On August 18th, 2010 Bailey Adams and I boarded a plane on its way to London, Ontario with 10 Lutherans from Kamloops and with no idea of what to expect. We were on our way to the first Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY) Gathering taking place August 19th-22nd 2010. Although the Lutheran community has been having national youth gatherings for years now this was the first joint national youth conference between Anglicans and Lutherans and we could not wait to be included in it. Also attending from APCI was our Home Team Leader, Cathy Simpson and Bishop Barbara Andrews.
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| Bailey and Katie at CLAY 2010 |
The next night after arriving in London we went to our first group gathering and found over 900 other young people and their youth pastors and leaders to be present. The atmosphere was phenomenal and the energy could be felt throughout the entire hall. After the “parade of the bishops”, the keynote speaker the Rev. Canon William Cliff came onto stage and taught us the 3 rules of reading the Gospels: 1) the Gospel is always astonishing 2) the Gospel is never fair 3) God always acts first.
Throughout the six large group gatherings Cliff hit each of these points in relation to different parables in the gospel. Even with very few hours of sleep we all experienced Cliff kept the attention of the room and made stories that we'd heard time after time astonishing. We also attended two forums during the weekend, run by a variety of people – everyone from youth who were attending the Ask and Imagine program to the representatives from the Primates World Relief and Development Fund and the Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
Almost everyone I talked to walked out with their hearts and eyes opened wide and inspired. The memory that is most apparent though in both our minds was the end of the final large group gathering. Our Primate Fred Hiltz and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s National Bishop Susan Johnson began dancing to One Bread, One Body during communion, it was evident that this worship service was one that none of us were going to forget. During every song, slow or fast, almost everyone was on there feet dancing or swaying to the music and singing his or her hearts out. When the final song was played the stage and floor was flooded with everyone working backstage and as many young adults as they could fit. As soon as it was over the “One more song” chant started up and sure enough the band came running back on stage for an encore performance. The song everyone wanted to hear, “Your Everlasting Love” or the “oh oh oh” song as it was known by many, was played and everyone did the actions and sang along not wanting it to end. Like the Primate said, “this was the truest showing of being in full communion that had happened so far”.
Hands-on CLAY was truly an experience that Bailey and I will never forget.
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Memories from Cathy Simpson, 2010 Home Team Leader:
Memories from Cathy Simpson, 2010 Home Team Leader:
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| 2010 APCI Home Team: Bailey, Katie & Cathy |
What stood out for me? Too many things to describe here, but maybe I can create a mental image for you of one special lesson. It started with plates, in my case beautiful new blue plates. I thought maybe we would use them to do some kind of clay molding activity. Boy was I was wrong! The plates were collected and placed at the front of a church - piles and piles of colourful plates. Later, sitting in a pew listening to a reading there was a big pause.....and then a hugh SMASH. I almost jumped out of my seat! The smashing continued for a while and then the service ended and we were sent on our way. All I could think about was what a waste it was, all those broken pieces. The last day, much to my surprise, we were told there was an activity outside if we wanted to be creative. Why not? All of the plate pieces were sitting in buckets. Bailey Adams and Katie Lukow pulled out our work gloves, picked some nice pieces, and created a tile as a memory of our experience. When you break something and put it back together, it's never the same. Things can't go back to the way they were, but they can be re-formed into something more beautiful.
CLAY was a shining example of full communion. Watching Bishop Fred Hiltz (Anglican Primate) and National Bishop Sue Moxley (Lutheran) joyously dancing on stage brought a smile to everyone's face. Even more touching for me was being part of a small group with Bailey and Katie, and also being adopted into a larger group – the Hoppers (the Hills of Peace Lutheran Church crew). We looked out for each other, grew friendships, shared our concerns, and built confidence in ourselves during a weekend away that I know I'll never forget.
What did we learn about each other? Anglicans bring the party...and Lutherans pump it up!
2010 CLAY Summary by Cathy Simpson
This August I had a unique opportunity to attend the first Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth Conference (CLAY), a national gathering of over 1,000 people. Our home team included Bailey Adams and Katie Lukow, two wonderful youth from Kamloops, and me (the leader). We were the forerunners from APCI, scoping out the Conference with the hopes of bringing a larger contingent in the future. We gladly ran ahead to join in the fun and excitement experienced for so many years by Lutheran youth from across Canada. What did we decide? It was a weekend we'll never forget and we'd love nothing more than to build a larger team to the next conference.
CLAY was a weekend full of fun, action, learning, prayer, and friendship. A slow start the first morning resulted in us stumbling into an amazing outdoor library oasis instead of morning prayer at the Cathedral. It was a great opportunity for team bonding and a coffee/hot chocolate pick-me-up. Don't worry, we figured out the bus schedule and made it to morning prayer the next day.
During the day Father Bill captured our attention for a hands on journey. Isaiah 64:8 sums it up, “we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand”. In addition to Father Bill's lessons, our large group gatherings also included videos, music, and heartfelt sharing. It was inspiring to watch Bishop Barbara stand up in front of the gathering and share her story.
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| APCI & Hills of Peace Lutheran (Kamloops) 2010 CLAY Group |
We learned about life and faith through a service event, making We Care packages and hearing about the wonderful food ministry in London. There were some unique and memorable sessions, including 'Stuff' and 'Aerobics with Bishop Don. We also explored Pioneer Village where we danced in the rain and learned to square dance.
Katie, Bailey and I were fortunate enough to be adopted into a larger group – the Hoppers (the Hills of Peace Lutheran Church crew). Together we particpated in adventures, looked out for each other, danced til we dropped (at least I felt like I was going to), prayed and worshipped, played games, broke bread, and of course laughed.
Our evenings were filled with midnight worship, late night spots (dance fever!), a candlelight procession across the City, and...when we were exhausted beyond belief, an all-nighter to finish the weekend off. Ok, so I didn't quite make it thought the whole all-nighter, but I did get to join in the laughter, apples to apples, and pizza pizza!
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