On a Mission from God

We won't be wearing sunglasses, or driving around in a beat-up police cruiser, and we're not getting the band back together. However, this month our youth and their adult guides will be setting out on a mission to make a real difference in the lives of people in Greater Philadelphia. Youth from the congregations that participate in LIPY-CM (Lutheran Interparish Youth of Central Massachusetts) will travel to Philadelphia this month to engage in a week of service, fun and fellowship.

Already our group has collected and assembled food for the Upper Darby community pantry, and books and school supplies for the Drexel Hill after school program. These gifts are a way of saying thank you to Pastor Dave Shaheen and the people of Christ Church in Upper Darby, PA who helped organize our work sites.

We will be staying at Camp Inabah, a retreat center of our new full-communion partner, the United Methodist Church in Spring City, PA. Aside from lodging the camp will provide our food and our space for daily devotions and check-in. Each work day, a few of our youth will work on projects at the Camp as a way of thanking them for their hospitality.

During our work week, we will be serving in and around Philadelphia, particularly the West End and North Philadelphia neighborhoods. We will be volunteer for the following organizations: Share Food Bank, The Urban Tree Initiative, Upper Darby Weed & Seed, Cradles to Crayons, and The Upper Darby School District. Each of these sites will enable youth to have hands on service activities, engage with organizations that are committed to the well-being of their neighborhoods and meet new people from the local community.

No trip to Philadelphia would be complete without visiting our region's seminary, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, for a tour and for worship. We have made arrangements to meet with the Admissions office to learn more about vocation. We will also hold our closing Eucharist in the seminary chapel, where our director of music, John Weit used to lead the assembly in song.

I am extremely excited about this year's trip and hope that you will prayer for the group as we travel, work, pray and laugh together during the week of April 19th to the 23rd. Your support means a great deal to the youth who are involved.