ST. LOUIS (ELCA) -- Twenty-two city parks are getting an early summer sprucing, thanks to thousands of young members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who have come to town from across the United States and Caribbean and brought guests from around the world.
The ELCA Youth Gathering is meeting at the America's Center June 28-July 2 and July 5 9. The two events bring together some 40,000 Lutheran youth of high school age, who are engaging in worship, Bible study, learning, community service and fun.
The gathering theme is "Dancing at the Cross Roads," and more than 100 "Two Step Service" projects took 7,225 teenagers into St. Louis and the surrounding area June 29-July 1. Another 4,600 young people are registered to lend a hand July 6-8.
In addition to working in parks, they're cleaning up 15 city neighborhoods. They're visiting 20 senior centers and 71 senior residences, three shelters for people who are homeless and 14 day care centers.
Most of the youth brought canned goods and children's books to the gathering, and some young people are delivering the gifts to 18 food pantries and day care centers in the area. Hundreds of young people are painting 10 large vinyl panels at the America's Center which will be displayed as murals in centers and city gardens.
"We get a lot of volunteer groups, but nothing this scale," said Matt Winkler, park supervisor I, City of St. Louis Parks. Winkler oversaw a crew June 29 that included 60 gathering participants from Salem Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill.; St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa; St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hackensack, Minn.; four ELCA congregations in and around Lancaster, Ohio; First Lutheran Church, Astoria, Ore.; Trinity Lutheran Church, Latrobe, Pa.; and Peace Lutheran Church, Herreid, S.D.
The crew trimmed branches and applied mulch to the bases of several birch, evergreen and spruce trees in the city's central Forest Park. "We don't get a lot of time to do this kind of work, especially in the summer, so this really helps," said Winkler.
Winkler said other crews from the gathering will help weed many of the city's new floral displays.
"I'd like to do this kind of work all the time," said Charles Drubel, New Concord, Ohio, a member of Christ Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Ohio. He said he enjoyed working outdoors. "I learned a new way to mulch today" making a "donut" of mulch around the base of a tree to trap rain water, he said.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
