View from Lake Chataqua Lutheran Camp

There was a great post yesterday on the God’s Politics blog that reflected on a sermon delivered by Rob Bell (Mars Hill pastor, the NOOMA guy). While the post talks a lot about confession and guilt, I thought it was the reflections on how we understand sin that were the most interesting. Here’s a sample from Bell’s sermon:

Confession is admission, recognition, declaration, and agreement that we have participated in the wrong order of things — in ways that don’t further the Shalom of God. And then we repent and say we want to return to the order that God wants.

You can read the rest of the post here, or download the sermon here.

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Registration is still up and running for both Affirmation of Baptism Festivals (October 24th, Philadelphia and November 14th, Gettysburg. Find out more and register here on the TEY web site.

The 2009 Crossroads Event community

Three weeks of TEY programs, the Youth Gathering in New Orleans, the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, and several weeks spent at camps and the like…it’s been a busy summer for a lot of us. And just as it is for most of you, the semester is getting underway here at Gettysburg and Philadelphia Seminaries. Before we jump too bravely into the unknown, I was reminded of a pretty awesome thing that happened at Churchwide Assembly that might not have gotten as much attention as other items.

Changes in the ELCA’s constitution were proposed and approved that set benchmarks and mandates that will help to open the doors for greater voice in Churchwide leadership for youth and young adults. This is of course a great thing for those of us who have been witness to the spirit in action amongst the youthful church, even in the midst of a body that is statistically growing older quickly. It is important though not to rest on this long, for as a post from a friend of mine reflects, changes like this do not mean the spirit is done working. In fact they often signal that the hard work has just begun:

We do need to work together, we do need to work smarter and faster, we do need to feel a deep sense of urgency that God is calling us to something new and we need to get on with it. We need to move outside of our understanding of where youth can serve, move outside of our silos and move to gather around the table, together. This opportunity is one not to be missed and we want to work with you to see that once we have youth and young adults in leadership roles that we do all we can to uplift and sustain their many gifts.

You can read the rest of this address to the Bishops here.

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Registration is up and running for the 2009 Affirmation of Baptism Festivals. Go here for more information, and here to register. Keep an eye on this blog for up-to-date info on the planning and preparation for these events.