It’s a bit of a sad time when the Gathering comes to a close, but we close in the best way possible – worshipping and communing together as the body of Christ. We gathered together one last time in the Superdome for worship with music from the Gathering band and choir (made up of Gathering participants who do an AMAZING job), a sermon from Synod president, Rev. Harrison, and communing together with 20,000 people. Pastor Ben, Kurt, Matthew and Lilly had the opportunity to help serve communion and collect offering – pretty awesome!
After worship, we had one final closing with our Gathering hosts. Each night we closed with a benediction, and we did it one final time during the final closing:
“Jesus endured the cross…we endure in Jesus.
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses…we endure as a people.
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…we endure to the end.”
Beautiful words to remember and live by.
We made our way back to the hotel. A few went to get some more ice cream, and a few took a quick tour of Bourbon Street (which is radically different in the daytime than during the night). We then departed from the hotel, leaving our leftover breakfast and snack foods with the incredible hotel staff (which they were stoked about) and made our way over to our shuttle to head to the airport. By that point, we were tired, hungry, and just wanted to get home.
And we did. In fact, we made it home 30 minutes early. We loaded the cars to head back to the church for pickup, and everyone made their way home to sleep in their own beds. A truly wonderful feeling.
We can’t wait to continue to share our experiences with everyone. It was truly an incredible trip, and would not have been possible without the financial and prayerful support of Bethlehem. So thank you. Thank you for valuing young people in the church and allowing them to experience things like the Gathering to grow in their faith, build new relationships, and feel confident in who God has made them to be.
And now we wait patiently for the 2028 LCMS Youth Gathering, hosted in…San Antonio!
It’s been a pleasure to write these blog posts and keep you up to date.
Until 2028…signing off.
