The Gathering
The main reason we went to St. Louis was to volunteer at the ELCA National Youth Gathering. The Gathering is held every 3 years in a major US city. Gathering 2000, or G2K as it was commonly called was held in two separate 5 day sessions, the end of June through early July. We volunteered during the second session. Approximately 18,000 youth descended upon the city that week. The vision of the Gathering was to "Create a safe place for youth to experience the community of Christ and be encouraged to respond to God's call to service in the world." From the comments we heard, the Gathering was successful in it's mission. Participants had a great time and took back memories and impressions that will last a lifetime.
We got involved when our friends Corey and Brandy asked if we would like to help. Brandy's mom was on the Local Arrangements Volunteers committee and was looking for volunteers. We decided it would be fun to go with our best friends and help with this event. Stacie and Brandy had attended the Gathering in Dallas as youths themselves and thought it would be fun to give back.
We worked in a variety of different volunteer roles while we were there. The first couple days were spent helping in information booths. We assisted with registration, provided directions, sold metrolink tickets and distributed backpacks. Our first day was orientation and helping with early registration. The second day was a longer day - we worked around 12 hours each helping in all the ways previously mentioned.
Bob and Corey helped one day with the Habitat for Humanity ride. Each afternoon, a busload of kids an hour were taken to a Habitat site in East St. Louis to assist with the construction of 4 homes there. We provided them with some history of East St. Louis and information on what to expect once they got to the site.
Another day, Bob and Corey went to the History Museum and Historical Society while Stacie and Brandy went to the Old Cathedral and the Catheral Basilica of St. Louis. Our main responsibility on these trips was to make sure everyone who was supposed to got on and off the bus at the various stops.
Every evening at 7:00 p.m. was a worship service. The services we went to were outstanding, highlighted with a lot of wonderful music. On Friday evening, we were blessed to see Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa speak. It was a truly inspiring speech and was a highlight of the trip. He delivered a message of forgiveness, using the example of his native South Africa as a prime example. In his country, a revolution had occurred as the system of apartheid broke down and all people were given equal access to participate in government there. The revolution occurred wi thout a violent revolution. Not to say South Africa was without violence, but the social change that occurred there happened without a major show of force or armed uprising. Very seldom in the history of the world has this happen. After the new government took power, they did not seek retribution on the whites who had been in control. Instead, they preached forgiveness. It was a truly amazing presentation and we feel very fortunate to have been there to see it.
For more information on the Gathering, visit the official Gathering site: www.elca.org/gathering/main.html