California Dreaming
If I told you that there was a very specific group of Lutherans who really loved sitting in a front row at a worship service, would you believe me? TLC Youth and friends set the tone for participation at the Western States Youth Gathering.
Never before have I had an entire group of students wanting to sacrifice their free time to go walk to worship to make sure that no one took their front row seats (no one was fighting them for them anyway.) TLC Youth had a phenomenal experience in California growing in their faith, in relationships with each other and other Lutherans, and getting to experience what life could look like at California Lutheran University.
Trinity students participated in 2-3 general sessions daily, workshops on faith and learning, learning about disaster response and packing relief kits for wildfire victims, and got to spend time doing team building games and activities with members of various Lutheran Outdoor Ministries camps. The event offered a hybrid of the best parts of camp with the best parts of attending a smaller scale Youth Gathering. We heard from astronomy professors, Pastor Beth, the chaplain at Cal Lu, as well as got to hear a powerful closing sermon from Rev Dr. John Nunes, who served as the president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief before joining Cal Lu as their president. Our students took the theme of “Beyond” to heart, going above and beyond in helping others have a fantastic experience, connecting with new friends, and possibly being the most enthusiastic participants in every room. One truly meaningful moment was watching our kids intentionally sitting together for every meal, having great conversations with each other over fantastic food.
All learning and no play makes for dull youth, though, and for our extra time in California we went to In and Out, hit up Malibu and went to the beach, and then closed out our first bonus evening with so many pizzas. We got up bright and early and made the most of 12 hours at Disneyland (ask Kyler about his drum) before heading back to LAX to fly home.
In 17 years of youth ministry, this was far and away the best group of students and adults I’ve ever taken on an adventure. The entire group threw themselves fully into the experience, and made the most of every faith building opportunity, connection opportunity, and of course, having the most fun. It’s a true testament to Trinity that the church has instilled this kind of love and excitement into their kids.†
Dani Vogel
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