July 23, 2009

NEW ORLEANS – Thirty-one high school youth and young adults, plus parents, staff and volunteers spent four days in worship, song, learning activities and discussion in the Definitely Abled Youth Leadership Event (DAYLE), a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Nearly three years in the making, DAYLE was designed to inspire and give hope to young Lutherans living with physical and cognitive disabilities. It preceded the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering here.

Most participants will stay for the gathering, July 22-26, which includes some 37,000 Lutheran teenagers, adult leaders and other volunteers. "Jesus Justice Jazz" is the theme of activities at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the Louisiana Superdome. Participants are also fanning out across the area to nearly 200 community service sites.

This year's DAYLE program, with the theme "Hope," attracted twice as many participants as the previous 2006 program in San Antonio, said the Rev. Bill Bixby, director for youth ministry, ELCA Vocation and Education.

"It was nice to come and meet people who understood that ‘the door's not wide enough' or ‘the sidewalk's bumpy.' They got it," said Amanda Gipson, Christ Lutheran Church, Cunningham, Pa.

Gipson, who uses a wheelchair, said, "Where I come from, I'm the only disabled person under 40. DAYLE has had a big impact on my life because I heard from adults who used their abilities to improve the world."

The Rev. Walter Hermanns, Emmaus Lutheran Church, Racine, Wis., is one of those adults. He lives with multiple sclerosis. Hermanns led a workshop on what it means to be a Lutheran Christian. The church is growing in its understanding of people with disabilities, he said. "The church is people with disabilities as well as people who are ‘temporarily abled,'" he said.

Hermanns said he hoped that his participation would inspire DAYLE participants to consider church service as a career.

Tim Nikitin, 19, Trinity Lutheran Church, Perkasie, Pa., lives with several physical challenges and spoke of a difficult year when he was in high school "to get back on my feet" after surgery to lengthen one of his legs. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Nikitin said his biological parents put him up for adoption because they were unable to meet his needs. He was adopted in the United States in the mid-1990s. Nikitin was uncertain about whether he wanted to attend the DAYLE but said it taught him to be a better Christian.

"I like to sit on my bed and talk to God," Nikitin said. With God, Nikitin can share secrets, weaknesses, strengths and concerns, he said. "God is my friend up there. He's focused in on me, and I'm focused on him," he said.

Joanna Storm, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Madison, Wis., is a DAYLE alumnus, who helped plan this year's event with the ELCA Definitely Abled Advisory Committee. The formation of a community through DAYLE is one of the "amazing" and "touching" parts of the gathering, she said. "To see (the participants) standing up, taking charge and leading songs is one of the most thrilling parts of DAYLE," said Storm, who uses a motorized wheelchair.

DAYLE participants packed gift bags for participants who will run in an upcoming half-marathon to benefit New Orleans Children's Hospital. Others toured Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, learning about the history of Mardi Gras and working on a float for the gathering.

In remarks to the DAYLE participants at closing worship, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said all 31 participants were "signs of hope" for the ELCA. "My prayer is that God will bless you as you become Jesus to other people, and that you would discover Jesus in the most surprising places this week."

Information about the 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering is at http://www.ELCA.org/gathering/, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service