Day Three Highlights • 2012 ELCA National Youth Gathering
– New Orleans is HOT!
– New Orleans is HUMID!
– New Orleans is FUN!
– We started the day at the Audubon Zoo followed by an unexpected bus ride through the French Quarter and a quick stop at the Aquarium.
– Lunch at the Zoo
– Supper at Champions Square outside of the Superdome (aka Lutherdome this week)
– Opening night of the Gathering in the dome.
– The gathering band rocks!
– AGAPE is a great rapper
– Rachel Kurtz’s song “Make a Difference” works for the music on our videos and as the theme song for the gathering. Cool, right?!
– Bishop Mark Hanson got us ready to go
– Pastor Yehiel Curry stirred the pot of gumbo that includes all of God’s children
– Bishop Michael Rinehart welcomed us to the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod of the ELCA – our host synod
– Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber helped us remember what being a Lutheran is all about
– It rained and rained and we couldn’t leave the Lutherdome for a while
– Eventually we left, even though it was still raining, and sang all the way to the hotel
– We ordered pizza for a bedtime snack
– We shared a time of devotion and Centering Prayer. Check out this link if you’d like to join us in devotion time http://www.elca.org/ELCA/Youth-Gathering/Questions-Answers-Resources/Downloads.aspx. The devotions begin on page 44 of the guidebook and we will be doing them each night at 11:00 p.m.
– Tomorrow is “Practice Justice” day
Click here to see a short video highlighting our day – http://youtu.be/xB2sozYQ8f0
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About Bishop Craig Schweitzer
The Rev. Craig Schweitzer, of Bismarck, was elected as bishop of the Western North Dakota Synod on July 17, 2020, in the first-ever digital Synod Assembly. A historic event, Schweitzer is the first bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to be elected in an online assembly.
Bishop Craig Schweitzer began serving the Western North Dakota Synod-ELCA on September 1, 2020. He has always seen himself as an easy-going person who seeks to daily discover anew how God is present in his life and the world in which he lives and serves.
Prior to service in the Office of Bishop of the Western North Dakota Synod, Bishop Craig served at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bismarck, ND as Music and Worship Minister (lay staff from 2002-2010), Associate Pastor (2010-2014), and Senior Pastor (2014-2020). Beyond his service in the church, he has an eclectic background that is a diverse collection of musical, educational, and business experiences ranging from live concert production and promotion to recording studios and live performance to music education.
Throughout all of his professional and personal experiences, the Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Rome have been a guiding light that has kept him grounded in whatever work God was calling him into – “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)
Bishop Craig is a graduate of the University of Mary in Bismarck with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership. He also holds a certificate degree in Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, CA. He was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament on September 16, 2010.
Outside of his life as Bishop, Bishop Craig enjoys reading, all music, a little golf, a cold beverage with friends, and intentional times of quiet. And, of course, spending time with his wife Wendy and their adult twin daughters Ilia and Taegan.
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Bishop Craig Schweitzer 
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