LUTHERAN YOUTH TAKE FAITH "TREKS"

     NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- Journey.  Walk on.  Experience something new while pondering paths already taken.  That is the intent of the "treks" offered at the 1997 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Youth Gathering.  30,000 teens convened July 23-27 to learn more about God, community and themselves.  For two days of the gathering, they had the option to attend treks covering issues such as God, Earth and health awareness.  More than mere workshops, the treks aimed to involve, entertain and stimulate thousands of young minds.

GOD TREK

The trek with God emphasized the three parts
of the Holy Trinity -- God,
Jesus the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit -- a
main tenet of many Christians.
The setting was a dark room with cosmic
music for a drama depicting God,
Creation and us.  Benjamin Gidmark, Mount
Olive Lutheran Church,
Minneapolis, acted as spokesperson for all
believers.  He admonished the
two characters in costume representing
Doubt. According to Gidmark, our
existence is too powerful to ignore belief
in a Higher Being.  The drama
was accentuated by upbeat songs, music
videos on big screens, and
conversations.   A group of painters on
stage instantaneously created a
large mural representing each part of the
Trinity.  Gidmark was pleased to
have an opportunity to share words of faith
with others.  "I know all of us
are here under the auspices of religion, but
I'm not sure everyone truly
believes," he said.  "I just want to open
their eyes and minds and give
them a taste of what is out there."

MOTHER EARTH

Helping to preserve our planet was the focus
of the Earth trek.  The
keynote speaker was Melissa Poe, 17,
Nashville, Tenn.  She is the founder
of Kids For a Clean Environment (Kids FACE)
Club.  When Melissa was nine
years old, she took action by writing a
letter to President Bush asking for
help with the pollution problem.  Her letter
appeared on one billboard in
her hometown.  It was eventually seen on 250
billboards across the nation.
This is why her fundamental belief is in
"the power of one."   Melissa is
now heading a project entitled "One in a
Million."  This is an effort to
encourage one million kids across the nation
to each plant a tree by the
year 2000.  It takes only a small amount of
work by each of us, but the
outcome can have a tremendous impact, she
said.  Balance!, a musical group
from California, entertained the audience
with lively, interactive songs.

THE LIVING ROOM

A living room is a place in which we feel
secure and comfortable with
ourselves -- the focus of this trek.  Jim
Tuman, a nationally renowned
speaker from Michigan, addressed a full room
on the importance of valuing
life and ourselves.  In his opinion, we
attach too much value to material
possessions rather than finding true value
within ourselves.  Tuman does
recognize the importance of financial
stability in our society but
denounces it as the top priority in our
lives.  Another philosophy Tuman
lives by is Carpe Diem!  (Seize the Day!)
Bishop Donald Parsons, Alaska
Synod, ELCA, was asked to summarize Tuman's
talk.  "We are each a beautiful
part of God's creation, but we allow so much
outside of ourselves to
dictate how we feel about ourselves," he
said.  "We need to acknowledge the
gifts God has given us by looking within."
Other guests in The Living Room
were musicians Billy Crockett and Echelon
and small session leaders Tiger
McLuen, director of Youth Leadership, and
Dr. Rollie Martinson, theology
professor from Luther Seminary, St. Paul,
Minn.

WELL NOW!

Kids were welcomed to the wellness trek by
Nora, a survivor of bone cancer,
from suburban Chicago, who shared her story
and sent kids out to other
sections of the trek.  Workshops covered a
variety of topics including:
alcohol, drug, and tobacco abuse;
prostitution; personal safety; stress;
forgiveness; blended families; date rape;
and developing a healthy self-esteem.  Each
of the workshops were approached from a
spiritual
perspective.  At a health fair, young people
aged 17 and older had the
opportunity to give blood and learn how
helpful such a simple act can be.
The Tulane Medical Center sponsored a table
at the health fair and provided
helpful information on nutrition, including
healthy recipes, exercise and
general information on living in harmony
with the environment. The event
ended with the Rev. Tom Rogers and Dr. Ruth
Busman, Concordia University,
St. Paul, Minn., who led a session with
information and open discussion on
sexual values and practices from a Christian
perspective.

ADULT LEADERSHIP FOR THE JOURNEY

As teenagers thought about relationship,
family and lifestyle issues,
adults worked on how the church can be more
effective in the life of young
people at the "Adult Leadership" trek.  Both
teenagers and adults took part
in a "town and country meeting," a
discussion forum "stimulated" by the
participants.  Discussions included building
effective youth ministries,
identifying the issues and lifestyles of
young people today and how
assessing the need of young people in their
faith community.   "Adults are
talking about how certain values held in
their youth become the basis for
decision making as adults," said Dr. Dorothy
Green, Louisville, Ky.  Green
hosted the trek.  Adult participants were
asked to conduct a survey to find
out more about the "real world" of
teenagers.  Survey questions ranged from
religion to health and friendships to
happiness.  "The information gathered
will be one way for youth ministers and
churches to come to a better
understanding of teenagers," said Green.
                            -- 30 --

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director, News and Information
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html