National Youth Gathering Meeting
Sunday, August 30th 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Hey Youth and Parents!I bet you can’t believe that in only 360 days, we will be leaving for the 2010 National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA!!!! Our first meeting (mandatory) is Sunday, August 30, 2009 in the Youth Room. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. Whether you are sure or not about going, this is a good time to find out more about the trip.The theme for the 2010 National Youth Gathering, or as we like to call it “the NYG”, is We Believe based on John 20:31, “But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” At the 2010 NYG, we'll be focusing on these words. We'll look at what we believe and at what that means for everything we do.

We'll LOOK…and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We'll LISTEN…and hear the words of the Word made Flesh whose words are spirit and life.

And we'll LIVE… because we have been given life in Jesus' name to love others as He first loved us.

DESTINATION STL

Destination STL was a huge success!! Our event was based on 2 passages of scripture: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16 AND “This service you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:12 . Sunday night we started our week with a Devotion on serving and a special event of washing of feet. Monday, July 6, 2009, was 'Salem Day'. We helped Jackie Ehrhardt and Ruth Frazier trim bushes, pull weeds, and other general yardwork tasks. We had another crew of youth and adults that worked inside the Youth Room with direction from Kelly Rideout, Pam Tosie, and Bill Castiaux. This group helped "gut" the youth room by throwing away unused/damaged furniture and other miscellaneous supplies and then giving the youth room a much needed new coat of paint. We now have blue, yellow, and green walls. And to top that off, in the youth room we now have our official youth group logo (designed by Katie Siepman) painted on the wall by Colleen Carney (leader), Page Miller, Erin Laute, Dana Ruhl, Julie McDonald, Melissa Case, and some other girls, too. For the first time in about 15 years, we now have on one of the walls a "Painted Hands" Display of former and current youth that have spent 4 of their high school years in our youth program. On the hand, they will include their name, favorite bible verse, and the year they graduate(d). Also; in the near future, on the wall above the row of closets, we will add the words, 'Salem Youth Group' with our mission statement shown below that, too. Our third crew that day worked with Scott Akerson and Bill Castiaux cleaning out Diane Carney's closet/office space, other closets, and also re-organizing rooms. They also threw out some old desks and did some other miscellaneous tasks for the school. In addition, Sandy Siepman and Kay Ruhl spent Monday steam cleaning the carpeting of the fellowship hall. Monday was a very labor intensive day but definitely worth it!!!! Tuesday was "St. Louis Area Food Bank Day". We packed a 35 lbs. box that included 1 meal a day for 30 days for the elderly of St. Louis City and County. We ended up packing 1,089 boxes (24,000 meals, 29,000 lbs.)! And FOX 2 decided to make a surprise visit of the facility. That night, FOX 2 aired a story on the food bank and what do you know...there was Salem in the story! Praise God! To see the link click on this (http://www.fox2now.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=2edd80f0-abb3-4393-8f71-4b850cf71419&src=front). Wednesday was our 'Fun Day' at Six Flags. All had fun that day. Thursday was supposed to be 'Shut-Ins' Day but ended up being a day where we finished some projects at the school and youth room and added some projects like thoroughly cleaning both bathrooms outside the youth room. We also sent crews to the homes of Homer and Leon McCracken and Charlie and Barbara Esenberg. At the McCracken's we painted the foundation of their home and garage and also painted the garage door. At the Esenbergs we completed yard work at their home and the lot next door that they also own. Friday was 'Nursing Home Day'. Our Youth and Adults started at Laclede Groves at 9:00 a.m. where we cleaned their buses in and out, played games (bowling, washers, crochet, bingo), prayed with them, and just simply visited with them to see how they were doing. We also made sure to visit members of Salem that are currently in the facility whether it be temporary or permanent. In the afternoon, part of our group stayed at Laclede Groves while the other part of our group went to the Nazarene Living Center in south county. Our group played patriotic bingo with the residents of the center. We also had time to visit with them one on one. All in all the week was a huge success! We had over 50 Youth and Adults that participated in the week of Service and Outreach! God was very present in our service and outreach to the people of St. Louis. All Glory and Honor are HIS! Your Friend in Christ, Jeffrey D. Kullmann

KIDS AGAINST HUNGER

2009 Missouri District Youth Gathering

The MO District Youth Gathering is an opportunity provided by the MO Youth Ministry Committee and Lutheran Youth Fellowship Team to renew and re-energize with over 600+ Lutheran youth from all across the state of Missouri. Events include Community Building, Music from Echelon, Bible Studies, Group Time, Great Speakers, Saturday Servant Event, Free Time Saturday night (karaoke, dancing, sports, concerts, pool, bowling), and a Worship Service to finish the weekend. The deadline for signing up for the MO District Senior High Youth Gathering is Sunday, May 17th. The actual Gathering is from June 26-28, 2009 at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. High school students including current 8th graders qualify for this event. This year’s theme is “Hearts on Fire… Created 2 Serve” based on text from Ephesians 6:7 that states, “Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”

For more information, please contact Jeff Kullmann at Kullmann@charter.net or at 749.2328 (cell) or 631-2494 (home).

CAMP RESTORE - New Orleans, LA

Camp Restore is a Christ-centered ministry of the Southern District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Their mission is to “Restore faith, home and community to victims of Hurricane Katrina.” They strive to do this by equipping volunteers to bring the hope of Jesus Christ as they rebuild homes, churches and schools in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Camp Restore has received funding, equipment, and work from LCMS World Relief and Human Care, Orphan Grain Train, Thrivent, Lutheran Social Services of the South and Laborers For Christ. It is based at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School located in New Orleans East, which suffered severe hurricane damage. Laborers for Christ have refurbished the church and school for use as a volunteer camp, which began operation in October of 2006, and plans to continue operations until they are no longer needed.

2008 Missouri District Youth Gathering

The MO District Youth Gathering is an opportunity provided by the MO Youth Ministry Committee and Lutheran Youth Fellowship Team to renew and re-energize with over 600+ Lutheran youth from all across the state of Missouri. Events include Community Building, Music from Fusebox, Bible Studies, Group Time, Great Speakers, Saturday Servant Event, Free Time Saturday night (karaoke, dancing, sports, concerts, pool, bowling), and a Worship Service to finish the weekend. The actual Gathering is from June 27-29, 2008 at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. This year’s theme is “Hearts on Fire… Light in the Darkness” based on text from on text from 2 Corinthians. 4-6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering
New Orleans, Louisiana
July 17 - 21, 2010

New Orleans, once more a vibrant city, has been selected for 2010 National Youth Gathering which will be held July 17-21, 2010. The 2010 Gathering marks the event’s third visit to New Orleans. Previous New Orleans’ Gatherings included “A Time For Joy” (1992) and “Higher Ground” (2001). The Gathering had planned to hold its 2007 event in New Orleans, but moved to Orlando in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Click here for the 2010

LCMS NYG Website

http://2010.lcmsgathering.com/

2007 LCMS National Youth Gathering

“But You Are A CHOSEN People, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, A People Belonging To God, That You May Declare The Praises Of Him Who Called You Out Of Darkness Into His Wonderful Light”. --1 Peter 2:9

CHOSEN BY OTHERS

CHOSEN TO THE WORLD

CHOSEN BY CHRIST