Proclaim Story Day

Blog Entry: Garland Carter

Thursday in Ford Field was amazing! We listened to two amazing speakers, Blanca (a great Puerto Rican singer) and amazing slam poetry. Not to mention the house band sang "Uptown Funk" with a Christian twist to all the lyrics. 

One of the speakers, Eric Baretto, spoke about how God made us all different on purpose. Diversity isn't an obstacle to overcome but our differences should be embraced not rejected. "God does not make generic people." Overall today was a great day, other than waiting for an hour to get food.

Blog Entry: Anne Ridenhour

    

Today we were up and at 'em early. As we tried to find the much needed coffee at Starbucks, we admired the cars throughout the GM Marriott plaza. Next we went out for our "First 15" which is the Bible study we have as a youth group to start each day. We sat on the River Walk as we looked out over the Canadian skyline while we explored Mark 2:1-12. Then, we went to the Cobo Center before we departed to go to Synod Day. At the Cobo Center, there are many options which include shopping, playing games, resting in the quiet room, and socializing. 

Today was our day of Proclaim Story which was spent with our Synod. The Virginia Synod is special in that we are already a close knit family because of all of the different events throughout the year. Our Synod Day was spent exploring our faith through "My Story Journal" which had personal reflections and group discussion questions such as, "What has been a barrier between you and knowing the good news?" We are also very proud of Megan and Kat who had roles during the program and worship service. Every one from our church also assisted during the worship portion as ushers, communication assistants or helpers. I personally enjoyed the day spent with our Synod because we got to see our friends and sing songs with Dave Delaney. Then we went to get dinner.

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

We have arrived in Detroit!

Blog Entry: Megan Morris

Today started off bright and early with a prayerful sendoff and (somewhat) prompt boarding of our bus to Detroit. Along the way, we picked up our friends and bus buddies for the week - from other churches St. Luke's of Culpeper, Our Savior of Warrington and St. Peter's of Stafford. The ride was thankfully smooth and uneventful; though the afternoon did pass by rather slowly, we were all just happy to be in each other's company and filled with excitement for what the week has in store for us. Besides, what better company for a long bus ride than your awesome youth group? We finally arrived in Detroit about 8 p.m. and are all settled into our hotel rooms for the week. After our fun-filled bus ride of movies, card games, laughs with friends and much needed sleep, we can hardly wait to get started with our scheduled activities tomorrow! We want to thank everyone for your continued prayers and support; we certainly would not be here without all of your help. We are faithfully looking forward to what God has in store for us this week. We will continue to keep you updated live from the ELCA National Youth Gathering here in Detroit!

Bookmark these links!

ELCA Youth Gathering Home Page:
https://www.elca.org/YouthGathering

Youth Gathering YouTube Page:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD2BE6D47D7169CB5

A List of Speakers Each Night at the Gathering:
http://www.elca.org/YouthGathering/GatheringDetails/SpeakersMusicians/Speakers/

Hotel Information:
Crowne Plaza Novi
27000 Karevich Dr.
Novi, MI 48377
www.crowneplaza.com/Novi‎

We are a week away!

Peace Lutheran Church is very excited to be heading to the ELCA National Youth Gathering for the second time. Please check back and follow our blog for thoughts and pictures throughout our time in Detroit. We also ask for your support through prayer!

Traveling to Detroit will be 17 youth and four adult leaders.

Youth:
Brooke Bauman
Taylor Bauman
Aaron Bock
Garland Carter
Wade Jackman
Karen Kohler
Elle Lewis
Rachel Matthews
Logan Maynard
Irina McCay-Pedrick
Megan Morris
Anne Ridenhour
Kat Seitz
Emily Voight
Eric Williams
Jacob Wessel
Valerie Wessel

Adult Leaders:
Jennie Carter
Katharine Palmer
Chris St. Germain
Kayla St. Germain

God Sightings

While we were in New Orleans we asked, "Where Did You See God?"

Here are some of the responses:
"In all the loving hugs I received." - Garland

"In helping and supporting a friend in a time of need while we were there." - Kelly

"In the joy on the face of a stranger I hugged." - Aaron

"In the rain which opened my eyes to the fear, panic and devastation that occurred during Hurricane Katrina." - Jennie

"In the enormous white balloons lifting to the heavens and the beautiful white bands as 33,000 people sang Hallelujah." - Megan

"In the hundreds of people dressed completely in white sending the balloons and ribbons up to the heavens." - Kelsey

Don't forget, our New Orleans shareholders dinner is set for THIS SUNDAY (Aug. 12) following the 5 p.m. service. We hope to see you there and thank you for your support!!

Can't Wait to Share With You!

We have "come off the mountain top" and are now home from New Orleans! It was an incredible time of worship, fellowship and serving and we can't wait to tell you all about our trip. The shareholders dinner will be Sunday, August 12 after the 5:00PM worship service and the following Sunday, August 19, we will share our story during the worship services. Thank you again so much for your financial support, your prayers and love.