MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are leaders, said Nicolette Faison, newly elected president of the Lutheran Youth Organization LYO of the ELCA.
Faison spoke to the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly during Wednesday morning's plenary session.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is God's work. Our Hands."
The LYO is an organization of high-school age young people who are members of the ELCA. They met in Hattiesburg, Miss., to elect officers and vote on various resolutions.
Resolutions adopted by the LYO urged the passage of the ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," and expressed concern for: victims of Hurricane Katrina, genocide in the Darfur Region of Sudan, the fight against HIV and AIDS and advocating for youth and young adult representation in the ELCA.
"We are hoping that you will vote for at least 10 percent of voting members at the 2011 Churchwide Assembly to be youth and young adults," Faison said.
She also spoke of the organization's experience learning about the Mississippi freedom schools in Hattiesburg in 1964 and how the attendees shared its own personal experiences with racism in the church.
"We, the youth, are people of color," Faison said.
Members of the Lutheran Youth Convocation also spoke to the churchwide assembly about their beliefs as youth of the church.
"I believe that we (youth) are not the future of the ELCA: We are the present," one speaker said.
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly on the Web.
Information on the Lutheran Youth Organization can be found at http://www.elca.org/lyo on the ELCA Web site.
* Carrie L. Draeger is a senior communication major with a concentration in journalism at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash. This summer she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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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
