A Place at the Table

A reflection from Colter Sprague, 10th grade.

Thanks to Hope’s generosity, I was able to attend the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas. This was my first time to attend a youth gathering. During this week, I saw God’s love emerge in many different ways.  When we first arrived, we joined 31,000 Lutheran youth and I witnessed their compassion and support of each other even though we were complete strangers. One of the things we did in our congregation was to help weed a garden and do landscape maintenance of community members needing help. The Treasure Valley youth all cooperated and showed love towards these people we barely knew. We ate with them and talked with them and became friends in a very short time. In my opinion, I thought that was amazing that our congregation helped these people in God’s name.

On Sunday of our visit to Houston…

A reflection from Ben Miller, 10th grade.

Hope. What a fascinating concept. Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness.” Being able to see the light in the dark. During the youth gathering I listened as half a dozen people stood in front of 30,000 high school students and told us about the most embarrassing mistakes and how they fought through them using hope. Even when they lost it for the longest times. Even when they couldn’t see God. God was there to let them see the light in the dark. Whether it was physical like drug or pill abuse, mental like starving yourself because you think you will never be good enough, or emotional like letting yourself fall because of what people say. God was there to let them lean on a stable arm. To hold out the light of hope for…

Just over two years ago, I presented the dream of Hope sending youth to not one, but two youth gatherings – the 2017 Western States Youth Gathering with the theme of DREAM BIG and the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston with the theme of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. Hope captured the dream and answered the call, supporting us through our various fundraisers and buoying us in our journey with prayer. Thank you! We will never forget the experiences shared and the ways we have grown during these two summers.

It is fitting that our first night at the Gathering in Houston focused on call. It was God’s call that brought over 31,000 of us to that one specific time and place. On this first night, we heard from six speakers, including the ELCA’s Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. They shared their unique stories of God’s call in their lives. Our…