A choir that includes the very young up to the not-so young can bring energy -- and just plain fun! -- to a worship service.
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Young adult
Young adults in Alaska join with an ELCA congregation to fight hunger. | more »
A developing ELCA congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y., meets a hunger in the community. | more »
It’s wonderful to be reminded that through the ups and downs of feeling comfortable and confident, and lost and lonely — I’m not walking alone. | more »
I'm learning to be OK with admitting that the fullness of my brokenness is just too much for flimsy words to hold. | more »
Contrary to popular perceptions young adulthood is not a carefree time for self-indulgence. | more »
I had no idea that, as scary and wonderful and exciting as it was, it's nothing compared to this place, to these people, to this food, and to this life experience. | more »
When anger is left unresolved, it intensifies and may be projected inward or outward to find an expression beyond reason. | more »
Students at Augsburg College's Center for Global Education get a different view of Central America. | more »
I just want to be here, to honor the sense of call that has led me to this place, this program and these beautiful people. | more »
Multitasking isn’t inherently bad, and newer generations are simply better at it than older generations. | more »
If this is the perception, then this is the reality we are called to deal with. | more »
Shekinah Chapel seeks to inspire youth and young adults through its performing arts and mentoring ministries. | more »
For Molly Cook, faith hasn't been that "gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, never-ceasing" experience. Serving in Malaysia, however, seems to be changing that. | more »
The new ”Connect Bible” encourages young people to not only read the text but delve into the story and see how it connects with their life. | more »
Sexual images and explicit word references have become increasingly common among groups that are younger by the year. | more »
With the help of ELCA World Hunger, young people in a refugee camp in Kenya are dreaming big. | more »
For ELCA young adult volunteer Sarah Bolick’s students, learning ballet isn’t just about learning to dance. | more »
ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship recipient Joseph Graumann discovers his calling through the people around him. | more »
God is providing for her a wonderful learning experience that will go with her for the rest of her life. | more »
I am home surrounded by the living stones that speak stories and breathe life into this holy and broken land, with the same stars that shine in the North Woods of Minnesota. | more »
As I swim through the foreign seas of Mabopane, the people I meet along the way never fail to teach me what it means to be brave. | more »
When she was a teenager, Jen Engquist, center, visited Uganda, and since then she's been pursuing her passion for international development and social justice. | more »
Since living here, I haven’t been able to listen to Christmas carols or read the Bible in the same way — they reference the place where I live. | more »
What does the idea of waiting, patience and all the activities leading up to this one day symbolize?
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Hip-hop worship draws people into experiencing God in new and exciting ways. | more »
God doesn’t need more angels in heaven and those who were killed were not “taken” from us by God. They were taken by the evil actions of one man. | more »
Art is like Christmas, it makes you wish and believe. I wish I could teach. I believe I can. | more »
At times like this, we need to remember that we do not wait alone. We are in this together, as a community, as a nation, and as a family of faith. | more »
My school holds holiday classes for autistic students during the months of November and December, so I still have plenty of work cut out for me during these months! | more »
When you're far from home, a hand-made card at Thanksgiving makes all the difference — especially if you're an ELCA missionary. | more »
Children who left for school, for jobs, to follow their dreams or to start their own families are coming back home. | more »
The gospel is crazy hard. “Come and die and be raised” is not a sexy message. It is actually a hard sell. | more »
Chicago is at my fingertips now, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be living here for any reason, much less to attend seminary! | more »
An ELCA congregation in Manhattan opens its doors, helping residents move forward with their lives. | more »
Definitely abled youth make new friends in New Orleans as they gear up for the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. | more »
During the first few months of the academic year the adjustment process takes center stage on campus. | more »
Even after leaving home, young people take "home" with them, maintaining moment-by-moment relationships with family and friends. | more »
Erin Gerber, the ELCA's first Young Adults in Global Mission participant, used her year in England to build relationships and continue life-changing work around the world. | more »
For the youth at MYLE, the ELCA Youth Gathering is a chance to share their cultures with 35,000 other young people. | more »
Adam Miller-Stubbendick, a pastor from upstate New York, takes a plunge to support the 100 Wells Challenge. | more »
I remember being very nervous as I walked into the strange classroom. Nothing was like my old school. | more »
College students are an extension of our local congregations. It is important to show these students that they are not forgotten, to give them love and support. | more »
It’s called “animate. Faith” and isn’t your typical devotional for small groups. | more »
The dirt road leading to the ELCA summer camp took Kwame Pitts on a journey she never thought she’d take. | more »
“God has called me in many ways. But it’s been a process of discovering who I am in order to understand what God has called me to do," says Kristina Diaz.
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Her family thought she ran away from them, but she shows how young people can run toward their calling.
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An ELCA young adult volunteer learns patience and how to have a conversation in the absence of a shared language.
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For 33,309 kids at the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, the face of Jesus was everywhere. | more »
I look back at my year in Malaysia and reflect on the different things that have taken me by surprise. | more »
The vision is to create a place where kids are welcomed and accepted. | more »
To change the world you can start with one person. This was something I learned through my 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering community-life team. | more »
Ready to "cycle through the dirt roads of Liberia," ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson invites ELCA youth to go along for the ride and put their faith into action. | more »
You will hear comments and conversation that range from anger and frustration, to deep sadness. | more »
The youth of Trinity Lutheran in Princeton, Minn., practice discipleship and service in Mississippi before arriving at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. | more »
Attending an ELCA Youth Gathering offers the opportunity for teenagers to share their faith. "And that's what brings them back to the church," says Elizabeth Fisher. | more »
In the days following Global Village Camp, I realized that my youth-inspired insights on discernment could not have come at a better time.
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The first days of college can be overwhelming — Lutheran campus ministries are there to help! | more »
I didn’t come to South Africa to say that I’ve been to South Africa or to say that I’ve lived in another country for a year. I came to experience. | more »
We believe that all people are created in God’s image and that many of the things we as Christians hold dear are sacred in traditions other than our own. | more »
I watched the whole thing in awe and humility. God knew that this was just the thing I needed to renew my spirit. | more »
Instead of living off of the encouragement, hope, strength and sustenance that God gave us yesterday, we can receive a fresh helping of God’s goodness each and every day. | more »
Thanks to my grandma I know my dad; she gave me my name and the father I never had. | more »
It’s not simply a matter of making worship more appealing but also demonstrating that worship matters. | more »
In an article dedicated to exploring the ongoing collapse of Christianity, particularly in North America, this was the only mention of mainline Protestantism.
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I had no idea how people would respond to my question: What brokenness do you want to see put to death? | more »
The Young Adults in Global Mission program offers the opportunity for a one-year journey in international service and learning. | more »
A clear and compelling call is driving the Leiseths to accept a new journey overseas. | more »
Shouting it into the dark is pretty futile. Shouting it in a packed Superdome in Louisiana is much more satisfying.
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Teachers, youth ministers and pastors may want to pass these safety tips on to children in their schools and congregations. | more »
It seems that despite the pain of this economic crisis God is at work doing what God always does, bringing good out of evil. | more »
Unrealistic portrayals of ideal body weights and shapes in the media are threatening an increasing number of young people. | more »
Something extraordinary happened in New Orleans last summer, as so many ELCA youth experienced the public church. They participated in a church that has a mission in the world. | more »
Leslie Abell felt called to go to Antarctica to do her small part to help the scientists there who are combating global climate change. | more »
For a young woman finishing her first semester in college and thinking how much her life has changed, Mary’s witness is an inspiration. | more »
There are times when things are frustrating, but it is much better to look at the positive things and be grateful for all that I have.
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It was all about the amazing people that have welcomed me into their family, and that is what I am thankful for. | more »
Each congregation is one piece of the fabric that makes the ELCA. | more »
Bishop Mark Hanson tells young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people that "it gets better" in his video "You Are a Beloved Child of God." | more »
As I listened to Clint Hill, I was blown away. The bravery, courage, and loyalty this man had for his job is astonishing.
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Cristina Kinz has learned that God is “suffering, living, dancing, hoping, crying and walking with and among us in each moment of our lives."
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With laughter and tears is how Laura Strietelmeier's seminary internship at Salem Lutheran Church, Toledo, Ohio, ended. | more »
We are presented with a generation that is desperate to see him, not just talk about him. | more »
Meeting American Jeanne Mueller in Chuzhou, China, eventually helped Nicole (Xiao) Zhang decide to be baptized. | more »
It has been an eye-opening experience for me to see the different ways people respond to the gift of the good news.
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"Technology is about interacting with God and with one another in ways that were impossible before," believes Ben Sheets. | more »
Participating in the Churchwide Assembly as a voting member was unlike anything Beth Smaligo has ever experienced. | more »
With school back in session, we might wonder what God will be up to this year and how God's creative work might inspire our own.
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College students learn daily to love one another and place their own needs and wants aside for the sake of the other. | more »
She lost her husband in Haiti's earthquake. Now for Renee Splichal Larson, resurrection is a daily awareness. | more »
Elizabeth Hartwell realized that being a family-law attorney was her answer to God's call for service in the world.
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Working with Habitat for Humanity through Lutheran Volunteer Corps has been a good fit for Chris Schei. | more »
As a young adult, I found it wonderful to hear all the different viewpoints from other young people at the 2011 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA. | more »
Candid conversations about HIV and AIDS change and protect lives in Tanzania.
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Since joining the staff at Imago Dei Village, an ELCA outdoor ministry program, Dara Stull still feels a bit awestruck at her good fortune.
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A teenager tells how she "lives Lutheran" in this prize-winning entry from the 2011 ELCA Video Contest.
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Camp provides an opportunity to be refreshed and renewed through God’s creation and the promise of the gospel. | more »
An award-winning video highlights a summer camp's week of welcoming foster children from Lutheran Services Florida. | more »
Quite often his patients turn the table and minister to him, says Anurag Mani, a chaplain at South Seminole Hospital in Longwood, Fla.
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I try to look for God’s love in different people because it is in other people that we see the living Word of God. | more »
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