Windswept – May 2015
Posted on May 1, 2015 by spiritofjoy No comments
Download the May 2015 Newsletter
Called to Serve
13 teens and 3 adults from Spirit of Joy will be embarking on a trip to Detroit, Michigan the week of July 14-19 to take part in the triennial ELCA National Youth Gathering. Our group will be 16 participants out of 30,000 who will be descending upon Detroit for 5 days of worship, education and service work. The days will be long, the nights of sleep will be short, and the trip will prove to be a challenging experience that will help us grow on our faith journey.
With each National Youth Gathering, there is so much focus put on planning the event and raising money to get there. However, these are secondary focuses of the trip. The primary focus of a trip this big begins with one word:
Why?
Why send a group to a city in economic collapse?
Why take 30,000 Lutherans far from their homes to serve Detroit?
The answer is simple, yet complex all at once: To serve our neighbors.
Mark 10:45 tells us that “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Christ’s example teaches us that we can all benefit from serving our neighbors more.
We are called at disciples of Christ to look not at our own needs, but to look to the needs of our neighbor. We believe that God is calling us to serve just as it states in 1 Peter 4:10 “ Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” Our group is filled with passionate, caring people who’re excited to serve a different community.
When asked why they were excited to go to Detroit, this I what group members said:
I’m excited about going to Detroit because…
“We get to help the community of Detroit while serving in the name of God.” — Meghan Krull
“It will be fun to learn about Christ from the speakers we’ll hear each night.” — Sam Detert
“It’ll be a different experience and it will be a chance to meet other teen Christians from all over the U.S.” — Hayden Cole
As we prepare for our trip, we hope and pray that our commitment to serving grows with each day we are in Detroit. Long days and short nights will not keep us from serving… It is what God is calling us to do.