Posted on Jul 18, 2024 in 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, Uncategorized |
We started out the morning with a nice breakfast before walking to our service project at 8am. For our service project, we made hurricane survival buckets of important necessities that people need in order to live from hurricane damage. After that, we went to lunch at the center, which was right next to our service project. There was a lot of different places we could choose from, and everything was delicious. Once we were finished eating we took a quick walk to Vue Orleans, where the view from the top was amazing and there was many fun games and activities to do. We then had about an hour wait until we walked to dinner at Johnny Sanchez. The food there was excellent and everyone left full and ready for the gathering. Blessing Offor was the special guest band playing at tonight’s gathering. Once we left the gathering, we went back to the hotel and talked in our small groups about the importance of being authentic. We then showered and went to bed excited for tomorrow.
Alayna H.
Posted on Jul 17, 2024 in 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, Uncategorized |
Monday, July 15:
This morning, July 15th we started bright and early and all ready to go for the day at 8am. We loaded the bus and headed to the Lovelady Center for a tour. All of their stories were very touching and we loved learning about how they help and rehabilitate women and their families. We then split into two groups and went to different facilities. These facilities are thrift stores where 60% of their profit goes back to the Lovelady Center. They also served us lunch and then we got to do some browsing around the store. Next, we headed to our next service project at the Cahaba River. We split up into two groups again – picked up trash around the trails while others pulled unnecessary greenery. Some chose to hop in the river to cool down after the time spent in the heat. After we got back to the church that was hosting us we had some downtime with a slip and slide to follow. We ended the night with a cookout provided by the church, yoga led by Pastor Julie, devotions, and prayer partner time. – Mayci M.
Tuesday, July 16:
This morning we woke up bright and early to get ready to hit the road and head to New Orleans. We stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-A. A huge shout out to the chick-fil-a team for being so amazing. We then hopped back on the bus to drive two more hours to our hotel. After we arrived at the hotel, everyone helped out to get the bus unloaded quickly. We had a little bit of free time to unpack and relax before heading back downstairs to hear about our dinner options. We then headed off to 3 different dinner locations. After eating amazing food, we next headed to the Smoothie King Center. There we spent the next few hours with 16,000 other Lutherans worshipping God and singing songs. The Afters played many good songs throughout the night. After that was over we then headed to the closest hotel for Night life. We spent roughly an hour dancing and singing and getting to know others. There were many good songs played, and such great people to spend our nights with. We got to meet many people from across the United States. After it was time to head back to the hotel we all met up and started our walk. We got back then it was time to finish up the rest of our night with devotions. After talking then meeting with our prayer partners, it was then time to head back upstairs to finish up our night. – Sarah B.
Posted on Jul 15, 2024 in 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, Uncategorized |
“Good Evening, Epiphany!
This is the first blog post of our trip to the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering hosted in New Orleans! Today we drove down to Birmingham, Alabama to stay the night for various activities tomorrow. (Be sure to check out our next blog post to find out what we’re up to!)
But first, we began our day at 8:00 AM, loading all of our belongings onto the bus. Shortly after, we headed to the worship service at 9:00. The whole congregation had the opportunity to pray over us during the service. Following, our congregation formed a tunnel to send us off as we boarded the bus to Birmingham. There’s definitely no better way to bond with everyone than an 8 hour bus ride!
Quick stops for lunch and dinner and a long journey, we finally arrived at Shades Valley Lutheran Church in Birmingham. We finished the day with prayer partners and large group devotions before heading to bed. We cannot wait for an awesome day tomorrow!”
By Aly West
Be sure to follow Epiphany’s Youth Ministry on Instagram for lots of pictures and videos along the way: @ELCYouthDayton
Posted on Jun 24, 2024 in 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering |
Who is getting excited for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering? Nervous? Hesitant?
However you are feeling now, remember that we are all in this together, as a Christian community. We will be smelling smells, serving others, worshiping, and so much more. The heart of this trip is the opportunity to grow in faith and experience the love of Christ through one another, the people we will serve, and everyone we encounter. We have been given the gift of grace through Jesus Christ, which empowers us to let the Spirit move in us as we proclaim the love of Christ through our words and actions.
Have any questions or worries? Talk with Erin or any other adult trip leader! Feel free to text Erin. Get ready to experience the many ways we are Created to Be… brave, free, authentic, disruptive disciples of Jesus Christ!
