The group arrived very tired in New Orleans after the 17-hour bus ride on Wednesday afternoon. We were restless and curious about what this new, strange city had in store for us. Despite the weariness, our first day here has had its share of surprises and gifts, and as I sit here at the end of the day, I am overcome with hope and expectation that God is going to do something great in the next several days.
The main event of the day was worship in the Superdome, whichi was nothing short of spectacular. Big, magnanimous music set the tone, but the real bright points of the night were the speakers. First was a woman who volunteered in New Orleans after the Hurricane in 2005, and who decided to never go back to her home but stay here and volunteer to help with relief. She stayed and founded a non-profit that has now helped more then 200 homeowners back into their beloved homese. This simple small act of saying "no" to the neglect of the needy, and saying "yes" to the amazing people of th is community was a subtle but palpably powerful lesson spoken in this humble woman's quiet but firm voice.
For closing devotions tonight we used the text from Mark 8 about Jesus asking the disciples, "who do you say that I am?" We turned the question around and aked the youth to say how they would ansewr the question if it were asked by someone here at the gathering: "who do you say you are?" One of the youth said, "being here makes me proud to be a Lutheran." Indeed, being here with so many other youth reminds me that yes, this is a church I also love, and that these are the people with whom I want to live with and grow as a community in Christ. I spoke of my role here as partly being one of cultural anthropologist, seeking out where Christ is at work in the mnidst of the Big Easy.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment