Lutheran College Students Gather in the Desert

PHOENIX (ELCA) -- Lutheran students from across the United States met here Dec. 28-Jan. 1 for the annual National Gathering for Lutheran College and University Students hosted by the Lutheran Student Movement-USA (LSM). The gathering brought about 550 students and campus ministry staff to the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort here.
LSM is an organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and other interested students who attend public, Lutheran and other private colleges and universities.
Meeting under the theme "Into the Desert," students were called to "pray, listen and rejoice," hear speakers, worship, participate in workshops and engage in small group discussions.
The Rev. Michael J. Neils, bishop of the ELCA Grand Canyon Synod, Phoenix, preached at the gathering's opening worship. Neils spoke on the biblical story of Jesus fleeing from Egypt with his family to escape death by King Herod, and how people today have insecurities like Herod did. "This sort of treachery still goes on," Neils said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "The innocent are still slaughtered."
David Douglas, author of "Wilderness Sojourn: Notes in the Desert Silence," was the gathering's keynote speaker. A writer on religious and environmental issues, Douglas encouraged students to adopt a "wilderness spirituality" -- finding in wilderness areas such spiritual values as silence, solitude, awe and gratitude, beyond the typical recreational values of these areas. "They create within us a sense of dependence on God and prayer," Douglas said. "God has used wilderness to draw us closer to God," he said, citing how God used the wilderness in the lives of key people in the Bible.
Douglas is founder of Waterlines, a charitable organization that helps rural communities in developing countries through the construction of small-scale water systems. In a second keynote address, Douglas spoke to students about the scarcity of clean drinking water in developing countries.
According to Douglas, 1.2 billion people around the world do not have clean water, and contaminated water accounts for 75 percent of all diseases. "Thirty thousand people a day die from contaminated water," he said.
Douglas encouraged students to address this issue out of their gratitude to God for what God has provided to them. "As Americans, we're accustomed to having clean water at the twist of a faucet," he said.
He broadened the topic of water to address environmental and associated problems and spoke of "environmental refugees." Some 25 million people -- more than the number of the world's political refugees -- have been expelled from their homes because their home habitat can no longer support them, said Douglas.
Citing the popular bumper sticker, "Think globally, act locally," Douglas asked students to "think and act globally and locally."
Students participated in a community service project with the Pima, Maricopa and Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation tribes in the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation reservations in the Phoenix area. Students were hosted by residents of the reservations and learned about Native American history and culture by sharing a meal and helping with maintenance of buildings on the reservations.
Mariah Meyer, a student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, worked with a group of students who painted the inside of a church and a house. Her group also listened to two speakers from different tribes, one of whom, she said, spoke on the ties between Native American teachings and Christianity.
"The people were very open and very grateful," said Meyer. "They seemed really appreciative and open to us being there."
Emily Arthur, a student at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, also helped paint a church and heard residents speak about their Native American heritage and history. "You could tell they were very proud of their culture and heritage. They wanted to share that with us. It was really neat to see that," she said.
During the visit, students were able to purchase handmade crafts, such as jewelry and clothing, to support some of the reservations' residents.
In an LSM legislative session, participants adopted "Peace That Passes All Understanding," a position paper regarding the war on terrorism. The paper addresses the U.S. military action in Afghanistan.
The paper calls for prayer and action through vigils, Bible studies, letter writing, conscientious objection or nonviolent civil disobedience. The paper will be shared with national church and political leaders, including President George W. Bush, members of the U.S. Congress, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, and the presidents of the LCMS and WELS.
Prior to the gathering, some students painted ceramic "peace tiles" which illustrated Lutheran students' views of world peace, to be sent to various church leaders, including the heads of the ELCA, LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine).
The assembly re-elected Thomas Saul, a student at the University of Arizona, Tucson, as LSM president for 2002. Prior to his first year as LSM president in 2001, Saul served as the Rocky Mountain regional representative on LSM's National Council.
Students participated in workshops and small-group discussions that addressed issues such as gay and lesbian concerns, young adults in the church, volunteer opportunities, spirituality and relationships.
Following the gathering, a group of 36 students participated in a cultural immersion that involved an overnight visit to the Mexican border area near Nogales, Ariz. The group met with an agent of the U.S. border patrol, spoke with migrants who have recently been sent back to Mexico, and toured an industrial area.
LSM awarded honorary lifetime membership, its highest award, to three ELCA pastors for their dedication and service to the organization. Receiving the award were the Rev. Patricia J. Lull, dean of students at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and former director of ELCA campus ministry and adviser to LSM; the Rev. Alvin M. Peterson, former campus pastor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and the Rev. John Kautz, former campus pastor of the University of Arizona, Tucson, and LSM's Rocky Mountain regional adviser. Kautz also served as the gathering's worship coordinator.
The 2002 LSM gathering will be held Dec. 28, 2002-Jan. 1, 2003, in Albuquerque, N.M., and will be part of Celebrate IV, an ecumenical gathering of young adults from six Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church that occurs every four years.

* Stephen H. Padre is associate director for interpretation
(Hunger/Disaster), ELCA Department for Communication.

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