For a complete list of Speakers from the Gathering, click on http://www.elca.org/YouthGathering/GatheringDetails/SpeakersMusicians/Speakers/
For all of the videos about the Gathering, click on https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD2BE6D47D7169CB5
For all of the nights from Ford Field on one page, click on http://livestream.com/elca/gathering
Speakers
Wednesday July 15th
The Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton was elected to serve a six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh. Bishop Eaton served as pastor for congregations in Ohio and as bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod from 2006 until her election as presiding bishop. Her experience in local ministry and issues of global concern reflects the ELCA’s commitment to working as a partner and influencing across denominations, faiths and organizations as a church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.
Mikka McCracken, a South Korean adoptee and life-long Lutheran, lives in Chicago and serves as a program director for ELCA World Hunger. Mikka believes it’s possible to end poverty and hunger and that the church plays an important role. Mikka has worked with the ELCA Justice for Women program, advocates for gender justice and serves on The Lutheran World Federation International Council. Mikka enjoys recreational running, original movie music scores, the great outdoors and good, vegetarian food.
The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the dean of Duke University Chapel and Associate Professor of the Practice of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School. Named one of the 20 outstanding black ministers under the age of 20 by the African American Pulpit, Luke is a passionate teacher, preacher and writer with degrees in music and theology. He has authored two books, “Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching” and “Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope.” In 2014, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College for his ethical and spiritual leadership in the academy, church and broader society.
Thursday July 16th
Karis Ailabouni recently graduated from Valparaiso University with a degree in music, psychology and French. Eager for a transformative, international service experience that would deepen her sense of identity, faith and global awareness, Karis served in Madagascar for a year with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program. The year of service helped Karis discern her call to move to Washington, D.C., and intern at various global development nonprofits and take steps to make a difference in God’s world.
Eric Barreto is a professor at Luther Seminary and the author of “Ethnic Negotiations: The Function of Race and Ethnicity in Acts 16.” Eric is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and hosts a monthly podcast of EnterTheBible.org. These days he is working on a book on the theology of the ethnicity of Acts, and how it might shape biblical imagination around diversity in churches today. Eric loves great food, the recent TV renaissance, traveling, and time with his wife, Holley, and two beautiful children.
The Rev. Alexia Salvatierra has been a national leader in areas of poverty and immigration for more than 20 years, including co-founding the National Evangelical Table. From 2000 to 2011, Alexia was the Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) – beginning as the director of CLUE in Los Angeles and then as the first CLUE-CA director. As a Lutheran pastor she has worked to respond to the crisis of poverty by joining low-wage workers in their struggle for a living wage, health insurance, fair working conditions and a voice in the decisions that affect them. Under Alexia’s leadership, CLUE-CA became known for its young leaders’ project, the New Sanctuary Movement (in which congregations in 37 cities around the country accompanied immigrant workers and their families facing deportation), and the “Our Children” project in Orange County California.
Friday July 17th
Rani Abdulmasih began his career as a synthetic chemist before being called as a mission developer and pastor to one of the only Arabic speaking Lutheran churches in the ELCA. Rani is a respected leader in interfaith dialogue in the Detroit area. He is a board member of the Middle East Peace Civic Forum and is a member of BRIDGES (Building Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance Sensitivity) established to strengthen the relationship between the Arab American community and the federal government. He is the recipient of the Building Bridges award for emphasizing the importance of the Christian-Muslim dialogue locally and globally.
Sarah Funkhouser recently graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., with degrees in religion and cultural music. After graduating, Sarah spent one year as a full-time volunteer with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Sarah served at the Helen Keller School for the Visually Impaired and Special Education as an English language teacher’s assistant. Sarah is now back in the United States taking Arabic classes and discerning where God is calling next. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, music, crafting, and biking!
Steve Jerbi is the senior pastor of All Peoples Church, a multicultural ELCA congregation in the heart of Milwaukee. His background and passion for environmental justice and care for creation are lived out in a congregation recognized nationally for its food-justice efforts. He is a dedicated worker for justice, active in peacemaking initiatives and anti-racism work. Steve loves Batman comics, ‘90s hip hop and sushi. He, along with his wife, Jennifer, raise two grade school daughters.
Emily Scott is the founding pastor of St. Lydia’s, a dinner church in Brooklyn where worship takes place around a meal. Emily has always been interested in the connection between what we do in church and creative expressions like art and music. Most recently, the congregation of St. Lydia’s has been engaging questions of justice making, asking questions about how to bridge the various gaps that divide our communities from one another. In her neighborhood in New York City, race, class and economic differences create gulfs between neighbors. How can the church help reconnect neighborhoods, creating justice and strength?
Saturday July 18th
Kyle Larson is from Denver and tries to spend most of his time outdoors snowboarding, rock climbing, and adventuring with his chocolate Lab, Avery. Kyle grew up attending Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, was on the summer staff there for a few years, and then transitioned into the role of full-time Site and Facilities Manager a few years ago. He loves the hands-on work that his job provides, as well as being involved in ministry. Kyle spent a year in Mexico City with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program, which has played a huge role in shaping his faith and his passions.
Veronika Scott is the founder and CEO of The Empowerment Plan in Detroit. The organization began with a single idea: design a coat specifically for people who are homeless. That idea has now transformed into a system of empowerment for people who are homeless to learn how to produce coats, giving them an opportunity to earn money, find a place to live, and gain independence for themselves and their family. Veronika is the youngest recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award from the JFK Library Foundation and Harvard University. Veronika has been named one of CNN’s 10 Visionary Women in the World and is the winner of the 2014 DVF People’s Voice Award. She has also been named a 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur.
Rozella White is the ELCA Program Director for Young Adult Ministry. She is a trained and certified youth director and chaplain. Rozella is also a disaster chaplain with the National Interfaith Disaster Network and is a 2014-2015 fellow with the Beatitudes Society, a national leadership development organization that identifies, resources and connects young entrepreneurial faith leaders who are creating new models for vibrant church life and the pursuit of social justice. Rozella blogs and speaks about her experience with depression as a young black woman of faith with the hopes of encouraging others to seek radical self-love and embrace their whole selves.
Marian Wright Edelman is the founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund and has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans her entire professional life. A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, Edelman was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar and directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Miss. She has received over a hundred honorary degrees and many awards, including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award), and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings. She is married to Peter Edelman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. They have three sons and four grandchildren.
Musicians
Wednesday July 15th
AGAPE* (David Scherer) has inspired youth from Brooklyn to Bosnia with his relational ministry “Hip Hop Outreach.” Combining rapping, dancing and storytelling with his seminary training, AGAPE* connects with his listeners in a way that they really “get it.” While AGAPE* enjoys rocking football stadiums, his real passion is performing in church basements and helping people discover their “Lutheran Swag.”
Larry Callahan and Selected of God have been together for more than 10 years, bridging the gap of hopelessness, unemployment and the economic downturn with the love of God and song. With some 22 singers, the choir has traveled throughout the United States and Canada ministering the gospel, the good news of Christ. The notoriety from their exposure in the 2011 Chrysler 200 commercial garnered them many opportunities in television and film. They were with us in New Orleans in 2012, and now they are back to welcome us to their home, Detroit.
Lost and Found is a band (albeit a small band) made up of Michael Bridges and George Baum. They have been playing together since high school and have a unique musical style called “speedwood” (speed metal on wood instruments), or sometimes “acoustic thrash.”
Royal Tailor is a Grammy-nominated band whose songs stylistically span as broadly as the four bandmates’ influences, from hip-hop to pop, R&B, EDM, rock and gospel. The band parallels its musicality with a fervent focus on the life-changing message that anyone can change no matter where they are, and in turn, make a difference in the world and positively impact culture. Royal Tailor’s songs will move feet, hearts and minds, and encourage listeners to get closer to both God and their community.
Thursday July 16th
Bobby Siegfried is a singer/songwriter/musician with skills well beyond his years. Bobby can’t be stereotyped into one style of music. He is equally comfortable delivering a hard-driving rock song on the electric guitar as he is playing a soft reflective ballad on the piano or a catchy crowd pleaser on the acoustic guitar. Bobby lives what he writes and feels a deep sense of responsibility to the listeners and participants he serves. Spreading faith, love, and the phenomenal grace of God is the foundation of all his musical endeavors.
Blanca is a Puerto Rican born American Contemporary Christian musician. After years of wrapping her vocals around the intense and infectious beats of Group 1, Blanca’s voice moves center stage on her new album and the result is nothing short of uplifting.Powerhouse vocalist, Blanca, is set to release her new lead single, Who I Am, which takes her signature sound to a new and distinct soul/pop, hip-hop vibe, indicating a different artistic direction.
Friday July 17th
Rachel Kurtz is a Minnesota-based singer/songwriter whose distinctive voice infuses her organic instrumentation to wash over and through the listener. Her subtle blend of style reveals folk-pop sensibilities with a healthy dose of soul. Audiences across the country resonate with Rachel’s music. It gets inside of people, calls them friend, and lets them know they are not alone.
Saturday July 18th
Trip Lee is an acclaimed rapper, author, pastor and Brag Ministry founder. In 2013, he formally became a pastor after years of interning, and the experience proved to be creatively and personally driving for him. He uses his various platforms to point to and honor God, while spreading heartfelt messages, relaying invaluable lessons, and celebrating life in a palatable, potent form.
Skillet was originally formed in Memphis, Tenn., when two of the founding band members took the advice of their pastor to form their own band as a side project. Coming together from separate bands and different styles of rock, they decided to name the experiment Skillet. The name is still somewhat of a joke among the band members. With a blend of heavy electric guitar, keyboards and strong melodies, Skillet resembles a heavy-metal band but has a Christian message. The band's musical style has been described as a fusion of rock, Christian rock, Christian metal, alternative rock, hard rock, nu metal, and symphonic metal.
No comments:
Post a Comment