The Time Is Now!! an Orientation to Community Life

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The time is now!!

It’s time to Rise Up Together! This is the final edition of gNews before the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering. In this edition, there is an orientation video from the Community Life team, as well as stories about some of the team’s featured activities, meal options for lunch and dinner, tips for preparing for your Proclaim Justice and Proclaim Story days, and a spotlight on one of our Proclaim Community partners.

An orientation to Community Life

Would you like a rundown of all the places Community Life will be happening at the Gathering? In a new video, the Community Life team’s animated national spokesperson, D Wayne, shares about the main events and activities the team has planned for you. Click here to Scheduling note: watch the video to learn more about worship, dances, food trucks, The Saturday night Main Stage event will begin concerts and more! at 7:45 p.m.

Turn off roaming on phones to avoid unexpected international charges The close proximity of Detroit to Canada can sometimes cause cell phones to roam over to cell phone towers in Canada. To avoid unexpected international charges on your cell phone Meet me at The Tailgate for lunch statement at the end of the month, before the Gathering, make sure to switch the roaming Community Life welcomes you to one of our most unique venues feature on your phone to "off" while in Detroit. ever! We call it The Tailgate, located on the patio at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown, across the street from the Cobo Center. A note about Gathering transportation on Every day beginning at 11 a.m., The Tailgate venue will offer Wednesday freshly grilled food for purchase, café style tables and chairs, live For those using Gathering transportation, the music from artists like Rachel Kurtz and local bands, and displays shuttles from hotels to downtown run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday. If you don’t make of local art provided by the artisans themselves! Come for lunch the last shuttle at 4 p.m., you will need to arrange and linger for conversation, as the musicians and artists will remain your own transportation downtown. until 4 p.m. daily. Food will be served until 1:30 p.m. or until it is gone. But if you miss lunch, grab a bite to eat at the food trailers in Reminder: Bring your T-shirts to Detroit! Hart Plaza and come over to the café tables at The Tailgate to T-shirts have been sent to the primary adult enjoy your meal and the local art. With the menu options and artists leader for each congregation to bring to Detroit. changing daily, this is a great place to visit each day while you’re at They must be worn on your Proclaim Justice Day! There will be extras available at the Old the Gathering! Lutheran store.

Detroit by the numbers The city of Detroit is donating 1,000 of the 2,208 Options for dinner at Ford Field: boards that will be used in Proclaim Justice concessions and reserved dinner projects to board up houses in the city.

Detroit: Did You Know? There will be two options for dinner at Ford Field on Wednesday After losing 25 percent of its population from 2000 through Saturday night. You may enjoy concessions, which will be to 2010, Detroit’s population rebounded from available at locations all around Ford Field. Click here for 2010 to 2014 with an increase of 3,600 residents. concessions locations and prices, including the location of gluten- This represents the second-best turnaround of free options. Concessions will be open at 5:30 p.m. for food and the U.S. cities that declined the most between beverage purchases and close promptly at 7:30 p.m. when the 2000 and 2010. Detroit’s motto is: “Speramus house band begins, even if there are still people in line. meliora; resurget cineribus,” which is Latin for “We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes.” Let us Rise Up Together! (Souce: Ford Field is also offering the option to take the stress out of https://talenttribune.softwareproviders.com/detroit- worrying about dinner during the ELCA Youth Gathering! Skip the 5-bright-numbers/) lines and reserve your spot at their nightly dinners today! You can choose one night or choose them all! To view each night’s menu, click here. The cost is $25 per person per day from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Lemonade, fruit punch, water and coffee are included with the dinner. For any questions or to make your reservation, please contact Kelly Cordova at 313-262-2269 or [email protected]. Reservations are non-refundable. The cost includes tax and a service charge. For your convenience, credit cards are accepted at Ford Field.

Preparing for your Proclaim Story day

On your Proclaim Story day, you will gather with your synod to explore God’s story and your story. Worship together as you listen When you "like" our page, to and proclaim the story that Jesus is good news! Doors open at be sure to right-click and select 12:30 p.m. To see the property and ballroom in which your synod is "get notifications" assigned to meet, click here. The Guidebook and your confirmation to ensure all Gathering posts letter also contain this information. Directional signs will be posted in show up in your newsfeed. each property. (Please consider the time needed to get to your property from wherever you have spent your morning.) For those meeting in the Cobo Center, plan extra walking time! It can be an For more information: additional 15-30 minutes to get from the entry doors to your assigned ballroom. Remember to bring your Gathering Bible and Mail: plan to eat before arriving. Dismissal is anticipated to be around 4 ELCA Youth Gathering p.m. We look forward to proclaiming together – Jesus is Good News! 8765 W. Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631

Email: Gathering

Morning show to help you "Rise Up" each Phone: morning 888-411-3522

“Rise Up Detroit” is our new, live morning show featuring music, interviews with Gathering celebrities, games and person-on-the- street segments. In fact, you might even see yourself! You can catch the show live each morning at the Cobo Center from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. in the Grand Riverview Ballroom Pre-Function space on the 200 level. You can also tune in with any portable electronic device to our live-stream feed of the show on the Gathering website as you make your way from your hotel to downtown each morning or await your Proclaim Justice launch.

Love Does

As the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) quickly approaches, the focus of the MYLE planning team has always been the youth participants. One of the MYLE leaders, when speaking to the team, said it best: “YOU believe there is value in letting kids know they are worthy and powerful, that their lives should be respected and given space to grow. Us adults get a lot of life wrong. Even when we are paying attention, we get it wrong sometimes. Kids, they are learning our love, fear, wisdom, ignorance, perseverance and complacency. MYLE is an attempt to be intentional about how we raise our youngest generation in love. MYLE is powerful because we get to intentionally invite God and everyone knows that's our motive. As we create community in our brokenness and our holiness, we get to ask God to come and be enough.”

The Playground opens early

When your shuttle bus drops you at the Cobo Center each morning, you have several options on how to spend your time! You can check out “Rise Up Detroit,” our live morning show, morning worship in the Sanctuary in Hall E1, or the Playground. The Playground opens early each morning, no later than 8 a.m., and features all kinds of fun activities you might find on a playground, including GaGa, Slam Ball, Giant Jenga, Giant Ker-Plunk, corn hole games, karaoke, photo booths and so much more. Including picnic tables and table games, you can chill, get active or sing with a friend. Adult leaders can check one bag (up to the size of a carry- on suitcase) for the day and then join in on a game. The Playground will be open throughout the day, even when the Proclaim Community venue is closed. Visit throughout your Gathering experience; it’s a great place to meet new friends from across the ELCA!

Proclaim Community Partner spotlight: Receive a prayer/write a prayer

Need prayer? Do you have a problem, concern or worry and want someone to pray with you? Feeling discouraged, depressed or spiritually dry? Are you in trouble? We have a safe place for you at the Renewal/Prayer/Revival area in Proclaim Community. Share whatever is on your mind and heart confidentially. Have someone listen and pray with you and receive an anointing with oil. Or would you like to write or draw your own prayer? We will have a safe place for you to do that. Have questions about how to pray? We can help and give you some ideas.

The ELCA Renewal Prayer Revival team offers events around the country that are focused on healing, strengthening and renewing individuals and communities through listening, prayer and worship.

Count on MIF for easy access to your Youth Ministry Demand Account

“Youth Gathering has changed my life!” exclaims Sarah Bordsen Bailey, thinking back to the ELCA’s event in the summer of 2012. Sarah, a May 2015 high school graduate, is anticipating this summer’s event. She and 17 of her peers along with four adult leaders from the University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis are headed to Detroit for the Gathering. “The teens are pumped,” confirms the congregation’s youth director, Jim Vitale, a student at Luther Seminary who will accompany the teens to Detroit.

The group from University Lutheran Church of Hope has been raising funds to support their trip and will be one of many groups that will use a Mission Investment Fund Youth Ministry Demand Account at the Gathering. For congregations with a MIF Youth Ministry Demand Account, authorized adults will be able to cash checks on these accounts at MIF’s on-site Service Center at the front of Hall D of the Cobo Center.

The MIF Service Center will operate Monday, July 13, through Saturday, July 18, and will be closed Sunday, July 19. Hours will be posted at the Cobo Center. Questions may be directed to the MIF Customer Service department at 877-886-3522 or by email at [email protected]. From the director's blog: A celebration of all of us together

Heidi Hagstrom

A person’s favorite teaching of Jesus is, “So the first will be last, and the last will be first” (Matthew 20:16). S/he wants to know when it will happen. When will she get to “revel in the luxuries that [the 1 percent] take for granted.” Apparently s/he thinks the 1 percent are “the first.” Responding to his/her inquiry, the wise teacher wonders if the inquirer is missing Jesus’ point. In Jesus’ kingdom there are no firsts and lasts, no winners or losers, no chosen and not chosen, no true believer and infidel. “[God’s] kingdom,” the wise teacher says, “is not a zero-sum, winner-take-all game of ‘us against them,’ but a non-zero celebration of all of us together.” The wise teacher goes on to suggest that the inquirer choose to stop playing his/her game and start playing Jesus’ game.

What if we did that? How would our experiences in Detroit be different if our sole focus was on a non-zero celebration of all of us together? I have a few ideas.

Continue reading the director’s blog.

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