Faith Lutheran Sends Delegation to Detroit for Youth Gathering

Clive, IA---Members of Faith Lutheran Church in Clive, IA traveled to Detroit from Sunday, July 12 to Sunday, July 19 to participate in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s triennial gathering for high school students.
The 28 youth and nine adult chaperones from Clive, Urbandale, West Des Moines and surrounding communities joined an estimated 30,000 other Lutherans from ELCA congregations around the country and even around the world.
During the trip, members of the Faith delegation performed service projects. En route to Detroit, the group cleaned and did landscape work at two churches in Chicago. In Detroit, the group boarded up an abandoned building and cleared trash and weeds from the surrounding lot. The group also heard a diverse group of local and national speakers and enjoyed musical performances by the Christian rock band Skillet and Motown All-Stars.
The service efforts of the Youth Gathering made a significant impact on the neighborhoods of Detroit: 3,200 vacant lots cleared, 319 abandoned homes boarded up, 36 urban gardens installed, 99 picnic tables built, 26 dumpsters filled, 607 pints of blood given, 1 million diapers donated. It is also estimated that the Youth Gathering added $30 million dollars the Detroit economy.