LISTSERV mailing list manager LISTSERV 16.0

Help for ELCANEWS Archives


ELCANEWS Archives

ELCANEWS Archives


ELCANEWS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

ELCANEWS Home

ELCANEWS Home

ELCANEWS  July 1997

ELCANEWS July 1997

Subject:

LUTHERAN YOUTH TAKE FAITH "TREKS"

From:

NEWS <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

ElcaNews <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Tue, 29 Jul 1997 14:06:06 -0500

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (180 lines)

Title: LUTHERAN YOUTH TAKE FAITH "TREKS"
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 27, 1997

LUTHERAN YOUTH TAKE FAITH "TREKS"
97-YG-12-MR

     NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- Journey.  Walk
on.  Experience something new
while pondering paths already taken.  That
is the intent of the "treks"
offered at the 1997 Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) Youth
Gathering.  30,000 teens convened July 23-27
to learn more about God,
community and themselves.  For two days of
the gathering, they had the
option to attend treks covering issues such
as God, Earth and health
awareness.  More than mere workshops, the
treks aimed to involve, entertain
and stimulate thousands of young minds.

GOD TREK

The trek with God emphasized the three parts
of the Holy Trinity -- God,
Jesus the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit -- a
main tenet of many Christians.
The setting was a dark room with cosmic
music for a drama depicting God,
Creation and us.  Benjamin Gidmark, Mount
Olive Lutheran Church,
Minneapolis, acted as spokesperson for all
believers.  He admonished the
two characters in costume representing
Doubt. According to Gidmark, our
existence is too powerful to ignore belief
in a Higher Being.  The drama
was accentuated by upbeat songs, music
videos on big screens, and
conversations.   A group of painters on
stage instantaneously created a
large mural representing each part of the
Trinity.  Gidmark was pleased to
have an opportunity to share words of faith
with others.  "I know all of us
are here under the auspices of religion, but
I'm not sure everyone truly
believes," he said.  "I just want to open
their eyes and minds and give
them a taste of what is out there."

MOTHER EARTH

Helping to preserve our planet was the focus
of the Earth trek.  The
keynote speaker was Melissa Poe, 17,
Nashville, Tenn.  She is the founder
of Kids For a Clean Environment (Kids FACE)
Club.  When Melissa was nine
years old, she took action by writing a
letter to President Bush asking for
help with the pollution problem.  Her letter
appeared on one billboard in
her hometown.  It was eventually seen on 250
billboards across the nation.
This is why her fundamental belief is in
"the power of one."   Melissa is
now heading a project entitled "One in a
Million."  This is an effort to
encourage one million kids across the nation
to each plant a tree by the
year 2000.  It takes only a small amount of
work by each of us, but the
outcome can have a tremendous impact, she
said.  Balance!, a musical group
from California, entertained the audience
with lively, interactive songs.


THE LIVING ROOM

A living room is a place in which we feel
secure and comfortable with
ourselves -- the focus of this trek.  Jim
Tuman, a nationally renowned
speaker from Michigan, addressed a full room
on the importance of valuing
life and ourselves.  In his opinion, we
attach too much value to material
possessions rather than finding true value
within ourselves.  Tuman does
recognize the importance of financial
stability in our society but
denounces it as the top priority in our
lives.  Another philosophy Tuman
lives by is Carpe Diem!  (Seize the Day!)
Bishop Donald Parsons, Alaska
Synod, ELCA, was asked to summarize Tuman's
talk.  "We are each a beautiful
part of God's creation, but we allow so much
outside of ourselves to
dictate how we feel about ourselves," he
said.  "We need to acknowledge the
gifts God has given us by looking within."
Other guests in The Living Room
were musicians Billy Crockett and Echelon
and small session leaders Tiger
McLuen, director of Youth Leadership, and
Dr. Rollie Martinson, theology
professor from Luther Seminary, St. Paul,
Minn.

WELL NOW!

Kids were welcomed to the wellness trek by
Nora, a survivor of bone cancer,
from suburban Chicago, who shared her story
and sent kids out to other
sections of the trek.  Workshops covered a
variety of topics including:
alcohol, drug, and tobacco abuse;
prostitution; personal safety; stress;
forgiveness; blended families; date rape;
and developing a healthy self-esteem.  Each
of the workshops were approached from a
spiritual
perspective.  At a health fair, young people
aged 17 and older had the
opportunity to give blood and learn how
helpful such a simple act can be.
The Tulane Medical Center sponsored a table
at the health fair and provided
helpful information on nutrition, including
healthy recipes, exercise and
general information on living in harmony
with the environment. The event
ended with the Rev. Tom Rogers and Dr. Ruth
Busman, Concordia University,
St. Paul, Minn., who led a session with
information and open discussion on
sexual values and practices from a Christian
perspective.

ADULT LEADERSHIP FOR THE JOURNEY

As teenagers thought about relationship,
family and lifestyle issues,
adults worked on how the church can be more
effective in the life of young
people at the "Adult Leadership" trek.  Both
teenagers and adults took part
in a "town and country meeting," a
discussion forum "stimulated" by the
participants.  Discussions included building
effective youth ministries,
identifying the issues and lifestyles of
young people today and how
assessing the need of young people in their
faith community.   "Adults are
talking about how certain values held in
their youth become the basis for
decision making as adults," said Dr. Dorothy
Green, Louisville, Ky.  Green
hosted the trek.  Adult participants were
asked to conduct a survey to find
out more about the "real world" of
teenagers.  Survey questions ranged from
religion to health and friendships to
happiness.  "The information gathered
will be one way for youth ministers and
churches to come to a better
understanding of teenagers," said Green.
                            -- 30 --

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director, News and Information
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

Advanced Options


Options

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password


Search Archives

Search Archives


Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe


Archives

October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
August 1999
July 1999
June 1999
May 1999
April 1999
March 1999
February 1999
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998
October 1998
September 1998
August 1998
July 1998
June 1998
May 1998
April 1998
March 1998
February 1998
January 1998
December 1997
November 1997
October 1997
September 1997
August 1997
July 1997
June 1997
May 1997
April 1997
March 1997
February 1997
January 1997
December 1996
November 1996
October 1996
September 1996
August 1996
July 1996
June 1996
May 1996
April 1996
March 1996
February 1996
January 1996

ATOM RSS1 RSS2



LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG

CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager