Service… Faith in Action!
Our high school kids are already putting their faith into action after the National Youth Gathering. Last Saturday, a few of our high school youth pick 38 dozen ears of corn that were then donated to Redeemer’s Care Ministry Pantry. Thanks to Ross Pauli who donated the corn!
Next weekend, our high school youth will be able to gather at church and serve God some more! We have our annual Heart and Soul from August 13-15. 30 high school youth will be broken into teams and will go out into the community and serve. And, we will end with a Worship celebration based on the Youth Gathering theme as well as a celebration lunch!
Service… Faith in Action! Yet another way to praise our risen Lord!
The Trip Home: The Beginning Not The End
The 2010 National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA is over. But what a ride!
The official programming ended Wednesday morning with a final 2-hour party to infuse energy into the departing crowd to go and “Make disciples of all nations!” The kids heard from Jeffrey Meins, DCE, about how to apply what they’ve learned at their schools and with their friends. And there were many laughs along the way!
After the Mass Event, our group was privileged enough to get a guided tour of several area churches that are have been or will be repaired after Hurricane Katrina through the work of LCMS’ Camp Restore. Our youth travelled to New Orleans back in 2008 and worked on one of the churches, so it was great to see the finished product!
The destruction Katrina caused in the Lower 9th Ward is well chronicled, but it takes being here to actually begin to comprehend the enormity of it. In that parish, houses … disappeared. They were there on August 28, 2005, and at daybreak the next – they were gone.
Robert Green, a local who lost two family members and his house in the storm, opened his heart and the door of his new home to our kids by sharing how God is bringing good things out of a terrible disaster.
“More good came out of this than bad. I feel blessed because, you know, I only lost two family members. I’m blessed to be alive.”
His humbleness was striking to me. We find ourselves complaining about the littlest of details. We’re hungry and want to eat something. We don’t like the curtain in the living room and want to replace it. Our water bill goes up and we don’t like it. This … this is a man that gets it. Praise be to God for his story and his willingness to share it. What a lesson!
Today’s agenda is simple – GET HOME SAFE! We will be leaving our hotel around 11am this morning to get to the airport. We have a connection in Orlando (yes, that Orlando) before flying into Midway. If all goes well, we’ll be touching down around 8pm CDT in Chicago. We’ll get our luggage and get on a bus … and we should be at Redeemer by midnight tonight.
Then … the real test begins. Before bedtime last night, our group noted that this journey is only yet beginning. Our kids – not the adults leading them – were saying that we have proven little about what we’ve learned, and now only getting back to Peoria and putting that faith into practice will be the difference! I look forward to the powerful Wednesday night “UNPLUGGED” Youth Group sessions to come. I look forward to seeing what God does through the servant hearts that were born here.
You should, too. As was said by the keynote speaker on Monday night, this group does not represent the Redeemer Lutheran Church of the future. This is the Redeemer Lutheran Church of NOW! Tomorrow begins the beginning of the journey leading up to the 2013 National Youth Gathering in San Antonio, TX.
Prayers for a safe travel day today, and prayers for a wonderful day in Jesus Christ for you! Amen!!!
Signing off from the Bayou.
The Glory of the Lord
We had one emotional night in New Orleans at the Worship Service at the National Youth Gathering. Our youth and adults shared in God’s wonderful gift of communion with 25,000 of their newest friends in the Louisiana Superdome. Unreal!
Yesterday, we learned a bit about the culture and the disparity between the “haves” and “have nots” here in New Orleans when we visited Holt Cemetary. Plots in Holt have been owned by families for generations, and here they are forced to bury their deceased family members on top of previously buried ancestors. The cemetary is in need of much repair, as the plot owners have not taken very good care of their land and the city of New Orleans is out of money to fund it.
While we were there, we saw a family – kids who were younger than ours – digging up one of the gravesites to undoubtedly bury another of their family. As we learned at a prayer vigil we attended Monday night, the murder rate in New Orleans is one of the highest – if not the highest – in the country. These scenes are all too familiar to a town needing God’s help in so many ways.
After our brief tour and finishing up attending sessions in the Convention Center, we attended the Mass Event in the Superdome which was a Worship Service. The night began with an actor portrayal of Jesus on a cross. It ended with an uplifting communion ceremony. In between were more dramatics, a beautiful soprano voice as part of a large youth choir, and a great youth band! It was quite a night, and it left more of our kids finding that this was the favorite night of the week. God is amazing!
But all good things must come to end (except God’s love for us and eternity in heaven), and the National Youth Gathering is wrapping up. A quick turnaround this morning takes us back to the Superdome for a bit of a “Closing Ceremony” - another Mass Event – where there promises to be a lot of praise songs and energy to infuse the crowd before they depart. The group is running on adrenaline at this point, and it’s totally worth it!
And of course, the big announcement of where the 2013 event is going to be! (Although, we’re pretty sure we already know we might be “Lonestarring” it in three years!)
After the final “good-bye,” our group will spend the rest of the afternoon touring some of the greater New Orleans area still devastated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We’ll have some friends join us for the day – Brian and Nicole Steward, Crystal Loyd, Nick Dunne, and Gabby Fernandez – will be around to help us close our trip to New Orleans with (I’m sure) interesting stories of what happened behind the scenes.
With the end of this trip near and God’s work in lives beginning, we need your prayers on our safe travel back (as well as our college-age leaders who were here)!
What a week. Off to the dome!
Day 3: A Tale of Two Stories
Our ”then” is now.
Rev. Matt Popovits brought a terrific message to our kids at Monday evening’s Mass Event in the New Orleans Superdome on Day 3 of the LCMS National Youth Gathering. Several of our kids – and adults - shared that they related Pastor Popovits’ comments about a “Sunday Life” and a “Monday Life,” and that keeping those lives separate never works.
He told the audience, “No more!” Amen.
Our “Monday Life” drives ego and centered on self. Pastor Popovits drew huge applause from the 25,000+ strong when he applied a Facebook analogy by saying that “we don’t need a ‘Like’ button, we need a ‘why does this matter?’ button!”
Later, he challenged the teens in the audience by asking who the hero is in the stories of each of their lives. He said so many come to the realization that God is the hero (and not ourselves) very late in life, and those will say, “If I only knew then what I know now.”
He then delivered the lines of the Gathering to date: “This is our ‘then’! This is our moment!”
This is indeed our “then,” and the lives of our kids are certainly being changed. God is working in this place and in this moment, and we are thankful for it! God be praised! Please keep your prayers coming, as they are having an impact here in the Big Easy.
Today (Tues 7/20) is the final full day of the National Youth Gathering. I can’t believe it is almost over! As I write this, our group is attending a Bible Study being led by Rev. Ryan Peterson from St. John’s in Ellisville, MO. Our group has started each of the last two mornings with Bible studies centering in the book of John. (I bet all of our kids know the story of John 4 now! Ask them when they get back!)
Later, we will be travelling offsite for a view of the cemetaries in New Orleans as part of the “Look” track featured here at the Gathering. A group picture and a team building exercise will wrap up our time here at the Convention Center.
Tonight, we look forward to a remarkable experience, as the LCMS will commune 25,000+ in the Louisiana Superdome as part of the spectacular “Worship Service.” I will particularly look forward to a Gathering tradition – the Processional Cross. Part of the service will include a re-enactment of Jesus carrying the Cross through the stadium. It was amazing three years ago in Orlando, and I still remember it vividly. I pray our kids are equally as impacted.
A quick note about the cross being used tonight (as taken from the daily newsletter distributed to the adult leaders): the cross was made by youth from Bethany Lutheran Church in Slidell, LA. Slidell was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, and it is constructed with materials (stained glass, wrought iron) salvaged from the damage the storm caused. This cross will represent Christ’s presence and hope He brings, even through tragedy!
So tune in tonight at www.lcmsgathering.com starting at 7:30pm to see what a remarkable God we have!
One final note – our youth have been simply amazing. Our adults had a meeting yesterday that lasted almost 90 minutes – why? Because we could not stop talking about the individual stories we’re seeing up close and personal. I think I can speak for all of the adults on this trip by saying that we have not only been privileged to have been on this trip, we are even more fired up for God after seeing Him work through these young adults!
Thanks again, Redeemer! We can’t wait to come home and share the enthusiasm!
The Super Dome is my Home
I have most of my time here in New Olreans at the Super Dome. It has been a very interesting time here so far. This is my 6th NYG and I have never seen anything like this before. My favorite part of the Gathering has always been the Mass Events. It is so exciting and humbling to play a role in them this time around.
It’s been exciting back stage so far. Hanging out with Brock Gill, Jesus Painter, Skit guys, and even Jesus himself (rather the man who plays him!) has been great. I also spent alot of time talking with our speaker Kellie yesterday… She is truly an amazing woman.
I love being in this place. I’m a very big sports fan, so just being in the the Super Dome- the place where they play NCAA championship games, Super Bowls, and even the NFC championship games just a few months ago is such a great experience for me. The last two days I have found my way into the Saints locker room (even though right now it is in total reconstruction). But, not only is this place home to some great sporting events, this is also the home of some great spirtitual times. It has been awesome to see the Dome transform from a home of less than 100 people in the day to more than 25,000 people at night! The energy, enthuisiasm, and passion for the Lord is so great in this place! It was great last night having my own group from Redeemer up close to the stage and Abby playing a part of stage! It’s also been very cool to see 5 of my college kids up on stage dancing and praising God on stage in front of 25,000 people! The last few nights truly have been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Gathering will bring!
Time is going way too fast, and I really miss being a part of my own group of awesome Redeemer youth and adults, but I will enjoy the last few days of the Super Dome being my home!
The Challenge: What Do WE BELIEVE?
Our youth are going to bed with a tough question on their minds.
Beginning with a sweltering 5k race and ending with a run to a nearby hotel to catch a late night ”Skit Guys” show, our group rode an emotional roller coaster filled with both highs and lows on Day #2 of the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.
At 5:30am, ten of Redeemer’s crew headed out from our hotel to run a 5k race at the Superdome. After a challenging run (given the weather conditions), the ten returned having completed their goal! Emily Griebel finished with the best time.
Then, we attended a Bible study in mid-morning that discussed the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4), highlighting where we do not always LISTEN (our theme for the day) to what Jesus is trying to tell us. Then, the group began to explore the Convention Center along with the fellow 25,000 youth.
After a quick dinner, we headed to the Mass Gathering. Unlike the pageantry of Saturday night’s energy filled program, Sunday night’s Mass Event took our Gathering to a decidedly more serious tone in confronting a big question:
“How do you believe when you’re facing the unbelievable?”
Featured speaker Kellie Stocker, mother of an aspiring dancer and performer in the 2007 National Youth Gathering who was tragically killed in a car accident in June 2009 (http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou090604_tnt_pasadena-teen-killed-crash.49400d3e.html), shared a deeply personal story about her journey of putting faith into action during the “storms” that each of us face.
I’m not sure if anyone I heard anyone breathing – the Superdome was so silent during her story.
As she challenged the audience with what they would do in a similar situation Stocker told the youth, “You don’t need to have all the answers to experience God’s grace. Our God is big enough to know all your questions, and He will never love you less because of them.”
What an amazing testimony of putting one’s faith into action! She delivered an inspiring message for everyone privileged to hear it. Just over 12 months ago, she would have never thought she would be on a stage in front of 25,000 people. Yet, here she was. While clearly hurting, God’s love SHINED through her this evening! Even in my own family group, there were suggestions of wet eyes.
Beyond the sad story, her challenge remains front and center for our youth … as well as everyone. Who can say when tragedy will strike? Stocker said that her daughter’s cell phone was found in the middle of a text – the letters “T-O-M-O” was on the screen. While we sometimes plan for tomorrow, God’s plan might not have a “tomorrow” for any of us. Are we ready for that to happen to us? Are we ready if that happens to ones we love?
What a question. Our prayer is that our youth are thinking about that as they lay their heads on their pillows tonight.
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, this important message was delivered with a Redeemer flavor. Our Youth Ministry DCE, Brian Steward, was one of the producers of tonight’s 2+ hour emotional presentation. Alumni of our Youth Group are on the stage pumping the crowds up. And in one of the lighter moments of the evening, our own Abby Murin “met her match” on the main stage courtesy of illusionist Brock Gill. See the pics below! (Some courtesy of Brandon Morris.)
Monday will basically be a repeat of today’s activities with our first meeting at 9:00am. Don’t forget you can “listen” to the Twitterverse about what is going on around the Gathering (http://twitter.com/search#search?q=%23lcmsnyg) and tune into Monday evening’s Mass Event at 7:30pm CDT!
Good night, and God bless!
Youth Group Alumni Nick Dunne, Gabby Fernandez, and Crystal Loyd at the National Youth Gathering on July 18
Side view of the National Youth Gathering's Mass Event on July 18
Youth Group Alumnus Crystal Loyd "front and center" leading 25,000 in the Superdome on Sun 7/18 at the National Youth Gathering
Abby Murin with illusionist Brock Gill on the stage at the Mass Event at the National Youth Gathering (photo courtesy of Brandon Morris)
Wow!
So I lied, there were explosions here at the National Youth Gathering! The party has officially begun in New Orleans!
But I will discuss tonight’s opening Mass Gathering a bit later…
Today went really well for our group. After waking up and getting out the door, we went to the Convention Center and registered and got our LIME GREEN backpacks. All the participants here – adults and kids alike – wear these backpacks during the both the day and night events. They are obviously very visible, and everywhere we walked today we saw plenty of LIME GREEN! (And so did the natives, by the way, who have accepted us with open arms.)
After a seamless registration, we explored the city of New Orleans. Most of us ate lunch at the adjacent Riverwalk mall (where even the “mall restaurants” had delicious food!) and then walked down to the French Quarter. Parents, no worries, our group did not take any tours of Bourbon Street (although we walked across it).
Then, with the Quarter tour completed, we prepped and ate dinner at Deanie’s (www.deanies.com) before heading to the SuperDome. After waiting for nearly an hour with the throng of energetic high schoolers in the humid Louisiana evening, we finally worked our way into the Dome … and wow!
After trading one billion text messages today, my phone battery was near its end and I did not get a chance to take a lot of pictures. As of the time I’m writing this, the LCMS Gathering’s website (http://www.lcmsgathering.com/Index.asp?PageID=12786) does have some of its team’s shots up from registration today. Hopefully, more of tonight’s awesome event will be up on Sunday morning.
The event itself was as advertised, and more. A lot of energy and excitement, and our kids got into it pretty quickly! Since Brian Steward is behind the scenes with his role with the LCMS at this event, he suggested our upper deck location was a good location to have tonight to view more of the larger visual effects in the dome - including fireworks! The kids were invited to get a Bible verse sent to them for each of the next 7 days (and you can too, by texting engagelcms to 31452), and the message challenged the audience to consider what really is “truth.” I am again amazed how the LCMS can put on five of these shows – one of these would be enough work and effort to coordinate, let alone five! God be praised for this group’s tireless work!
Our youth said afterwards they thought it was bigger than they had imagined. Close your eyes, and you can see 25000+ youth and adults, arms around each other, swaying and singing along with the house band playing songs you’d commonly hear on WCIC (and some higher energy songs you might not have). Dancing and clapping into the night, our church’s youth began to realize what this is all about.
And seeing our alumni on the big screen partying it up on the big stage was a great moment unto itself!
Tomorrow, about a third of our group will be participating in a 6:30am 5k run (after a late night, of course), and then we’ll be heading to the Convention Center at 9:30am to begin the three full days of programming. After attending a Bible study at 10:30, our youth will be able to pick from a number of the LCMS’ top speakers, Christian concerts, servant opportunities, and the list goes on and on and on until the late afternoon.
And then…
Tomorrow night’s Mass Gathering will be a very special one for our Redeemer church family. As mentioned in an earlier post, Brian Steward is serving with the LCMS here in New Orleans, and he has had a significant role in planning Sunday night’s Mass Gathering. In addition to our youth group alumni who will be on the stage again, Abby Murin will be invited during the program to the main stage! Our youth group is hoping to get the VIP treatment tomorrow night with hopes of being in the front rows!
So tomorrow night is one night you shouldn’t miss. If you’re home and near a computer, point your web browser to www.lcmsgathering.com around 8pm for a chance to see Brian’s labor of love, along with Abby and our youth alumni, as well as perhaps our entire group in the crowd shots. We’re wearing the second of our matching black t-shirts, so be watching closely! And for more frequent updates, follow @GoJMo and @Stew31 on Twitter.
One last note. I hate to jinx this, but so far Redeemer family you would be super proud of your youth group if you were here to see them. Very well behaved, have been early or on time with just about all requests, and are having a fun time! Thanks for raising such wonderful and responsible young adults!
I need sleep, but I’m still pumped. Are there really only 4 of these left?
We’re here!
Good night from New Orleans! We’re heading to bed soon, but I wanted to get a chance to say thanks for the prayers, we made it to the Big Easy safely!
Tomorrow we will be heading to the Convention Center to register and get our backpacks and information. Then we will be exploring the city of New Orleans for the better part of the day, hearing jazz and seeing the French Quarter. Then tomorrow night, it’s on! The National Youth Gathering begins at 8:00pm. (You can tune in online!)
We even had a surprise visit from Brian and Nicole tonight after our dinner at the legendary Mother’s Restaurant. A good day and night, indeed!
Thanks to our friends and family back home who are praying for us! Keep ‘em coming!
Signing off tonight…
Next Up: New Orleans!
Good evening from … Peoria. Yes, not too exciting, but just wait it will be! But first, on the eve of our journey to the Bayou, I wanted to post a little “going away” message for you all. We are thankful for all of your prayers – keep them coming! Our group will leave Redeemer tomorrow morning just before 9:00am. Wow, this trip is happening! “WE BELIEVE!”
The theme for the 2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering is “WE BELIEVE,” based on John 20:31: “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Amen!
But as the most technologically advanced generation of kids begin their travels to the most technologically advanced Youth Gathering the LCMS’ history approaches, we’re on top of the action. Who says we midwesterners are behind the times?
- Live web streaming? We’ve got it. Check out the Gathering’s official website, www.lcmsgathering.com, to find a link to the action live from the Superdome in New Orleans each night starting at 7:30pm CDT (on Wednesday, it will be at 8:30am CDT).
- Blogs? We’re on it. Keep this page in your bookmarks, and we’ll do our best each day to chronicle the previous day and highlight the coming day’s events. Especially for you parents, we want to keep you as close to your kids as possible! We will post a message tomorrow night upon our arrival, but generally we will do our best to leave a message on here during each morning until the day we come back. Thoughts, reflections, and wonders.
- Twitter? What? We have Twitter, too? Well, yes. I have a Twitter account (@GoJMo) that I will be posting to multiple times each day (including progress on our trip to and from New Orleans). I will be with our kids and will try to share with you what they’re seeing. Also, our Youth Ministry DCE Brian Steward has his Twitter account (@Stew31) and will be sharing tidbits behind the scenes. Finally, @LCMSNYG is the official LCMS account, and they’re sharing stuff hourly it seems! (The cool thing about Twitter is you can read all of the posts by everyone who is writing about the Gathering. I’m no expert, but even I figured out how to do this – just search for #LCMSNYG while on Twitter, and you will read everyone’s posts who include the tag #LCMSNYG in their posts! Pretty cool to read about the excitement level around the country from adults and kids making their way to Louisiana!)
- Text messages? Well, maybe not as much. Parents, we’re asking the kids to keep their phone texting to a minimum during the week, so we hope you’ll support us. If you send a text to your kids during the Bible studies and Mass Gathering events … don’t freak out if they don’t get back to you right away. We asked them to do that! The adults on the trip all have text capability though so if you need one of us, feel free to call or text.
Having been privileged to participate in the 2007 National Youth Gathering in Orlando gives me some perspective on what these events are all about. There are really two halves of each day – daylight and nighttime. During each day, the kids will be able to explore a vast convention center that will have everything - indoor sports, booths sharing info for Christian schools, awesome Christian speakers, live concerts, servant events - you name it and it’s there! And each night, the 25,000+ students and adults come together to worship in a contemporary setting where the production is on par with any rock concert you’ve been to – multiple big screen tv’s, live bands, choirs, orchestras, explosions (well, maybe not explosions). To put even a one day event together like this would require an unbelievable amount of coordination and planning. And these crazies invite us to the Big Easy for FIVE? It is truly amazing and a blessing to these kids! Praise be to God for this opportunity!
Speaking of planning and coordination, it might not be widely known that our church will be well represented in the Mass Gatherings each night! First, several of our college-aged High School Youth Group alumni are volunteering and will be on-stage during the nightly events! (If you tune in to any of the webcasts, you’re likely to see a face you’ll recognize.) Additionally, our very own Brian Steward has been lucky enough to be part of this massive planning effort over the last few months with the LCMS, as he has had a substantial role in choreographing and producing the Sunday evening Mass Gathering. Our “34″ (28 kids and 6 adults) will enjoy the fruits of Brian’s labor, as we’re promised to have terrific up-close seats for that evening’s Mass Gathering! We can’t wait! We thank God for Brian and his service to the LCMS (as well as our congregation)!
Well, it’s about 12 hours until we pull away from 6801 North Allen Road to begin our little adventure (and now officially less than 48 hours until the start of the 2010 National Youth Gathering on Saturday night). Maybe I should start packing?
God bless your week!
Let the Gathering Begin!
Either by planes, trains, or automobiles, it is expected that 25,000 youth from all over the world will be traveling to New Orleans this week for the LCMS National Youth Gathering! 36 youth and adults from Redeemer will be making the journey to NOLA to join in the celebration. In addition, 6 of our college youth will have the opportunity to volunteer their time and will be serving in an up-front, on-stage capacity in the “Mass Events”.
The Gathering will be a unique and special time of praise and service to God. During the day youth will have opportunities to explore God’s Word as well as many different fellowship and service activities. And, during the evenings, all 25,000 people will assemble in the Louisiana Super Dome for ”Mass Events” which will be an evening of prayer and praise, culminating in a Worship Service on Tuesday night where the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated!
This will be a mountain-top experience in the faith for all of the attendees. We pray that the Lord grants safe travel and works in mighty and powerful ways in and through each participant. We will keep you updated as the Gathering progresses and we will come back to Redeemer and share with you all of the “Unbelievable” stuff that the Lord did!
God’s Peace to you… And… Let the Gathering Begin!