Lousiana

We are almost there

Capitain's Log
My blogging habits are becoming a joke amongst the rest of the crew. I fear they may be planning a mutiny

56

Miles to new orleans

Woohoo!

97 miles to New Orleans

Mississippi

Beautiful vistas

Over a river...

We are not going to grandmother's house but it is very flat in alabama.

It's raining

Just thought you should know

Oh my gosh

There is a phone in this phone booth

Chick fila

I'm not sure how this happened but it seems that every one going to the youth gathering has converged on the same fast food resturant at the exact same time.

Just woke up

Somewhere in alabama. Some people have girlie bladders.

Alabama

Not very different from Georgia view wise

Capitain's Log: Three and One Half Hours

Alien skies interesting however we have decided to bypass this world and continue on into unknown lands

Captain's Log

Third hour. Madness has set in.

test test testy test

test blargargargarg test hep derp thank you for your patience