ALT By Sandra Guy I
n a fast-paced world character- ized by headphones, smartphones and text messaging, a small group of young adults are being called to Toledo, Ohio, to live and learn in a monastic-like setting so they might deeply understand their faith and ability to change the world—and help grow the church. Called Abundant Life Together,
or ALT (
www.altyear.org), it will initially gather (and eventually house) 12 men and women ages 18 to 25 in St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Toledo for ninth months starting in September. The goal is to set up ALT communities in sites across the country.
Though no one is connecting the
two, the ALT acronym may prove a prescient marketing effort since “alt” is also Internet slang for the
Guy, an ELCA member, is a reporter for The Chicago Sun-Times.
“alternate” command on a computer keyboard, which has become young people’s shorthand for communal experiences.
Everything old is new again The ELCA’s ALT vision is as old as the tradition of giving oneself to spiritual rather than worldly pursuits, and as recent as the 150-year-old Scandinavian folk high school model of allowing students to learn for life by growing individually, socially and academically in small learning communities.
The community learning model
calls on young people to participate in a “Great Books” philosophy of learning through conversation, and to delve into topics such as rhetoric, self-awareness, critical thinking and social justice. The young people will sign an oath of good behavior, including refraining from pursuing
28 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Pressing the button
In Toledo, young adults are called into alternative community
Toledo, Ohio, is the site of what mis- sion developer Josh Graber (shown reading applications) hopes will be the first of many intentional com- munities for young adults in the ELCA. Participants will live, worship and serve together in Abundant Life Together, headquartered in St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Toledo.
sexual relationships with each other. ALT participants will also volun-
teer more than 30 hours each month to community service and outreach. Josh Graber, a mission developer who is spearheading ALT, aims to bring back the kind of communal pro- gram that young people experienced when his grandparents and parents served at Holden Village, a retreat center high in the Cascade Mountains
MAX DAVIS
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