THE FIRST 15 FRONT INTRO...IV FIRST 15...V XIII JOURNAL... XIV XVI. Thursday Bear Burdens Friday Build Bridges Saturday Break Chains Sunday Bring Hope

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3 THE FIRST 15 FRONT INTRO...IV FIRST 15...V XIII Thursday Bear Burdens Friday Build Bridges Saturday Break Chains Sunday Bring Hope JOURNAL... XIV XVI

4 INTRODUCTION The triennial ELCA Youth Gathering is a unique place of faithbased meaning making and discipleship formation. 1 To that end, we encourage congregational groups to begin and end their day together dwelling in the Word. The act of beginning and ending the day dwelling in God s Word is a faith practice that helps establish an intention for the day and heightens awareness of one s identity as a follower of Jesus. The morning opportunity is called First 15 and the evening opportunity is called Final 15. The devotions are designed to help Youth Gathering participants interpret the daily text in light of the whole community s encounter with God in a particular place, Detroit, Mich. They can also be used in different contexts as resources focusing on texts from Mark s Gospel, or especially highlighting one s response to God s grace by building bridges, bearing burdens, breaking chains and bringing hope, the daily themes of the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering. 1 Jessicah Krey Duckworth, Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2013, pg. 23 IV RISE UP TOGETHER

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6 FIRST 15 THURSDAY PRAY (Use the words printed below based on your proclamation assignment for the day.) PROCLAIM STORY (Synod Day) Loving God, today we re gathering with friends from close to home. As we share our stories and grow together, remind us of how important it is to bear the burdens of new friends and old friends alike. Amen. PROCLAIM COMMUNITY (Cobo Center) Holy God, be with us today as we experience and learn to bear each other s burdens here in Detroit, in our home communities and in the world. Amen. PROCLAIM JUSTICE (Service Experience) Ever-present God, wherever we go in Detroit today, open our eyes, minds and hearts to the people and situations we encounter. We want to learn about their burdens and how we might help to bear them, so we can rise up together and work for justice and peace in all the world. Amen. Read today s text, Mark 2:1-12, aloud. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Jesus saw their faith (verse 5). Whose faith? Just the four mat carriers? All five men? What is faith? Whenever faith is mentioned in conjunction with miracles in Mark, it seems to imply perseverance and/or overcoming obstacles in order to get to Jesus. VI RISE UP TOGETHER

7 THURSDAY BEAR BURDENS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (continued) Have you ever had an opportunity to share your faith so another could overcome an obstacle and be brought into the presence of Jesus? How is bearing another s burden an act of faith? THINK ABOUT IT We often project our own definition of a burden onto others. Our first inclination might be to feel sorry for someone we perceive to be burdened, like the poor or the marginalized. We are quick to offer money to a beggar or volunteer in a soup kitchen, but disciples of Jesus don t stop there. Through our baptism we are called to strive for justice. Justice means working to undo the systems that keep people caught in poverty or working to undo the prejudices and attitudes that marginalize some people. Changing unjust systems requires acts of faith and perseverance while bearing with those who are held captive to the systems. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) O God, we find ourselves at the beginning of the first full day of the Gathering. We do not know what it will bring. Please help us to be ready for whatever it may be ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. VII

8 FIRST 15 FRIDAY PRAY (Use the words printed below based on your proclamation assignment for the day.) PROCLAIM STORY (Synod Day) Loving God, we re gathering with friends from close to home today. As we share our stories and grow together, remind us of how important it is to build bridges of understanding with new friends, and reinforce the bridges that connect us to people we already know. Amen. PROCLAIM COMMUNITY (Cobo Center) Holy God, be with us today as we learn about different ways we are called to build bridges of understanding. Help us to especially watch for ways today that we can build bridges for the benefit of all. Amen. PROCLAIM JUSTICE (Service Experience) Ever-present God, as we go out into the city of Detroit, help us to see opportunities to build bridges that lead to deeper understanding. Walk with us as we work to form relationships and celebrate the hopes and joys of the people of Detroit. Amen. Read today s text, Mark 6:47-51, aloud. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What does it mean for you to build bridges in your relationships, community, with God? What are some things that prevent us from recognizing Jesus? Building bridges is about fixing disconnections. How have you become more connected to Jesus and others here in Detroit? VIII RISE UP TOGETHER

9 FRIDAY BUILD BRIDGES THINK ABOUT IT In the text today the disciples are separated from Jesus and suffer distress. There is a message here for Mark s readers, and for us today, about Jesus power to do the miraculous. Jesus came to the disciples in their time of struggle, though at first they don t recognize him. We can be comforted knowing that just as Jesus entered the boat with the disciples, he will be with us when we are struggling or when everything seems chaotic. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) O God, we find ourselves at the beginning of another day. We do not know what it will bring. Please help us to be ready for whatever it may be. Soften our hearts and open our eyes to see your Son, Jesus, in the broken places. Give us faith to act on Jesus invitation to build bridges of understanding so your vision of justice and peace becomes a reality for all ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. IX

10 FIRST 15 SATURDAY PRAY (Use the words printed below based on your proclamation assignment for the day.) PROCLAIM STORY (Synod Day) Loving God, we re gathering to worship and learn with friends from near home today. Help us to envision ways we can work together to break the chains of fear and uncertainty when we return home. Amen. PROCLAIM COMMUNITY (Cobo Center) Holy God, be with us today as we learn more about the world around us. We pray that you give us the courage to break the chains of judgment and oppression that keep us bound. Amen. PROCLAIM JUSTICE (Service Experience) Ever-present God, be with us as we serve today in Detroit. Help us to break the chains that hold us captive to only what we know or have heard about Detroit and its citizens and be open to meeting you in and through new people and new places. Amen. Read today s text, Mark 15:33-39, aloud. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Do you hear people talk about Jesus story like it is a formula for a happy ending? Rising up together is not about having power over someone or something, but having power with another. What does that mean to you? How do you apply that to your faith? Does the text above change the way you will approach your Proclaim Justice day? X RISE UP TOGETHER

11 SATURDAY BREAK CHAINS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (continued) What can you point to in Detroit or at home that doesn t reflect Jesus good news? What are some of the chains that bind us and keep us from fully loving God and each other? THINK ABOUT IT There are a lot of bad things happening in the world. It doesn t take us long to think of examples. Jesus showed us how to respond to the pain and chaos we see through his death on a cross. Because of the cross, Christians respond to human despair differently. We don t try to overcome it with optimism or conquer it by exercising our power, which is our culturally conditioned response. For us, rising up means bending low, not in a placating way, but so we can be in solidarity with others. It means self-sacrificial service that bears with people while working to break the chains that keep them oppressed. It s not about rescuing another so that their story can have a happy ending, which we love, but it is about standing with them in their reality. When we turn the story of Jesus into a mere success story, we cheat ourselves out of its depth and effectively dismiss from our consciousness the people whose situation prevents them from ever achieving a happy ending. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) O God, we find ourselves at the beginning of another day. We do not know what it will bring. Please help us to be ready for whatever it may be. Amen ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XI

12 FIRST 15 SUNDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) God of hope, as we leave Detroit and the Gathering comes to a close, help us bring all the things we have learned and experienced back to our home communities our schools, our churches, our families. Be present with us as we share the hope we have seen in this place with people we meet in other places. Grant us safe travels and bless our final hours together in Detroit! Amen. Have the group open their Bibles to Mark 6: Have one of the youth read the Scripture text aloud to the group. Inform the group that the same text will be read again. This time pay special attention to any phrases, words or images that stick out to you. Have another youth read the text aloud for the group again. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What phrases, words or images were you drawn to? How will you take what you learned this week and bring hope back to your community? What are you taking home with you from your experience at the Gathering? How will your experience in Detroit impact your life when you get home? XII RISE UP TOGETHER

13 SUNDAY BRING HOPE THINK ABOUT IT Today we will hear about Jesus who is able to feed 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish. With quantity enough to feed only a few, Jesus performs this miracle. Here Jesus meets earthly needs by feeding the crowds and continues now to offer himself as a holy meal. Trusting that our daily bread and even our lives are in God s hands isn t easy, especially as we grow older and have more responsibility. God has compassion for every member of the crowd, and we are blessed and invited to be a part of that generosity. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) Gracious God, you have called us to be the hands and feet of Christ s presence in the world. Give us the courage to take that call seriously. We know that your love has flooded the world, and we want to be the people who express it. We ask the Holy Spirit to use us to create a new culture in partnership with you ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XIII

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