Joy

​Joy. The word that best describes my week at the ELCA
Youth Gathering is joy. Joy in being with the youth and
adults from Holy Trinity. Joy in being the church with
16,000 Lutheran youth. Joy in feeling the Holy Spirit move
in the lives of these kids. Joy in homecoming. J-O-Y…joy

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A group of 11 high school youth and five adults departed by plane for New Orleans on Monday, July 15. We spent the day on Tuesday exploring the French Quarter and enjoying the amazing cuisine of the area with Jazz Brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. All week the kids bravely tried new foods; things like fried alligator and raw oysters, crawfish etouffee and beignets. The food was a major highlight of our trip. A shared experience where the group gathered around the table to sit next to each other staring at our phones. 😊 Actually, they were playing a game together. Phones can be a platform for connection.  
  
Each night beginning on Tuesday the entire Gathering, all 16,000 of us, were together for Mass Gatherings with music, speakers, dancing, and even pyrotechnics! We heard the stories of others, sharing their faith and all the ways they were Created to Be, our theme for the week. Created to Be Brave, Authentic, Free, Disruptive, Disciples. Some of what we heard from the stage challenged us to see things in a new way.  
  
We spent our day on Wednesday in the Interactive Learning Center, a giant warehouse full of ways to experience our church; from ELCA World Hunger, to The Naming Project, to The Dwelling to Lego fundraisers to bounce houses and art projects and so much more. It was a good chance for us to get out of the heat and for the kids to have some freedom to explore. A few spent some time making keychains and bracelets to hand out to other groups. Many groups had things to give or trade which gave kids from across the country a way to interact with each other as we moved from place to place. 
  
Thursday was our Accompaniment Day. We spent the morning with Gregory from Culture of Cleanliness who shared the story of a neighborhood that is still in a state of neglect since Hurricane Katrina. We walked through the neighborhood picking up trash and leaving the space better than we found it. About 100 people worked on this project on this day, some from other congregations in our synod. It was hot, but we made the best of it finding parrots, snails and lizards to befriend along the way. 
  
On Friday we worshiped with all the congregations from Region 5 of the ELCA; Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Our synod was tasked with serving communion, and our group of 11 kids all served. Several of them shared that as a highlight during our daily reflection that evening. You may see their faces among the communion servers here at Holy Trinity! We spent the afternoon on a Goosechase photo scavenger hunt in the French Quarter, competing against other congregations in our Southeastern Iowa Synod. The photo included here is our Holy Trinity team photo. 
  
Saturday, we began the day with worship as a whole Gathering. Bishop Eaton preached about The Greatest Commandment, to love God and love our neighbor, and how that leads us in our life as Disciples. Then we were sent home to do just that, love God and love our neighbor. We do this not to earn our salvation, or because it’s what good people do. We do this because our neighbor needs our love, and Christ has made us free to love in the way that God created us to love.  
  
Then, our journey home was interrupted. We flew from New Orleans to Houston where our flight to Des Moines was cancelled. Between Hurricane Beryl and the Microsoft outage, the system had been disrupted and we found ourselves stuck in Houston an extra 24 hours. In this moment of crisis, our adult leaders stepped up to make sure that the kids were fed and that we had a safe place to sleep and a way to get there. We were able to get everyone on a flight to Omaha Sunday night, having parents meet us at the airport and drive us the rest of the way home, arriving at 1am on Monday morning. Although tired from what had already been a week full of things, the group made the best of the situation and continued to enjoy the company of those around them.  
  
We invite the congregation to hear more about our Gathering experience over brunch on Sunday, August 25 at 11 am.  
  
We are grateful for your prayers. We come home excited about our faith, eager to spend time together and serving our neighbor in this place. 
  
Ellen Rothweiler 
Minister for Learning ​