2012 ELCA Youth Gathering

New Orleans, LA

July 18 - 22, 2012

Practice Discipleship, Peacemaking, and Justice
The Gathering program is built around three core practices in which participants will be immersed before they come to New Orleans, while they are together in New Orleans, and hopefully, in the community of their congregations when they return home. The core practices - Discipleship, Peacemaking, and Justice - serve to practically clarify the Greatest Commandment: to love the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:34 - 40).

Practicing Discipleship
Discipleship is not an activity that we do. It is a life that we lead. Ultimately, it is about following Jesus. You began to practice discipleship the moment you received God’s baptismal promises.
At the ELCA Youth Gathering, we will have the opportunity during one of our days together to practice being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and to learn to take your relationship with Jesus to a deeper level.
You will continue to practice discipleship when you return home to your families, your church, your schools, your community and the world.

The seven faith practices lifted up by the ELCA will be the focus on the Practice Discipleship day at the Gathering:
• Pray
• Study
• Worship
• Invite
• Encourage
• Serve
• Give

Following Jesus is a way of life. When these practices become part of our daily life, we are better equipped to live the life to which Christ has called us. We see more clearly who we are in Christ, we are not afraid to ask questions and wonder about the mysteries of faith, we are excited to share the story of what Christ is doing in our life, and we are open to where the Spirit is calling us.

At the Gathering:
There will be three components to your assigned day of Practice Discipleship at the Gathering:
1. Your morning will begin in a hotel ballroom, where you will gather with your synod for Dwelling in the Word. This will be a full liturgy worship with Eucharist, to which your bishop has been invited to preach.
2. Following worship, you will move into small groups for interactive learning in stations around the seven faith practices.
3. Then you will go into the city for an afternoon discipleship lab, putting into practice what you have learned on the streets of New Orleans. You will be given resources for activities and discussion -- a “faith scavenger hunt” of sorts -- around the seven faith practices, and how they apply to your daily life.

After the Gathering:
The real work begins when you return home. How will you continue to deepen your faith through these practices in your daily life? How will you be a witness -- share your story of Christ -- with your friends, your family, your church, your community and into the world? The Gathering will provide resources for adult leaders and youth to support the ongoing faith discovery after the Gathering.

For more information, please visit the ELCA Gathering website at: http://www.elca.org/ELCA/Youth-Gathering.aspx or their Facebook page which provides you the most up-to-date information and discussions.