Thousands of Lutheran Teenagers Worldwide Cross Borders this Summer

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 40,000 high-school-age and adult
Lutherans from the United States and around the world will be
crossing all kinds of borders to renew their faith as they gather
for the 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA). The gathering will take place in two back-to-
back events -- July 5-9 and July 12-16 -- at the Henry B.
Gonzalez Convention Center and Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
"The gathering is about young people risking to be a certain
way in the world together," said Heidi Hagstrom, director, ELCA
Youth Gathering. "It is about following Jesus' lead and crossing
boundaries that keep us alienated from each other and from God.
It is about our need for each other and for God."
The gathering will feature activities built around the theme
"Cruzando: Journey with Jesus." Cruzando is a Spanish word for
"crossing." The gathering will have a Latin emphasis, said
Hagstrom, inviting participants to celebrate global diversity,
nurture their faith, support and strengthen youth ministry. The
ELCA Youth Gathering is held every three years under a unique
theme.
Teenagers know tension, said Hagstrom. "A day rarely goes
by when they aren't wondering how a loving God is active in a
world that includes war, tsunamis, poverty and hatred. Parents
know it, too. Many are scared and overwhelmed by the
responsibility of rearing faithful children in a world where the
familiar boundaries of right and wrong are redefined regularly,
where temptations abound via the media, where pressures to be
perfect hold captive a teenager's attention, and where cultural
diversity is redefining the United States of America," she said.
Each day of the gathering will begin and end with programs
at the Alamodome. Morning gatherings include technology-enhanced
Bible study, evening gatherings will feature guest speakers, and
both will include music, dance, drama, video and special effects,
storytelling, audience participation and worship. Participants
can choose from a variety of activities between mass gatherings.

Volunteer opportunities in the San Antonio area
A significant feature of the 2006 ELCA Youth Gathering will
be volunteer opportunities known as "servant events," one-hour to
five-hour work projects in the San Antonio area. Projects
include reading and playing with children at the Boys and Girls
Clubs East and West, serving food at a food bank, working with
the San Antonio Police Department and more. Young Lutherans will
also be cleaning neighborhoods, parks and recreations areas in
and around San Antonio.
At the Gonzalez Convention Center participants can choose to
put together health kits for 500 people living in poverty along
the U.S. and Mexico border, assemble more than 5,000 school
supply kits for children who live along the border, and create
special hats to be delivered to San Antonio hospitals for
children with leukemia.

Guest speakers
More than 15 keynote presenters will highlight evening mass
gatherings, including the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop
of the ELCA and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
and the Rev. Margarita Martinez, bishop of the ELCA Caribbean
Synod, Dorado, Puerto Rico. The LWF is a global communion
representing 62.3 million of the world's nearly 65.4 million
Lutherans. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Other speakers include the Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of
Sojourners magazine and organizer of the Call to Renewal -- a
national federation of churches, denominations and faith-based
organizations working to overcome poverty; Dr. San Juana Mendoza
Bruce, a medical "charity" doctor who provides comprehensive care
for more than 8,000 patients each year in Anapra and Juarez,
Mexico; Dr. Kristine M. Gebbie, a former member of the first
Presidential Commission on AIDS; and Donald Miller, author of the
book "Blue Like Jazz."

International Guest program
Young people from Lutheran churches overseas will attend the
ELCA Youth Gathering as guests of ELCA congregations. Under the
Youth Gathering's International Guest program organized by ELCA
Global Mission, more than 100 high-school-age and adult youth
directors from the Caribbean, Central and South America Central
will attend, as well as 21 youth and youth directors from Africa,
Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Interaction Center
Located in the Gonzalez Convention Center, the Interaction
Center provides a place where participants can play beach
volleyball, climb walls, explore different ministries of the
church, donate a pint of blood, meet with college and university
representatives and more.

Transformational learning, Youth Ministry Academy for Adults
Transformational learning will offer participants a place to
learn with artisans, teachers and friends to share stories about
faith and life.
The Youth Ministry Academy for Adults offers on-site
training and support for pastors, youth ministry professionals
and volunteers. Training will be provided by the Youth Ministry
Network, an organization committed to strengthening and
empowering adults who work with young people in congregations of
the ELCA.

Pastor's Academy
Youth from about 300 of the ELCA's 10,585 congregations have
not attended either of the past two ELCA Youth Gatherings.
Senior pastors of these congregations were invited to attend the
2006 gathering under the "Pastor's Academy" program. "We want
pastors to experience an ELCA Youth Gathering," said Hagstom,
since "senior pastors play a key role in creating a culture in a
congregation that passes on the faith to younger generations."
The Rev. Roland D. Martinson, professor of children, youth
and family ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., will lead
the academy.

"Hamiltons for Hunger," In-Kind and Sunday offerings
Participants in the 2006 Youth Gathering are saying "no more
hunger" and will strive to raise $1 million for the ELCA World
Hunger Appeal. Under the "Hamiltons for Hunger" effort, every
participant is asked to bring $30 or "three Hamiltons." The
Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) issued the $1 million
challenge. The LYO represents the high-school-age members of the
ELCA.
Participants are also asked to bring a $10 gift card as an
"in-kind offering" to four San Antonio organizations that support
families and children. Gift cards allow families and children to
purchase items they need rather than accepting what others choose
for them, according to Hagstrom. Some gift cards will be used to
purchase supplies for school kits being assembled at the Youth
Gathering.
Funds collected during Sunday morning worship will be
distributed to domestic and international ministries that support
children, youth and families.

Peer ministry
Peer ministers -- young Lutherans attending the gathering
who have received practical ministry skills -- will be "on call"
at the gathering. They will be given assignments to help create
a caring and welcoming atmosphere at the gathering and meet with
other young Lutherans who would like to talk with someone their
own age about various life issues and concerns.

Leadership events precede gathering, LYO triennial convention
The gathering is preceded by two leadership events -- the
Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the Definitely-
Abled Youth Leadership Event (DAYLE) -- both taking place July 2-
5. The Seventh Triennial Convention of the LYO will be July 9-
12.
MYLE will take place at the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel, San
Antonio. Youth from African American and Black, American Indian
and Alaska Native, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Pacific
Islander, Latino, and multi-ethnic communities will come together
with international guests under the theme "La Luz: The Power of
the Light Shines for MYLEs."
DAYLE, a l