Welcome to the Getting Ready resources and what we hope will be an exciting and transformative journey for you and your group with the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering. There are several things we would like to make clear to you about these Getting Ready Materials before you begin using them. We’re not as funny as David Letterman, but here is our Top 10 List of Things You Need to Know about the Getting Ready Materials. - These materials have been written with an awareness that one piece of curriculum will not work perfectly in all places. Therefore, please tweak these materials to fit the culture and needs of your group.
- You will receive six months of curriculum. Each month will have a different theme:
- January will introduce you to New Orleans.
- February will introduce you to the theme Jesus Justice Jazz.
March will introduce you to vocation and service-learning. - April will introduce your group’s Interest Area (Health & Wellness, Literacy, Housing, The Environment, Arts & Culture, or Wealth & Poverty).
- May will help your group plan how to celebrate and continue the growth and transformation you experience in New Orleans upon returning home.
- June will cover all the small details we often overlook before a trip like this.
- Each month’s curriculum consists of three components:
- The Description will help you understand the month’s subject in
relation to New Orleans. - The Reflection will help you think theologically about the month’s
subject. These first two components are meant to be used by the group
leader for background information but you are welcome to share them with
your entire group. - The Lesson is the component you will use directly with your group. We have created the lessons assuming you will use one lesson per month leading up to the Gathering. Each lesson should take you no more than 90 minutes to complete. Again, feel free to tweak it in any way that might make it more suitable to your group.
- Each lesson will begin by stating its learning objectives. We want your group to grow in knowledge (what you know), skills (what you can do), and sensibilities (what you care about). We will be explicit about what changes we hope will happen with each lesson.
- We are viewing Jesus Justice Jazz as a servant school more than your typical youth gathering. You will be taking part in one of the largest service-learning experiences ever. Your group’s use of these Getting Ready materials will be vital in preparing your group to experience this servant school at its fullest.
- Be sure to plan ahead. Each lesson offers suggestions on things to use with your group to help them prepare for their experience in New Orleans. Videos and other materials that are made available or suggested. Find the best way to obtain and make use of these resources prior to your group’s meeting. Also, each month’s description and reflection are designed to be read on-line. They are full of hyperlinks which, when accessed, will enhance your learning and knowledge of the subject being covered. Please take the time to explore the hyperlinks embedded in these texts.
- Some of these lessons will require your group to talk about tough issues such as racism, poverty, and other injustices. Please do not feel as though you need to be able to offer up answers to all of the questions these lessons might generate. As Christian community, we are called to come together to seek meaning together. This is not an easy task, but it is the task to which we’ve been called.
- Help your group fall in love with New Orleans.
- Find interesting ways to delve deeper into the beautiful and diverse culture
of New Orleans. - Have someone from New Orleans come and speak to your group.
- Find recipes for some of the unique food from New Orleans and plan a feast
for your group. - Take time to learn about Mardi Gras prior to Lent this year.
- View some of the educational and touching documentaries about New Orleans and hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Become lovers of jazz.
- Take the time to share ideas with one another and feedback with the authors. We want to know how you are using the curriculum and how you are changing it to make it work better. What works well? What fails miserably? Email us at rod.boriack@elca.org to share your ideas, and to let us know how we can improve the upcoming month’s curriculum.
- Lastly, pray. Ask your leaders, your group members, and your entire congregation to enter into an intentional six-month period of focused prayer. Pray for your group, that the Holy Spirit might prepare each member to experience Jesus Justice Jazz to its fullest. Pray for the people of New Orleans, as they continue to recover and celebrate. Pray for the ELCA, as it works tirelessly with leaders, volunteers, and the city of New Orleans to construct a very different type of Gathering with youth.
All of the Getting Ready materials with links will be
posted online at the Gathering Web site. We hope these Getting Ready materials will be informative, easy to use, and helpful. Please let us know at rod.boriack@elca.org if they are or not. They are meant to serve you and your group as you prepare for what will be an incredibly significant faith experience for all of us. God’s peace, Jeremy Myers (On behalf of the Getting Ready authors.)
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