- Ms Nicole Newmann
- Ms Christine Shander ( participant at Workshop Wittenberg)
"It has been a blessing to join the 140 young reformers gathered for Workshop Wittenberg. We are gathered to celebrate the fact we are a church of possibility and to share our experiences, struggles and hopes through our various languages and cultural backgrounds.
Together we are experiencing the Pentecost. In the past week, we have talked, laughed, danced, prayed, worshiped, and shared meals and traditions with one another. We speak with broken second languages, translators and universal hand gestures. We are very different from one another but we are united as Lutherans “freed by God’s love to change the world”. We have gone from being strangers to sharing our personal faith journeys, discussing what it means for us to be young adult Lutherans, and sharing the burdens our communities face back home."
Project: "Reclaiming, Reviving, Rethinking, Renewing Faith for Millennial’s"
"The ELCA, among other American churches, has struggled with a significant decrease in young adult membership and activity. While ELCA has opportunities for young adults to engage there is a need for deepened relationships and leadership development before young people engage with those opportunities. This project will walk along side young adults as they get the tools to be confident and engaged leaders. Other denominations have developed ministry activities and fellowship opportunities that attract young adults. This project would give a distinctly Lutheran presence both online and in the local congregations and synods for young adults to connect with one another, while engaging Lutheran theology and faith. The final layer of this project encourages young adults to claim their Lutheran identity and connect with opportunities in the broader church.
This is a leadership development tool for a cadre of 20 young adults from the over 65 ELCA synods to engage in critical conversations using online platforms and social media. As this cohort deepens in their own faith and understating of critical issues facing our church, we will use a train the trainer model to prepare them to engage not only other young adults, their synods through synod assembly and the broader ELCA. We are paying special attention to the recruitment of a cohort that is largely woman, people of color and those under the age of 30."
