Yes, you read that correctly, 2012. It seems like a long time away. Some of you may be asking, what is the gathering? The gathering occurs every 3 years and it is where all the youth from the ELCA converge together for one convention. Last year for example, there were 36,000 in attendance. This past weekend, they announced where the convention will be held, here is the release: The 2012 National Youth GatheringJuly 18-22, 2012, ELCA youth will gather—again—in New Orleans, not to cheer on the Saints football team, but to stand with the saints of God in that place: the young and the old, the privileged and the uninvited, the lonely and the claimed, the powerful and the shamed, the weak and the strong, those who have built new homes and those still struggling to rebuild.Why go back? Because New Orleans has more to teach us about fresh starts made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. New Orleans has more to teach us about generosity and about how to be good neighbors. New Orleans has more to teach us about the house that God is building.Please join us in the summer of 2012 in New Orleans. There is more to be done, and more to learn.
February 9, 2010
National Gathering 2012
Posted by zionlutheran under Announcements, National Gathering, Summer EventsLeave a Comment
January 6, 2010
Mission Trip
Posted by zionlutheran under Announcements, Ministry News, Service Events, Summer EventsLeave a Comment
Our Trip
We will leave very early on Sunday morning, July 25th (6 am). We will travel to Newport, Tennessee which is in Eastern Tennessee. The trip with breaks will take 9 – 10 hours. We will have a get-acquainted time on Sunday evening. We will work/serve Monday – Thursday. On Friday, we will depart. We will spend Friday relaxing and then travel home on Saturday. Below, you will find information regarding demographics, ministry, and activities (from YouthWorks)
Demographics
Majestic mountains, sparkling rivers and scenic wilderness are the backdrop for the 7,449 residents of Newport, Tennessee. Located in eastern Tennessee’s Cocke County, Newport is approximately 50 miles east of Knoxville. The Pigeon River and Norfolk/Southern Railroad run parallel to Newport’s Main Street, where you can enjoy shopping and dining. While this town has a low cost of living, there still are residents who struggle to make ends meet, often because of the lack of educational and employment opportunities. Only 60 percent of Newport’s residents have a high school diploma, and the unemployment rate hovers near 8 percent. Twenty-nine percent of the population lives in poverty, including almost 48 percent of children under age 18. Visit Newport and be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to this peaceful community.
About the Ministry
Participants serve in a variety of ways during a YouthWorks mission trip. Students may spend all week at one ministry or switch between ministries during the week. Ministries that your students may participate in are Kids Club and Work Projects. Kids Club is a hands-on program led by your youth offering high-energy games, crafts, skits, songs and interactive lessons all designed to help kids learn about Jesus. Whether we’re painting houses, performing minor home repair, cleaning up debris, volunteering in community gardens or other projects in the community, the projects students work on will serve as our way of blessing people in need. We cannot confirm until all groups arrive exactly what ministries your students will be a part of during the week. We ask that you come with a willing and flexible spirit!
Activities
Evening activities during a YouthWorks week are designed to give participants insight into the lives of local residents and the culture of the area. A list of possible evening/cultural activities include: going on a hike; attend a bluegrass concert; attend a local church service; and attend a community cookout. These are examples of what your group might partake in during your mission week. These examples are subject to change due to weather or availability. In case of change, suitable substitutes will be provided.
The deadline to register is Sunday
January 6, 2010
Last Sunday, we had a marshmallow battle. Here are a few pictures. We had two teams and two minutes. Whichever side had the most marshmallows on the floor after two minutes was the team that lost.
January 5, 2010
On Sunday January 3rd, we go together during youth time at Sunday Night Live and we opened the night with two games. We had a marshmallow fight and played a game of scissors. We should have some pics of the marshmallow fight up later this week. The scissors game frustrated some of us 
We then settled down for our lesson time and we took a look at miracles. We also focused on a current theme and wrestled with pregnancy and homelessness.
It is my hope and prayer that we realize the miracle that we have in Jesus and because of this gift, we will be willing to reach out to those in need.
December 11, 2009
We are having an informational meeting on Saturday, December 12th at 6:30 – 7:30. We hope to have you there to learn more about the trip and to begin the process of developing the team. We are headed to Tennessee.
The deadline to register for the trip is January 10th.
November 23, 2009
Mission Trip
Posted by zionlutheran under Announcements, Ministry News, Summer EventsLeave a Comment
We are going to be going on a mission trip this up-coming summer. We are headed to eastern Tennessee (Newport). the trip will be from July 25 – 31, 2010. Listed below are the demographics and the highlights about the ministry that we will be doing.
Demographics
Majestic mountains, sparkling rivers and scenic wilderness are the backdrop for the 7,449 residents of Newport, Tennessee. Located in eastern Tennessee’s Cocke County, Newport is approximately 50 miles east of Knoxville. The Pigeon River and Norfolk/Southern Railroad run parallel to Newport’s Main Street, where you can enjoy shopping and dining. While this town has a low cost of living, there still are residents who struggle to make ends meet, often because of the lack of educational and employment opportunities. Only 60 percent of Newport’s residents have a high school diploma, and the unemployment rate hovers near 8 percent. Twenty-nine percent of the population lives in poverty, including almost 48 percent of children under age 18. Visit Newport and be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to this peaceful community.
About the Ministry
Participants serve in a variety of ways during a YouthWorks mission trip. Students may spend all week at one ministry or switch between ministries during the week. Ministries that your students may participate in are Kids Club and Work Projects. Kids Club is a hands-on program led by your youth offering high-energy games, crafts, skits, songs and interactive lessons all designed to help kids learn about Jesus. Whether we’re painting houses, performing minor home repair, cleaning up debris, volunteering in community gardens or other projects in the community, the projects students work on will serve as our way of blessing people in need. We cannot confirm until all groups arrive exactly what ministries your students will be a part of during the week. We ask that you come with a willing and flexible spirit!
The link below is more information and the registration form
We are having an informational meeting on Saturday, December 12th at 6:30 – 7:30. We hope to have you there to learn more about the trip and to begin the process of developing the team.
The deadline to register for the trip is January 10th.
November 19, 2009
The web-blog has been on a Hiatus for 4 months. I have not posted anything since we were in New Orleans for the Gathering. It is time to kick-start this back up and for us (me) to use it for communicating what is happening in the ministry.
As I take a look at the categories, we may need to clean those up or add new ones because we are not using/doing a few of them.
July 25, 2009
Having A Blast
Posted by zionlutheran under Event Recap, National Gathering, PicturesLeave a Comment
We are having a blast at The Gathering. Tonight was our serving day. We went to the Ashe Culture Center. We had interaction with kids at camp and helped in street sweeping and had a great mass gathering with the highlight being Skillet and then we had dinner at Daisy Dukes.
Some pics from today:
July 23, 2009
We are in New Orleans and we are staying at the Chateau Bourbon. It is a great hotel. We had a wonderful trip down here – spread out over 2 days.
The trip into NOLA went very smoothly and today was a good day in NOLA with a great dinner and the opening session rocked.
Here are a few pics:
