Practice Justice is one of three days at the ELCA Youth Gathering (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) to which congregational groups will be assigned. On each of those days, a third of the community will practice discipleship, a third will practice peacemaking and a third will practice justice. In this month’s gNews we are focusing on the Practice Justice day. Subsequent issues of gNews will explain more thoroughly the Practice Peacemaking and Practice Discipleship days. All three of the days are designed to help young people make real the covenant God made with them in Holy Baptism to:

• Live among God’s faithful people,
• Hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper,
• Proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
• Serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
• Strive for justice and peace in all the earth (ELW pg. 236).

The ELCA Youth Gathering is a witness to Jesus' invitation to hit the streets, to follow one's convictions with actions, and to join in the work God is doing in the world. Even though we know such action isn't about us -- it is all about what God is up to -- many have asked what youth will do in New Orleans in 2012.

On the Practice Justice day, the clean and predictable lives of many of us will get messed up a bit by learning about the ongoing struggles in New Orleans. New Orleanians want us to know about their struggles, they want us to see the truth of their lives because after the initial rush of public interest following Katrina, people have steadily stopped paying attention. Now, six years after Katrina, New Orleans still needs our attention.

On the Practice Justice day, youth and adults will come together in the Superdome to learn about how we make the connection between God’s justice, God’s shalom, God’s intention for the world, and our desire to serve. We will be reminded about how God's presence made a difference in the everyday lives of those living in New Orleans in 2009 through our service. Then, groups will walk justice as they enter into a multi-sensory experience to help them understand how the catastrophe of Katrina changed the course of history for New Orleanians. Next, groups depart by bus or by foot to practice justice in the midst of the fragile realities of recovery evident in the public education system, in housing and in the shrinking wetlands. At the end of the day, each group will reflect on their Practice Justice experience by debriefing with trained young adults who will help connect their experiences with their own sense of call to live out their baptismal identity in the communities to which they return.