Saturday - Proclaim Community

Saturday was a fun (and HOT!) day at the Youth Gathering.  Temperatures reached 104°!  Good thing we were indoors for much of the day :-)

Saturday was our Proclaim Community Day which means the day was designed to be a day of interactive learning in the Convention Center.  Since we already covered much of the COBO Convention Center on Thursday due to our service day debacle, we took advantage of the opportunity to go and explore the Arab American National Museum.

From there we went to the Heidelberg Project.  

The Heidelberg Project is art, energy, and community.
It’s an open-air art environment in the heart of an urban community on Detroit’s East Side. Tyree Guyton, founder and artistic director, uses everyday, discarded objects to create a two block area full of color, symbolism, and intrigue. Now in its 29th year, the Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity to transform lives.

The director, Tyree Guyton, took time talk to our whole group about how God inspired him to do this!  It was an amazing one-on-one time with him.  Matt was particularly inspired and if you would like to know more about that conversation, please see Matt Pittman.

The Yellow House Guestbook

While there we found a house that, for a $1 donation, we could write anything we wanted...anywhere we wanted on the house.  See what was written and where it was written in the pictures below!

After a great morning we went to Milano Bakery...a FABULOUS place to eat.  Many of us had dessert.  If you look below, you'll see why :-)

The Dome experience was ROCKIN' as Skillet took the stage for a fantastic performance!  To watch the replay from the Saturday night dome experience, click play below.

The Speakers from Saturday included...

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.

The musicians included...

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.