ELCA Youth Gathering returns to New Orleans July 18-22, 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 12:00 AM - Sunday, July 22, 2012, 12:00 AM

We’re pleased to announce that the ELCA Youth Gathering is returning to New Orleans in 2012.

In 2009, ELCA youth went to New Orleans as guests. We return in 2012 as friends, citizens with the saints.

The theme, citizens with the saints, comes directly from the text around which the ELCA Youth Gathering is being shaped:  Ephesians 2:14-20. That is the assigned second reading for Sunday, July 22, 2012, the final day of the Youth Gathering.

I invite you to look at the core values and prayerfully consider how the ELCA Youth Gathering might contribute to your ministry with young people, as well as how your young people might contribute to the church's mission in New Orleans.

But the destination, New Orleans, is not the ultimate focus. We are shaping a service learning experience that will affirm young people's welcome into God’s story through baptism, will help them draw closer to God by engaging in intentional faith practices, will train them to bear witness to Jesus' activity for the sake of the world, and will arouse in them their vocational call to "serve all people, following the example of Jesus" (ELW pg. 236).

The journey of discipleship that is the ELCA Youth Gathering starts a year before teenagers come together in New Orleans. We will offer a series of trainings to equip adult leaders to be with young people in ways that lead to the outcomes for which we are planning and praying.  

You can download and print the poster, or request one from us by writing to . Every ELCA congregation will receive two posters.

With a prayer,