ELCA Youth Deal with Death, Get a 'Glad Surprise'

ST. LOUIS (ELCA) -- Perhaps the heaviest topic life has to offer death greeted 22,000 teen-age Lutherans gathered July 1 for a morning Bible study in the Trans World Dome here. Stories of death were shared through skits, videos and song, based on the theme "Dancing on the Edge." The Rev. Craig J. Lewis, Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, provided a "glad surprise."
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Youth Gathering is meeting here 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.
Lewis has served as director of the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries, assistant to the ELCA's presiding bishop and vice president for Shore Bank, Chicago.
Several youth introduced the morning's topic in a skit, telling the biblical story of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, and the despair of Christ's disciples. A number of short video clips told modern stories of teens who had died of disease, suicide and traffic accidents, and described the hopelessness felt by those left behind.
The videos left the audience with many unanswered questions. "Where is God in the midst of my pain?" "What do you want me to hang on to?" Ken Medema, San Francisco, the gathering's music director, sang, "Where is God when you need Him most?"
"Death is never a good thing ... but it is inevitable," said Lewis. "Nobody gets out alive."n
"The injustice of premature death is another story," he said.
Lewis said his family had a difficult time dealing with the death of his mother two years earlier but returned to the graveyard last Thanksgiving. He recalled the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., who dealt with several deaths in his family: "God always leaves enough to make life worth the living."
The biblical story of Jesus' death and burial is followed by the story of women going to the grave the next Sunday morning, and finding it empty and Christ risen from the dead, said Lewis. "The women at the tomb found themselves at the crossroads of life," he said.
There may still be times of grief, said Lewis. "God didn't promise that every day would be Sunday, but He did promise not to leave us alone," he said. "He may not be there when you need Him, but He's there right on time."
Lewis defined "glad surprise" by telling several short stories. When you've locked your keys in the car but discover the passenger door still open, that's a glad surprise, he said.
"Sunday was a glad surprise," said Lewis, referring to Christ's resurrection after the despair of his death. "Life eternal is a glad surprise."
"I urge you to go to the grave," he told the gathering, and learn that God is with those who have died. "Be a witness that death has been overcome."
Lewis concluded by leading the gathering in dance to the Gospel spiritual "In the Morning When I Rise."
Teens told stories by videotape about how a good friend helped them deal with the death of another friend. "Being a good friend is a gift, a gift from God," one said. "God was with me all along," said another.
The program's emcees April M. Barfield, Inglewood, Calif.; Becky Gulsvig, Moorhead, Minn.; and David Scherer, Minneapolis took the stage.
"He is with us in our pain. He is with us in our joy. God is alive," said Gulsvig.
"Go out and tell that," the three said together, sending the crowd away for the day's activities.

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