Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Coos Bay, Oregon

We're Home!

2009-07-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

From Pastor Jon

3:00 AM on Monday Morning, July 27 we pulled into CB/NB. The trip home went very well. Every plane was on time, every connection went well.

Our trip was a great success. Not only did we complete our mission in New Orleans to bring the presence of Jesus Christ as we gathered, but we grew together as a group. As one of the group leaders, I saw us mature as the week went on. I was especially excited to see how well our Intern, Katie Pals, fit in with both the youth and adults. I can't wait for you to meet her.

On Saturday Evening at the last Dome event, we had a special guest. Mayor Ray Nagin came and addressed the gathering. He talked about a time when Maya Angelou came to New Orleans and spoke about rainbows. She said something like, "The best time to see rainbows is the time between the day and the night, more at dusk." Mayor Nagin said, in the midst of the darkness our city has faced, he saw a rainbow in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He saw it in the form of all the colored T-shirts the youth wore throughout the city. He also told our Presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson, that this Dome (the Superdome) represents a lot of pain since Katrina. But with all of us there, it was transformed into life and hope once again. He thanked us for all our service work.

Bishop Hanson, also read a letter from President Obama to be read to the gathering thanking us for our service.

The whole trip was a big step for the people of Gloria Dei. I can't wait to share our experiences and reflections in our Stockholder's meeting. A date and time will be coming soon.

Thanks for your generosity and prayers.

Jon

Day 4 - Service Project Day

2009-07-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

From Pastor Jon

Woke up early, had breakfast in my room.

Left the Hotel at 7:00 AM to get to our bus for the service project.

We arrived at our bus with plenty of time to spare.

We found out once we are on the bus that we were going to St. Bernard Parish to Nunez Community College. It is one of 2 community colleges in the area. They were victims of Hurricane Katrina. All their ground level buildings were flooded up to 10 feet. The only Building that was somewhat preserved was the building you see before you.

This is the main student building housing the library. During the storm, the Chancellor stayed with the building to make sure people were safe and looters didn't ransack the place. They were there for 5 days before anyone came to rescue them. The first people to arrive were not the local authorities, not FEMA, not the National Guard, but Canadian Mounties from Canada. Once everyone was safe, the National Guard finally showed up. There is not a whole lot of respect for the National Government as a result.

On the way there, we saw many abandoned buildings waiting to be restored. It tugged deeply at my heart.

Our project was to continue to help them rebuild and restore. Our projects were moving Library shelves and furniture from the second floor back down to the newly restored first floor.

Half our group also worked on the grounds doing landscaping, bark chips, and cutting back overgrown vegetation on the next building to be restored.

These folks at the college thanked us a million times. They invited us into the Auditorium for photos of the devastation and Q&A. It was very helpful. They were so glad we came. Samaritan's Purse (Franklin Graham's Charity) spent much time there after the storm doing the same things we did.

In our debriefing, the Service project was a high for much of our group. The thankfulness of the people and their stories were a highlight for me.

In the evening, the Mass Gathering in the Dome was powerful. Viola Vaughn from Senegal, West Africa was our most beloved speaker. She started an organization called 10,000 Girls. It all started when a 3rd grade girl came to her house every day for 3 weeks telling her that she was about to fail school. Viola said we need to talk to your parents. The girl's parents felt like their daughter wasn't intelligent enough. Viola thought otherwise. Viola began to tutor the girl. Pretty soon, she brought three of her friends to school. Then they brought their friends. Viola couldn't afford the school supplies to run a good school. So some of the girls who had access to American Television said, "In America, the girls sell cookies. They asked if they could do that too. She taught them how to bake cookies and the sold them door to door. The made enough money for the school. Currently, the girls run the operation. 1,300 are in the school today. The only adult is Viola. The older kids are the teachers.

It's bed time. Everyone is in their rooms sleeping right now. I am falling asleep myself.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

P.S. We were interviewed by www.neworleans.com. Check it out.

Day 3 - Gathering at the Superdome

2009-07-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

From Pastor Jon

Wednesday, July 22

The opening of the gathering was tonight in the Superdome. We got into the dome early to get a seat on the main floor. Our youth had a great time participating in the conga lines and dancing in the aisles. The House Band began at 6:30 PM singing worship and praise songs. They got the Dome rockin'. The assembly began with Bishop Mark Hanson riding in a bath tub with wheels on it (Baptism was the theme). He rode up the stage and greeted the screaming crowd of 36,000 youth and adults. He opened with prayer and reminded us of our call to serve and share Christ's love given to us in our baptism.

Our speaker was Liz McCartney. She was the 2008 CNN Hero of the Year. She started a ministry called the St. Bernard Project. The grew out of a trip she took with her boyfriend shortly after Katrina to come and help people in need. Once she was here, she couldn't leave. She started the St. Bernard Project. This project rebuilds homes quickly so people can re-settle back in their old neighborhoods.

I got emotional a few times watching our youth engage in the speakers and music. Chelsy said, "This is one of the best days of my life."

We must get some shut-eye. We are doing our service project in the morning.

New Orleans Times-Picayune article

2009-07-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

There's a front-page article in the local New Orleans newspaper about the Youth Gathering. Click on link below to read it!

Click here for Article on Youth Gathering

Day 2 - Tuesday's Adventures

2009-07-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

From Pastor Jon

Tuesday was a full day. We did the tourist thing. The gathering starts this evening in the Superdome.

Everyone's healthy, our group works well together, and we are having a lot of fun.

We started the day with a healthy walk to the French Quarter for beignet's and Chickory Coffee. It was one of the best combinations I have ever had. Powdered sugar all over us. See the photos.

Shortly after, we got Muffaletta sandwiches. This will be a regular stop for me.

We went to the Laura Plantation on a tour.

It was good for us. We got to see other parts of the Missippi River and the life outside of Orleans Parish proper. The small towns look very much like Iowa or Nebraska farm communities. The sugar plantations are very interesting. We also learned much about the life here in the early 1800's and about Creole life.

Also, it is refreshing to see a bustling port city.

Our group is very thankful. We wrote out Post Cards to the people we know who bought stock in our youth or contributed in a way we were able to recall. We appreciate your prayers.

I feel so blessed to be a part of this congregation.

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

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Tuesday July 21, 2009 10:57 PM

Hello everyone, it’s Laura,

We had a great and full day today. In short, walked a lot, sweated a lot, ate a lot, and ate some more.

We started with a walk to the French Quarter, where we experienced our first scam artist experience (Chelsy, Christie, and I got a ticket for looking at the boys too much :P).

We walked down Canal Street to get there, and found out that “walk”/“don’t walk” signs where not very common. We finally got the hang of the laid back system of walking just when you can. We ate at the famous Café Du Monde for breakfast. We had many beignets (French donuts), and frozen coffees, leaving with powdered sugar covering our clothes.

Walking through a flea market, almost all of the girls bought Mardi Gras masks, and gawked at the alligator heads. Haha. We three girls all got matching shirts for our dads, took pictures as cartoon pirates, and went into pretty much every gift shop in the French Quarter. We plan on going back and dragging the guys along. As we walked to our planned tour for the day, Christie and Chelsy were drawn to the street performers being “statues”, and gave tips to the talented performers. How sweet :P.

We stopped for mufulettas (sandwiches that are popular down here) at a quaint little deli, and I laughed as Katie cringed and picked off her olives. Haha.

Once on the tour bus, everyone sighed when they realized that it would be nicely air-conditioned on the hour and fifteen minute ride to the Laura Sugar Plantation. That’s right, the LAURA Plantation!! I obviously thought it was very awesome that the powerful and strong woman who ran the plantation for a long time shared her name with me. They actually have a Laura month there! It’s in August, and people named Laura get a basket and get the tour for free! That sounded really cool… *hint hint* you guys ;) not saying you should send me back here next month or anything :P.. The tour was very pleasant and empowering to women. I bought a book about the history of the plantation that is a compilation of the memoires of Laura herself (1861-1963). We were given fans to use for the tour that were MUCH appreciated. Louisiana sure is muggy!! After I got many souvenirs in the Laura gift shop, we departed for the hotel in the bus where we played one-card poker(for fun) very enthusiastically. We didn’t ever make it back to the hotel because we got distracted by all of the cool gift shops with air conditioning, voodoo dolls, and stereotypical t-shirts. We split up for dinner. Aurora, Eileen, Katie, and Al had a traditional “N’awlins” meal of gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee and the like…… Pastor Jon and the rest of us had Subway, Popeye’s Chicken (which was fantastic) and McDonalds. Aren’t we adventurous? Most of us headed back for the hotel, but Pastor, Chelsy, Christie, and I decided to go adventuring. We hopped on a trolley and rode the entire way to the end where we got off to buy assorted goods at a market for breakfast. It was an entertaining ride watching the fascinating people of New Orleans come and go. We stumbled back onto the train to come back with a huge pack of water bottles, two watermelons, milk, cereal, and a lot of things that we did not start off with, atop our day’s French Quarter treasures. On the way back a guy with a VERY interesting accent (Chelsy and I debated about what it was exactly) interacted with us. All of us tried to hurry up to our rooms to relax and end our day sweaty, piled with bags, and exhausted, only to be ushered into the lobby to play a game of “I Don’t Buy That” with the boys. We ended our day writing postcards to all of our sponsors (Thanks again all J) in the courtyard and are now departing for the comfort of our rooms. Hope you all are having as much fun as we are. Goodnight, write later!

Day 1 - Safe and Sound

2009-07-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

From Pastor Jon...

We made it! The trip went as smooth as chocolate silk pie. We have a great group. Everyone has been where they are supposed to be when they're supposed to be there.

Picked up Intern Katie in Florence right on time. Had a great conversation with Al, Aurora, Sean, Katie, and myself on the way to PDX.

When we arrived at PDX there was a lot of traffic. As we pulled up, like Moses parting the red sea, three parking places opened up in front of Southwest Air. Got checked in and through security without a hitch.

Every flight was on time.

I had a great black bean and cheese burrito in Phoenix at the Blue Burrito.

Our luggage was all there.

Our shuttle was waiting with our name on it. 14 passenger for 14 people.

We got to the Hotel and all of our room keys were organized by name and grouping.

We got into our rooms and met for debriefing, sharing our highs and lows. Lots of highs, and very few lows.

The only hitch of the trip was with the Pizza we ordered. It took an hour plus. Our group cheered when the pizza person came in.

Tuesday we are heading out to get some special donuts and chickory coffee. Have a plantation tour at noon.

My faith attributes our great trip to all your prayers. Thank you.

Day 1 - Up, Up & Away!

2009-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaaaannnnd they're off! Just got a call from Pastor Jon and they made it to the airport fine and were on the plane waiting for take-off. After a plane change in Phoenix (where the temperature is supposed to be 110 degrees today...let's hope they stay in the air conditioned terminal!) they should be arriving at Louis Armstrong International Airport about 9:00 p.m. tonight New Orleans time. They should expect temperatures in New Orleans to be in the low 90's during the day and only getting down to the low 70's at night. It's going to be a sweaty trip! I'll post more as updates come in!

2009-07-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Gloria Dei's Daily Gathering Schedule

Monday, July 20

4:15 AM Meet at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church to Load up
4:45 AM Leave for PDX
5:50 AM Pick up Intern Katie in Florence @ 7/11
6:00 AM Continue on to PDX
9:35 AM Arrive at PDX Southwest Air Group Check-in
11:35 AM Get on SW Flight 2439 to Phoenix AZ
3:55 PM Get on SW Flight 3847 to New Orleans
9:00 PM Arrive in New Orleans "Yeah"
9:30 PM Hop on "Airport Shuttle"
10:15 PM Check into Hotel Le Cirque
10:15-11:15 Free time after you are into your rooms
11:15 Meet in Lobby for Pizza, debriefing, and Tuesday's schedule
12:00 AM Lights Out

Tuesday, July 21

Sleep in
Breakfast on own (always be in groups of 3 or more with an Adult)
10:00 AM Adult's meet in the Lobby
10:45 AM Gather in Lobby to meet for Laura Plantation Tour
11:45 Gather at Grayline Tour ticket office on Toulouse St @ the Mississippi
River French Quarter
4:30 Arrive Back at the ticket office
5:00 PM Get dinner in French Quarter
6:30 PM Explore the city on the way back to Hotel

Wednesday, July 22

7:00-11:30 Hotel Free Time or Flex time with an adult
6:45 - 8:30 Breakfast in Pastor Jon's Room
8:30 Three Adults go to Morial Convention Center for Training.
11:30 Lunch as a group @Emeril's
1:00 Check out Interaction Center (other half of adults get training)
3:00 PM make way to Hotel, get changed
4:00 Walk to Superdome for Tailgate Party (Food Vendors/Music)
5:30 Get into dome early to try to get ground level seating
6:30 House band
7:00 Opening of the Youth Gathering
8:45 - 10:45 Community Life (various Hotels)
11:00 Group Time Meet in Pastor Jon's Room
12:00 AM Lights out

Thursday, July 23

Service Project Day
Breakfast at 6:45 AM in Pastor Jon's Room
7:15 AM Meet in Lobby Leave for Dome to hop on Bus
7:45 Arrive at Launch Site (Superdome)
Get on Bus number 28
Our project will be Learn and Play #98
After project go to hotel for showers change of clothes
2-4 Interaction Center or Flex Time
Dinner on own
6:00 Leave for Dome from Hotel Lobby
8:45 - 10:45 Community Life (Various Hotels)
11:00 Group time Meet in Pastor Jon's Room
12:00 AM Lights Out

Friday, July 24

6:45 AM Breakfast at PJ's
7:15 Meet in Lobby
7:30 Hip Hop Worship Sheraton New Orleans
8:30 - 12:30 Flex Time
12:30 Meet in Lobby
1:00 Learning Time at Morial Convention Center
2:00 to 4:00 Interaction Center
4:00 - 5:30 Flex Time
5:30 Meet in Lobby to go to Dome
6:30 - 8:30 Dome
8:45 - 10:45 Community Life (Various Hotels)
11:00 Group time Meet in Pastor Jon's Room
12:00 AM Lights Out

Saturday, July 25

6:45 - 7:10 Breakfast in PJ's (Gray T-Shirt)
7:15 Meet in Lobby to Go to Worship
7:30 Worship as a group at Morial Convention Center
8:30 Our Group Interaction Time
10:00 Go to Audubon Aquarium (Flexible)
Lunch on own in groups of 3 or 4 with an adult
2:00 Meet in Hotel Lobby (Go to interaction Center)
4:30 Go out for a nice group Dinner
Head to Dome
7:00 - 8:30 Mass Gathering at the Dome
8:45 - 10:45 Community Life
11:00 Meet in Pastor Jon's Room
12:00 AM Lights out

Sunday, July 26

7:00 to 7:40 Breakfast in PJ's (No Shirt)
7:45 meet in Lobby to Go to Dome
8:00 Get into dome early for good seating
9:00 Warm-up with house band
9:30 Closing Worship and Eucharist (Sunday offering Collected)
11:30 Head back to Hotel
Lunch on own
1:20 Airport Shuttle will pick us up at the Hotel Lobby
3:55 Leave on SW 2768 to Las Vegas Arrive at 5:30
7:25 Hop on SW Flight 998 to Portland Arrive at 9:40
Get luggage and drive home
2:30 - 3:00 AM Arrive back at Gloria Dei

Coming soon....

2009-07-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Our Youth Group spent many, many months fundraising for the opportunity to attend the 2009 Jesus, Justice & Jazz Youth Gathering in New Orleans. The time has finally arrived for them to head east to The Crescent City for fellowship and some southern hospitality. They will be emailing postings that will be added to this blog on a daily basis. Stay tuned for more to come!

(photo: St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, New Orleans)