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07/20/2015

ELCA youth believe that ‘Love Does’ bind

DETROIT (ELCA) – One message that was heard loud and clear among teenage-age youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is that “Love Does” bind. About 500 youth from across this church gathered July 12-15 at Wayne State University here for the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) – an event designed to empower young people of color and/or whose primary language is other than English.

“Crossing Together” was the theme for participants at the Definitely-Abled Youth Leadership Event (DAYLE), an event designed for youth who live with a wide range of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Participants of DAYLE gathered July 12-15 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center here.

MYLE and DAYLE are pre-events to the ELCA Youth Gathering taking place July 15-19 here. About 30,000 ELCA youth, adults, volunteers and other Lutherans from around the world are gathering for leadership development, faith formation, service opportunities and more under the theme "Rise Up Together." ELCA Youth Gatherings are held every three years.

“Jesus was transfigured on the cross, literally dismembered and disfigured. And that’s an act of indescribable beauty because it is the passion that’s poured out,” said ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton, who preached the sermon July 15 at closing worship for the two pre-events.
“‘Love Does.’ And that’s what we’re about. Love does,” said Eaton. “Love shows up in very particular places. It is no accident that we are gathered in Detroit. Detroit has been written off as a God-forsaken city, and that’s specifically where God is,” she said.

“We’ll be going home from here in another week or so, and scattered out like an undercover force for good. They might not see the cross on your forehead, but trust and believe that Jesus is with you,” Eaton said. “We might be transfigured, so that the love and passion of Jesus might spill out and maybe bring a measure of peace and hope. And, we don’t need to look like each other … to be authentic and real people.”

“It’s our turn to do extraordinary things,” the presiding bishop told the youth. “As we’ve heard at DAYLE, differing abilities is something that can cause amazement,” she said. “So my brothers and sisters: Let your light shine. Let that passion come through you (and) have courage, even when people disregard and even persecute you. We are walking in the footsteps of the one who would rather die than loose a single one of us and by his death and resurrection has saved us all.”

MYLE

A highlight of MYLE for Matthew Allawh, a teenage member of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., was “learning about the differences among people and how these differences affect people. We learned about the importance of acceptance.”

Allawh’s cousin, Christopher Allawh, also a MYLE participant and member of Salam, said, “We got to meet with other kids from across the country and Puerto Rico.” In a special time of sharing one another’s stories during the event, “we heard from people from Puerto Rico, who shared that although they are U.S. citizens, they are not acknowledged as citizens. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States.”

In addition to sharing about one another’s cultural and ethnic experiences, MYLE participants engaged in service projects across the city and welcomed residents of Detroit. Musicians, poets and others from the city performed at MYLE. Participants also had an opportunity to showcase their talents during a special talent show, gather in affinity groups and more.

“The MYLE event has been awesome,” said Ashiva Curry, a member from Shekinah Chapel Lutheran Church in Riverdale, Ill. “Although we come from different backgrounds, different cities, different states, different cultures, we are all the same,” she said. “The most impact for me is that we are all the same and we can worship and fellowship together.”

“Even though we are from different congregations and we worship differently, it’s really amazing to watch us all worship together. That’s what pulls my heart and that’s where I see God the most,” said Kerry Johnson, youth leader from Shekinah Chapel.

DAYLE

“I like the event because I got to spend time with other kids that have similar disabilities to me,” said Jacob Kostelac, a member of All Saints Lutheran Church in Phoenix. “I got to know some people a little bit more and to open up.”

“I think it was wonderful, all the camaraderie, all the kids getting together and seeing that there are other kids just like them with disabilities that have a place and can do things. It was phenomenal, just phenomenal,” said Jacob’s father, Anton Kostelac.

Heather Brigger, a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., attended the event with her daughter Katie. She said DAYLE provided both of them an opportunity to connect with others and share ideas about welcoming people with disabilities into their congregations.

“It’s been great for both of us and to get other ideas of how congregations try to incorporate persons with disabilities within their congregations,” said Brigger. “We talked about how we can be more welcoming and looking into the types of programs or making a connection and starting a group where we can share ideas. We can carry what we’ve learned here further and then take it back into our congregation. I’m really excited about that.”

A youth from Grace in Action, a Detroit ELCA congregation, designed T-shirts for the DAYLE event and printed the MYLE shirts, according to Meghan Sobocienski, who serves as director for Grace in Action’s collectives.

The T-shirts were made through Grace in Action’s Stitching Up Detroit – a 15-member youth-run entrepreneurial program that provides graphic design, textile design and screen print services for customers in the neighborhood and across the country.

“This week has been awesome,” said Judy Kowalik, a member of Good Samaritan Lutheran in Great Mills, Md. Kowalik and her son Matthew attended the DAYLE event.

“It’s been especially awesome because of the people that we’ve met here. We’ve been inspired by people who have disabilities, but they’ve not let those disabilities drag them down. They’ve really been able to do a lot with their life and to show God to other people through their disabilities.”

Information about the ELCA Youth Gathering is at www.ELCA.org/Gathering.

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