Citizens WIth the Saints - Julia Recap

" This trip will only be as fun as you make it" - Erik 

I heard Erik say that and new that I wanted to have a really good time on this trip, I knew that how much fun I had was entirely in my own hands. So instead of complaining about the long lines and the weather and the lack of sleep, I completely embraced it. That is why sitting here on the bus on my way home, for the first time in my life, I really don't want to go home, I want to still be in New Orleans with every single person in our group. I'm finding it extremely difficult to come up with the right words to accurately describe what happened this week, and I'm not sure if the words will ever come. But here's my best effort at explaining what happened to me over the past week.

I learned a lot about myself and my faith over this week. It was our first night in the dome and the service started out with welcoming all of us. The speaker used the analogy of us all being the ingredients to God's pot of gumbo. Saying that no matter what our race is, our sexual orientation, whether you're poor or rich, smart or not, strong in your faith or still figuring things out, we were all welcome in God's pot of gumbo, and we were all needed in his pot of gumbo. It was after he said that that I knew the gathering was exactly where I needed to be. I have struggled with my faith for many years and I knew at that moment in the dome that that was perfectly okay. For the first time, I was perfectly content with where I am with faith. 

       

A big theme within the gathering was tearing down walls, walls the we had built up and created, and how we need to tear them down and encompass everybody with love and God's grace. I think this is something that for the rest of my life I will take with me and continue to work on and try my best to do. Walls that are extremely high, and very thick, made of the worlds strongest materials. And if I am able to make even a small dent in one of these walls, I know that I have made a difference.

   

My faith may still be on a roller coaster ride, and may potentially be for my entire life, and that's quite alright. But living out my faith, and using it to help others of all kinds is where my faith grew and became stronger. 

   

Many unexpected things happened on this trip also. For instance, my ability to go with the flow, and embrace everything that happened, instead of worrying about what we were going to do next, or if we were going to make it in time, trying to plan everything, i just went with whatever happened. If you weren't able to find your inner patience, the gathering was going to be hell for you. Simply trying to get on the elevator to get to your room was a 20 minute task, resulting in 20 people in the elevator at a time, and we being in the back of it, but naturally being the first ones who needed off. Getting food wasnt a quick task either, McDonalds moved us through the fastest and with the line halfway to the door it still took over 15 minutes. 

One aspect of the trip that I wasn't thinking was going to have such an impact on me was New Orleans itself. I think by the end of the week I'd fallen in love with the culture and history of it.  I can honestly say that I believe New Orleans has been through some very rough times, and we in Iowa have been through nothing compared to them, and yet the people of New Orleans seems to have a bigger heart, and the ability to let loose and have a great time and truly embrace who they are. Sure, they have their rough spots, Bourbon Street in itself is like nothing we have in Des Moines, but the again, Des Moines has nothing like the true soul jazz that emcompasses New Orleans, and it's people. Going to Preservation Hall changed my entire opinion of jazz. I have never liked jazz, jazz band was always something my parents made me do, not something I wanted to do. I still dont like the sound of jazz in Iowa, it's too Midwestern. But, if I lived in New orleans, jazz would be my thing!

From Daisy Dukes, to Cafe du Monde, Mothers, to Dooky Chase, there was no shortage of opportunities to try the real taste of New Orleans cuisine.  I found that I really like gumbo, beignets, and po boys, and that if I just try things, I might realize how much I really like food of different cultures.

I realize that in this blog I left out one of the biggest aspects of my trip, and that was the friendships I made with each person from our congregation that went. I have left this out on purpose. Not because I dont want to share them with you, but because I don't have the words to explain it correctly to you. They're too important to me and too close to my heart to falsely represent them to you all. If you are at church you will see these friendships and how close we all got on this trip. You will hear us laughing at the jokes that were created, and reminiscing about the trip and the great time we had together. And my hope is that instead of reading about the friendships that were created, you will be able to see them and watch them.

This short blog hasnt even made a dent in sharing the experience that happened to me on this trip. If you want to hear more about what happened on the trip and how it was for me please don't hesitate to ask, I'd love to share! This trip is something that I'm so greatful I got the opportunity to take part in, and so glad that I embraced the trip the way I did, I have absolutely no regrets. 

May I be the change to help tear down those walls. 

~ Julia Ratekin

ELCA Youth Gathering - WHLC reflections

I was in New Orleans for the ELCA Youth Gathering.  I invited participants from Windsor Heights Lutheran Church to offer their reflections throughout the week on koinonia.  This article was a shared effort among the 11 youth participants.

We are on the bus and our week has been "fantasmical." We all got super close, like family.  All of us have gotten to know a little bit more about each other and ourselves. Hopefully we will be able to bring what this whole experience taught us back to Windsor Heights. However the experience we had in New Orleans may not be able to translate to those back home, finding the right words to describe how our lives all changed in different ways, and the ways they changed is extremely hard. But that’s the beautiful thing about it. 

Through crazy awesome concerts, worship, and conversation, we all learned more about our personal faith as well as the lives of Lutherans all over the country. Also, the food was fantastic!  The motivational speakers got a lot of everyone’s attention.  All of them talked about subjects that touched everyone and they were able to get their point across even though most people in the audience have not, and will hopefully never have to go through what some of the speakers went through.  One of the messages was that everyone is a child of God.  No one should be turned away because of race, financial situations, past history, etc.  

Coming from a multi-generational church, with a lower number of youth members right now, it was amazing to see so many youth participating in the songs, speakers, and activities. The energy was outrageous in the Superdome! We hope the energy can be spread through the pews at WHLC and you will see the energy in our eyes and hearts, and feed off it!

When we first arrived in the Superdome, I remember thinking that I had never seen so many people gathered together in for the same reason. But that wasn’t even the most impressive part. I had never seen so many young people excited about God. Back in our everyday lives, God often falls to the background and things like relationships and friends and drama take the forefront; but it was like once we all set foot in NOLA all the worries of our home lives melted away and our attention was 100% focused on how to love like Jesus.  Overall everyone had an wonderful time. We learned many things such as “to be known is to be loved and to be loved is to be known”... and also, “be the the change you want to see in the world.”

NOLA has been through a lot, but so have communities just like it across the country.  We need to be mindful of the needs of people back home.  It takes all of us to be citizens with the saints.  As one speaker described gumbo and all its ingredients to the crowd, I thought of WHLC and all the ingredients that it has to make our own version of gumbo back home.  

Kirsten Benson, Rylee Freise, Rebecca Ihnen, Julia Ratekin, Travis Reinders, Emily Roose, Brian Rye, Petir Thompson, Hannah Toresdahl, Madison Ward, Caroline Warmuth

Let It Shine

I'm in New Orleans with a group of 16 youth & adults from Windsor Heights Lutheran Church; the congregation I serve in Des Moines, IA.  I invited our group participants the change to offer their reflections throughout the week on koinonia.

The friday night mass gathering in the dome was particularly moving. The speaker was the Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee. She talked about hope. Hope is a word that has such a different meaning to many people. Some know what it is like to need or want hope, others hope for things. Her message was a great definition of what hope actually is. She talked about the need for hope  because hope was lost in their life from anything such as bullying to parts of the world that are stricken with poverty. But, here is the key to hope, Jesus. We are all loved by Jesus and we are God’s children. Spreading God’s love gives hope to people. However she acknowledged that even though one person can be a light in the darkness, one can’t change the world. Next came the most moving part of the trip; she asked everyone to turn on their cell phones. The light from the phones lit the dome. It looked like a little city. She then started everyone singing “This Little Light of Mine”. Suddenly the little light that couldn’t change the world became bright and all the little voices became one big voice. Tears were impossible to hold back at this point. I am pretty sure that if a person was having trouble finding hope in life, they could’ve felt the Holy Spirit then. But the question that everyone is asking; how do you keep that hope and energy strong when you leave the magical Lutherdome? You keep your little light shining and giving hope to one person at a time (by standing up to a bully, giving someone a hug when they need it, or just giving someone a smile and a word of encouragement when they look like they could use one) and then their light will shine, and the “pass it on” theory starts. Soon we will have a little city again, and just maybe the world will begin to change. I have HOPE that it will. My little light is shining. I hope that when I tell you this next part, your light will become lit; Your are loved by God. He knows you, every part of you (the good and bad, the perfection and the flaws) and He loves YOU.  ~ Megan Seifert

100 Wells

I'm in New Orleans with a group of 16 youth & adults from Windsor Heights Lutheran Church; the congregation I serve in Des Moines, IA.  I invited our group participants the change to offer their reflections throughout the week on koinonia.

Water, created by God, is essential to our existence on this earth.  Water can save lives, water can take lives.  

For the Practice Peacemaking Day I learned about carrying water.  Most of us walk into a kitchen or bathroom, turn the faucet on and KNOW that hot or cold water will gush our.  As much as we want, whenever we want.  

My task was to carry a 5 gallon jug of water one-tenth of a mile. At points along the way, poster told four different stories about the paths people take to get water.  My storyline followed a mother who had to make a choice each day, go for the water herself or send her daughter.

If the mother went, that meant she had fewer hours in the day to work at her many family duties.  If the daughter went, she would miss school that day.  What a choice! 

About halfway around the course a volunteer placed a round red sticker on my arm.  “That’s a mosquito bite,” she said.  “At the end of the course, you will need to be checked to see if you have malaria.”  This was a way to introduce people to the ELCA Malaria Campaign, which, by the way, we have already begun at WHLC.  

At the 3/4 mark, we had to climb some stairs with the water jug to simulate uneven terrain.  Then rounding the corner toward home, the sign informed me that I had fallen and now should drag my foot to indicate a leg injury.

With a few last steps, I completed the journey.  The final sign informed me that a typical trip to get water would be 2 miles or more, 20 times my tiny trip.  Oh, and I forgot to tell you that the 5 gallon jug weighed 41 pounds.  Ouch, it was very hard to carry.

As part of our offering, this Youth Gathering Group gave $250.00 to the 100 Wells Project.  The totals from each Synod are being tracked all week.  I’m excited to hear how much will be raised.  

The power of water is still being demonstrated here in New Orleans today.  Our service project was delayed for 3 hours due to torrential rain and street flooding.  Our group was wishing we could sent this storm to Iowa, and the group we worked with today from Ohio, had the same thought for their parched state.  I wonder how the power of water will change people’s lives tomorrow?  I pray that we can make our goal of 100 Wells and start to raise funds for the next 100.  

Peace, y’all. 

Pastor Robin.

Youth Gathering Reflections - Day 1

I'm in New Orleans with a group of 16 youth & adults from Windsor Heights Lutheran Church; the congregation I serve in Des Moines, IA.  I invited our group participants the change to offer their reflections throughout the week on koinonia.



The bus ride started with a walk across the street to the Kum-n-Go to get nail polish remover for Kirsten...they didn't have any.

We then loaded the bus and headed to the back and got situated, then we left for New Orleans, LA.  It start out with Megan being really hot.  Then we met some interesting people sitting in the seats in front of us.  They seemed most interested in our friend, Petir.  We attempted to sleep on the bus as we drove through the night.

Then we arrived at the Convention Center, which caused a major Chex Mix situation.  (Don't ask)  The adults went to orientation while we went into the huge Interaction Center.  While in there we saw Allison and Caitlyn from our church, who are volunteering with the Gathering.  We went to play mini-golf, but quickly noticed that mini-golf was something we weren't the best at.

From there, we went to our hotel to check in.  While waiting for an hour to get our room keys, we played spoons and other card games.  After putting our stuff in our rooms we took the trolly and walked to Dooky Chase, where we ate lunch.  We learned that the founder was the inspiration for "The Princess and the Frog"!  We had a delicious meal of authentic New Orleans food, laughter and conversation.  The walls were covered in various art pieces collected over the years, all very native to the culture of New Orleans.  Walking back, we felt with our skin color and a big group, we definately look like tourists.

Parts of New Orleans look renovated and new, while some places distinctly show the damage of hurricanes, along with the large poverty here in the city.  The southern accent has been fun to listen to, along with all the different pronunciations of "New Orleans".

We are back at the hotel now, relaxing and getting ready for the Superdome tonight.  We are all very excited and can't wait for the fun to begin.

     ~ Julia, Becca, Emily, & Kirsten

Back to the Crescent City

I’m headed to New Orleans to spend the week with 35,000+ people for the ELCA Youth Gathering.  I have the privilege of leading a group of 11 youth and 5 adults from Windsor Heights Lutheran Church.  We’re traveling on a charter bus with participants from Zion (Muscatine), Shepherd of the Cross (Muscatine), and Gloria Dei (Iowa City) Lutheran Churches. 

For the next few days, the folks from WHLC and I will be posting our group’s experiences from the Gathering here on koinonia.  A few quick-hit items to mention before we get too far into the week…

• ·      In addition to the 16 participants attending the Gathering from WHLC, our congregation has 4 additional people serving as volunteers who are working behind the scenes for this event.  (Dwight DuBois with Grand View University, Hannah Parker working the ropes course with Luther College students, and Caitlyn Reinders and Allison Ullestad working the 80,000 sq. ft. sports portion of the Practice Peacemaking Interaction Center.)

• ·      There are 933 youth and adults attending the Gathering from the SE Iowa Synod – the third largest synod group. 

• ·      Each of the 35,000+ participants will complete at least 4 hours of service projects around the greater New Orleans area.

• ·      Speakers I’m most excited about – Shane Claiborne, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and Yeheil Curry.

• ·      Musicians I’m most excited about – Lost And Found, Rachel Kurtz, and AGAPE.

• ·      The Gathering making digital strides by making the Guidebook and an interactive map available as a smartphone app.  Super helpful. 

On Shepherds and Flocks

The job of pastor is becoming increasingly difficult.

Pastors and seminary students are encouraged to establish healthy boundaries with the congregation and avoid workaholic tendencies, only to enter into congregations that wish (even expect) the clergy person to function more like ubiquitous über-pastor of yesteryear.

Add to this dynamic, most mainline churches are declining in membership, worship attendance, and financial resources.  In many circumstances, the pastor becomes the scape goat for the great shrinkage that is taking place.

"If only my pastor preached more relevant / compelling / understandable sermons..."

"If only my pastor made more house calls..."

"If only my pastor had a more engaging personality..."

"If only my pastor spent more time in the office..."

"If only my pastor spent less time in the office..."

It's no wonder why 1,500 pastors leave the ministry every month.  [source]

There are many reasons why I don't feel called to serve as a pastor (even though I feel called to serve the church as a lay person)...and one of the biggest reasons is that congregations are becoming increasingly destructive to clergy.

I came across a fascinating Patheos article that addresses these, and other, concerns about the state of the clergy / congregation relationship. It's an excellent read for anyone affiliated with a church at some level.  There are a lot of grim stats from various denominations that I found to be particularly intriguing.

It is, in most cases, the job of pastor to care for the institutional needs of the congregation (programming, worship, executive-level decisions, etc.) and the personal needs of its members (counseling, hospital visits, birthday greetings, anniversaries of the death of loved ones, etc.).

I wonder, though, by comparison...

...how many people in a congregation see it as their duty to care for their pastor's personal and professional well-being?

I'm curious what would happen if more church members took it upon themselves to pray for their pastor...offer their time and talents to helping the pastor with tasks...advocate for their pastor when fellow parishoners are being "mean sheep".  How might our pastors and our congregations change for the better if more sheep assumed the task of caring for the shepherds?