1. A note to group leaders:
Our hope is that this PowerPoint presentation might be helpful to you in telling the story of the Gathering. We’re assuming that this “storytelling” might take place as a congregational event involving a dinner. Here are things that might be helpful to know:
After reading it, please delete this slide. It is just for informational purposes for the group leader.
The key to an effective event like this is involving young people in the storytelling. Look at the different chapters and think about who would be good talking about each one.
There are photos in this slideshow taken by the Gathering photographers, or lifted from the Gathering Facebook page. These are placeholders. You are welcome to use them, or to delete photos and insert some of your own that also fit the theme of the slide.
In the “Notes” under each slide are instructions that give direction for that particular slide/chapter of the presentation.
Please feel free to add or delete slides if these ones don’t apply to you. For example, if you did a pre- or post-gathering event, you’d likely want to add a slide after “travel” that talks about that event.
If you’re doing a meal, have the young people serve. It’s a great way for them to say “thank you.”
In the meal section, there is a photo of a Detroit Coney Dog. But don’t feel obligated to eat hot dogs.
Make sure your young people understand that the point of the event is to tell the story of the Gathering, and to say “thank you” for supporting them.
Have fun!

2. Telling the Story <Name> Lutheran Church
Welcome and thank people for coming. Your goals for tonight: 1. To share time together as community. 2. To share the experience of being at the Gathering in Detroit. 3. To say “thank you” to the community for its support in getting the group to the Gathering.
<Name> Lutheran Church
<City>, <State>

3. Prayer before the meal:
L: The Lord be with you!
G: And also with you.
L: Let us pray…
G: God of all grace, we give you thanks for the gift of the Gathering. And we ask your presence with us as we share the stories of the work of your people in Detroit.
Bless our time together, our fellowship and our meal together. Make us always mindful of those who do not have enough.
In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
L = Leader. G = Group. If you are doing your storytelling event around a meal, invite a young person to lead a prayer before the meal. If they are not comfortable creating a prayer, please feel free to use this one. If you are not doing your event at a meal, please delete this slide.

4. Enjoy the meal!
Enjoy your meal together. We suggest having the young people serve the meal to the guests, both as a sign of hospitality and as a “thank you” for their support in getting them to and from the Gathering.

5. From here to there
Have a Gathering participant share about their travel. The goal is to share how community was built as the group traveled together. The young person could share stories about things they saw along the way, activities to pass the time, goofy things that happened while en route or ways that the community grew together. Ask your young person to share anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Proclaim Justice
Proclaim Justice (also known as the day we launched 10,000 people out to serve) was one of the three major program days at the Gathering. Here, ask a young person (or two if they’re more comfortable doing it in pairs) to share the work your congregation did on this important day. They can talk about the actual work, the people they met, the way the neighbors responded, and how being a part of the neighborhood, even for a part of a day, was impactful for them. This might also be an opportunity to talk about Proclaim Justice being more than just doing a physical service task; it’s about a ministry of accompaniment. It’s about entering into the lives of the people we encounter and spending time and listening to them.

7. What we accomplished 1 million diapers collected
1,425 backpacks distributed
3,200 vacant lots cleared of debris
319 vacant homes boarded
1,847 mural boards painted
36 urban gardens installed
99 picnic tables built
26 dumpsters filled
600 neighborhoods affected
650 heads of hair donated
609 units of blood collected
4,000 hats made
186 board-ups painted
Sometimes it’s hard to get one’s mind around the size and scope of the Gathering. Here are some simple statistics to help show the size and scope of the Gathering. Please note, these are only from the Proclaim Justice Day. Other information from Proclaim Community Day (money raised for “Walk for Water,” hair donated, pints of blood donated, etc.) are not included.

8. Proclaim Story
Proclaim Story (Sometimes also called “Synod Day”) was an opportunity for congregations from your synod to gather together to build community, discovering who your neighbors are, to worship together led by your synod bishop, to hear and share faith stories and then to talk together about how God’s story and your story connect. Select one or two young people to share what happened during your synod’s Proclaim Story day. What did they learn? Is there any new way that they have come to understand God’s story? What are the joys and challenges in sharing their own story?

9. Proclaim Community
Proclaim Community was the opportunity for congregations to go into the Interaction Center at Cobo Hall. The hall featured interactive events and activities hosted by different partner organizations. Young people could participate in the “Walk for Water,” prayer activities, a high ropes course, games, mini-golf, a college fair and much, much more. Have one or two young people talk about the activities they participated in and, even more importantly, have them identify the purpose of the activities. What was the goal? What did they learn?

10. Ford Field
The sessions in Ford Field, full of music, speakers, video and energy, are the common experience that everyone gets to share in together. Have one or two young people tell about their experiences there. Have them talk about: 1) The level of energy. 2) The music. 3) One take-a-way from their favorite speaker. What did they hear that caught their attention? What motivated them? Which story broke their heart? What gave them joy? What will they each do differently now because of what they heard?

11. Being together
At the heart of the Gathering is community. We are church together. And lots of time is spent in our congregational groups, small groups, synod groups, with those in our hotels and with the whole community. Have one or two young people talk about what it was like to be in these groups. Did it change their understanding of what church is? Were they able to see the presence of Jesus in the midst of the community? How?

12. Rise Up Together
Here is an opportunity for one or two members of your group to talk about the theme “Rise Up Together.” How did they experience the theme? How do they understand it differently now than they did before they went to the Gathering? What does it mean to “Rise Up?” Why do we rise up and for what purpose? In this section, your young people might need more coaching to help them find words to describe the theme.

13. Words of thanks
This final slide is an opportunity for the group leader to give some words of thanks. We’d suggest: 1) Thanks to the young people in their group. Talk about the honor and privilege of leading your group and how they acted and lived out their faith during the event. 2) Thanks to the adult volunteers who accompanied the group. Trips like this are not possible without adult leaders. 3) Thanks to God for making this experience possible.

14. It’s time to get excited about the next Gathering
It’s time to get excited about the next Gathering. Here’s the question: What will your ministry look like between now and then?

15. Close your session with prayer, and be on your way!