I had heard that the Gathering was big. I knew 30,000 was the typical attendance. I had heard of the energy that emanated from it, especially from the Mass Gatherings. I saw the Facebook posts suggesting getting ear plugs. And let’s not forget that this was Houston at the end of June…so, it was going to be hot and humid. And of course it was bigger, louder, more intense, almost overwhelming, hot and humid; and of yes, incredible, Spirit filled, moving, and powerful. And in the middle of that beautiful chaos, I found moments of complete peace and joy.
Arriving in Houston a day early gave our time to explore the city some. From our hotel, the bus ride took us from a neighborhood with an eclectic range of architectural styles that made me think of parts of Palm Springs or southern California, to the heart of downtown which was all modern structures. We came across a number of public art installations during our explorations. Many of which were very whimsical and playful. Houston is known to have a lot of murals and we came across a few of those, including one in progress at the Heritage Society. One of the artists, Jesse Sifuentes, took some time to talk with us about his current project. This particular mural is a celebration of Houston’s Mexican-American heritage.
Houston is the most diverse U.S. city, even more than Washington, DC with all of its embassies. So we took advantage of tasting as many diverse cuisines as we could fit in. Between the four of us, we covered Cajun, BBQ, Greek, South African, Asian, and a couple of foods that were just unique to Houston but not necessarily an ethnic food such as bubble wrap waffles. Most of our lunches or dinners were from food trucks…and they were really good! But by far the favorite for all of us was lunch at Peli Peli, the South African restaurant. For one, it was the one and only full-service, sit-down place we ate at. But seriously, it was really really delicious food!
Our Gathering days started early, were full, and ended late, especially true for me as I was typically writing blog pieces at midnight. Our first day, after exploring Houston, we went to check out the Community Life offerings and took advantage that the first afternoon might not be as crowded as the following afternoons…and we were correct. We did a playoff round of giant Connect Four with our youth Tyler and Jerry facing off…Jerry taking the win. Then we turned to a game of giant Jenga. And that got goofy after a while. At some point, the pieces started being place in non-traditional ways…like standing on their short end! Or on their long edge and diagonally. As the tower got taller, placing pieces became a challenge for us shorter players. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, we had to guard against the rogue ball from the neighboring 9 Square In the Air. So who made the tower fall? Drum roll…………Mike!
We actually had a great rotation schedule! Our earliest day was Thursday, our first full day of Gathering activities. This was our Service Learning Day (SLD)with a report time of 7:15 in the morning for the bus! Part of the prepping for the SLD was that service and mission is not necessarily about going out to fix, building, or solve problems. The ELCA has been working to refine the meaning of mission so that it’s not only about physical work, but also about building relationships. And sometimes, building relationships simply starts with being present, listening to someone’s story, engaging in whatever they are engaged in. And for our bus load of about 50, that was about spending time with some of the clients of The Center, a facility with residential, day, and job training for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. So we spent our time playing bingo, coloring, working jigsaw puzzles, dancing, building with construction toys, helping to serve lunch, or just chatting. I don’t know how many of the youth had previous interactions relationships with adults who had communication or physical limitations. Finding a common starting point such as drawing or coloring or playing a game helped to get conversations and interactions going.
Our second full day was the Interactive Learning…simulations, hands-on activities that pushed the comfort zone, opened eyes, and made one think. I wished we could have had two days here. There was so much left unexplored. We tried our hand at maneuvering ourselves through a course of different ground surfaces…in a wheelchair. I made the turns just fine but any section with a slight elevation change, a “lip”, was a real challenge and I needed a push. Popping the wheels just enough to get over maybe 1” of a difference, was not something I could do. And that short course was tiring on the arms! Two other simulations we did were the refugee resettlement and the farming in Africa. The refugee simulation included photos of refugee camps, living conditions, and individuals. These paired with the “living” shack, the decisions that had to be made, and situations that might be encountered, made for a powerful and thought provoking experience. I’ve always believed that learning the language of the country one adopts as home needs to be a priority. Arriving at the point that we were “shopping” for groceries from a shop keeper who didn’t speak our language, buying foods with labels we couldn’t read, and using money we didn’t know, the inability to communicate and understand exactly what we were doing really solidified the need to learn the local language. Especially when Mike thought that the shop keeper cheated us on the prices and our change due.
Saturday was our “sleep in” day. With Synod Day not starting until lunch time (and lunch wasn’t part of the activities), we headed out in search of a late breakfast. When plan A and B fell through, we landed at a usual Saturday morning place for Mike and I, La Madeleine. It wasn’t the unique Houston place we were looking for, or the international flavor we wanted, but by that point it would have to do as time was ticking away. Synod Day was a time to spend with the other congregations from our geographic area. It was time spend in worship, conversation and singing. Along with some silly games. Materials for this activity included a video of gifted storyteller Jason Chesnut telling the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and another video of a contemporary retelling of the story which took some of us till the end to connect the dots.
So the 31,000 of us were dispersed during the days, off doing different things. But in the evenings we all assembled at the stadium for the Mass Gatherings. This is where the energy was through the roof. This is when emotions also ran high. Every night there were powerful stories told, some taking a great deal of courage to share in front of 31,000 strangers. Being the organizer and planner that I am, I loved that the overall Gathering theme broke down into daily themes with scripture stories tied to each day’s theme…Call, Love, Grace, Hope, Jesus. The stories we heard in the evenings were tied to those themes. For me, the stories of Calling resonated. They were stories of pushing back and fighting against those nudges, pokings, and pulls. Stories told of not being the right person, not being capable or ready. That resisting is ok. So often the call stories in the Bible come across as a call from God and an immediate and easy response of yes, glossing over any mention of struggles with the call. The other piece that rang true with these stories was the sense of peace and joy after the struggle was over, after the “yes”.
While I’m still not sure how the Gathering has changed me, I am even more convinced of my call to youth ministry. What that will look like in the coming months, years, I have no clue. Do I feel like I know what I’m doing…sometimes. Or that I’m doing things well, sometimes. Is it frustrating? Hell, yes! But those moments when dots are connected and light bulbs come on and laughter is free flowing and questions are deeper and…and…it’s priceless. And yes, going to the Gathering is priceless.
Leave a Reply