Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Heidelberg Project & first night at Ford Field

Blog Entry: Elle Lewis

After dinner together at Bagger Dave's Burger Tavern, we headed to Ford Field, our large gathering home (and home of the Detroit Lions) for the next four nights. All 30,000 of us Lutherans came together as we were welcomed to the gathering. In this setting, we will experience lots of music from various artists as well as keynote speakers. It is truly powerful and unifying to see all of us together under one roof. It was an emotional moment for me and I can't wait to experience it again! 



Blog Entry: Kat Seitz 

Today, we began our experience in Detroit by visiting the Heidelberg Project. We saw many different facets of the city in one square block, ranging from dilapidated houses to bright and colorful sculptures. The Heidelberg Project was a revitalization of a block on Heidelb street in Detroit where many houses were abandoned. The artist, Tyree Guyton, created many types of art using "magic trash" to deter crime and brighten the community. Both by talking to people in the community and looking at Tyree's work we learned a lot about Detroit. 

We saw a house painted with numbers and another painted with polka dots. Piles of shoes sat in abandoned lots. We signed the yellow house guestbook, inscribing our names and hometown on the walls of the yellow house in marker. The faces of God were painted on the sidewalk and paintings of taxis and clocks were everywhere.

What really struck me the most was the transition from reading about it to actually experiencing it. Not all were excited to see the Lutherans there. Not all knew how to react either.

More on the Heidelberg Project: www.heidelberg.org