Last weekend I was paired with another seminarian, to teach at a Confirmation Retreat at Mar Lu Ridge Camp in Jefferson, MD. The program that contracted us to teach is known as TEY which stands for Theological Education with Youth. The theme for this past weekends retreat was The Reformation, Luther and Media.
After collaborating with my co-teacher, we tailored the curriculum to the needs of the retreat. We had 34 middle school aged youth with 6 high school youth serving as small group leaders. Overall the retreat was a great experience. The youth got along with one another. They were engaged and had lots of fun.
The retreat began Friday evening, but earlier that day the Gettysburg seminary community received a wonderful message from Michael Kinnamon. Michael Kinnamon is the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the USA. The Faith and Order Commission of the NCC happened to be on campus that day and for our chapel service on Friday Michael Kinnamon delivered a short homily.
I had met Michael Kinnamon at the NCC General Assembly this past November in New Orleans. His words reminded me about the gift of unity God has given the church, and the sense of urgency we should feel in receiving this gift. I was reminded by Kinnamon about the need to point to God's gift of unity, while also lifting up the Lutheran theological tradition and heritage.
In fact, as I was trying to lay out how I would teach the Lutheran Reformation to the youth that weekend, three words had come to mind. The words are Evangelical, Catholic and Reforming. By the end of the weekend when we were wrapping up and reviewing what we had learned it seemed that this information had stuck!
I asked "What does it mean to be Evangelical?" a youth raised his hand and said "To be a messenger of the Good News." I was thrilled to hear this response! I responded, "What is the Good News?" Another youth raised their hand and said, "That Jesus died for our sins".
The word catholic was a word that many had known. They had a concept that it meant all or universal Christian. This part of our identity was truly an opportunity to speak about the communion of saints and what it means to be part of the body of Christ. Understandings of Justification and the Sacraments were not watered down but translated to concepts that the youth could grasp.
When it came to the word reform the synonyms that were offered got a bit tricky. The word "change" was a common description of reform. What was important to convey was that the Good News never changes, how we share that message has changed over the centuries.
I saw the General Secretary of the NCC proclaim a message that called us to embrace the gift of our catholicity, Christians being united by one Lord, faith and baptism. In the chapel, around me at Gettysburg Seminary were seminarians, faculty and members of the faith and order commission. Many at this assembly have wrestled with faithfully embracing these marks of the Christian faith.
Later that weekend I gathered with a different part of the body of Christ. These were not seminarians or theologians but confirmation students. Not only were they wrestling with their identities, what it means to be a Lutheran Christian, but their own individual identity.
Both assemblies are part of the one church, charged with sharing the Good News and discerning how the Spirits continual renewal and reform may continue to heal visible divisions and aid in our delivery of the gospel.
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