Lisa Kramme

Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

I didn’t wear gloves when I worked in my yard a couple weeks ago, planting a few geraniums, moss roses, one tomato plant, some lavender and other little white flowers that were not labeled but on the discount table at the plant sale. My hands got dirty, and I had to work to get the grime out from under my fingernails when the day was done. But it felt good. It felt good to be outside, turning the soil to loosen the hardness left by a season of waiting. It felt good to carry bags of mulch and work the rake to spread that mulch so moisture will stay where it does the most good, nourishing the young plants.

I imagine that there was probably dirt under God’s fingernails while God was working in the garden and creating this world and all the creatures that inhabit it. Anyone who is a caretaker of the earth gets dirt under their fingernails as they go about their important and vital tasks.

More than 36,000 youth and adults will be traveling to New Orleans this month to attend the National Youth Gathering of the ELCA. That number includes 915 youth and 256 adults from our Nebraska Synod! With 1,171 total Nebraskans in attendance, our Synod will be sending the third largest contingent of the 65 Synods in the ELCA. This year, more than at any other National Youth Gathering in the past, attendees will be getting their hands dirty—literally—as they work to help the city of New Orleans continue to rebuild and rebound after the deadly storms that have ravaged the Gulf Coast. This year, more than any other, the focus will be on sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors who are in need.

But the 1,171 Nebraska Synod representatives at the Gathering are not the only people from our Synod who can serve as caretakers of God’s creation! People around our state can support the people of New Orleans and the Gathering participants in several ways.

  • Pray for safe travel and favorable weather.
  • Pray for the health and safety of the participants as they do service learning projects in the heat and humidity of New Orleans in July.
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit may open the eyes and hearts of all in attendance so that they may do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God, and when they come back to Nebraska, that they may inspire others to do the same in their home communities.
  • Give thanks for this amazing opportunity for serving others and, while doing so, serving Jesus.
  • Prayerfully consider participating in “Change the World,” the 2009 Lutheran Youth Challenge. At past Gatherings, participants brought donations of food or gift cards to share as an offering. But this year, so many more donations are needed in order to help resource the service learning projects that will be at the heart of the Gathering. Mission centers around the ELCA are encouraged to check out the list of what is needed and donate online so that materials for items such as school kits to health fair supplies to tools can be purchased. The best news is that these items will stay in New Orleans and be gifts that keep on giving! To donate, go to the Change the World web site.

The creation story in Genesis tells us that, “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Partnering with our Creator, the Gathering participants and their friends and families back home can get their hands dirty and help breathe life back into the city of New Orleans.

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