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A grammatical moment A


Young adult’s synod assembly experience


results in passion for church By Kayla Koterwski


t a time when denominations are asking “Where are our young people?” I stand as an


odd exception. As a 19-year-old in love with our


church, I’m amazed at the complexi- ties of our conversations and actions, and the ways in which we’re consis-


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and You in our guest house


The next thing I knew I


was walking nervously to a microphone.


tently growing and responding. Today I serve the church from


a place of privilege, but my start was rocky. My family didn’t attend church, but my parents (both deaf) had me baptized in my dad’s home Methodist church in Chicago. Then we found a place at Peace


Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, S.D., with an active deaf community. Like many children growing up in ELCA congregations, I felt at home and tagged along to countless meetings. My parents were voting members


of the South Dakota Synod assembly the summer before my freshman year of high school. Since the assem- bly was being held seven hours away, it was reasonable that I would fill the youth voting spot and go along. When my pastor asked me to do so, I wasn’t sure what a “synod” or an “assembly” was. But I was giddy to have been asked. Not many people can say a


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synod assembly changed the course of their life, but that gathering in 2009 changed mine. During heated debates and divided perspectives, I was absorbed in conversations and attempted to make sense of words I was hearing and seeing on the screen. In one proposed amendment I


noticed a line that I believed should be worded differently. The next thing I knew I was walking nervously to a microphone (that was far too tall for me) and Bishop David Zellmer was calling on me to speak. I made a motion to change grammar in a sen-


40 www.thelutheran.org


Kayla Koterwski, a student at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., says a synod assembly changed the course of her life. Read about this year’s assemblies in future issues of The Lutheran.


tence that passed. This moment set me on a journey that has molded my voice, passions and relationships— and certainly my faith. I became the first youth represen-


tative to our congregational council, interned at the synod office and served on the synod council. And at the 2013 Churchwide Assembly I was one of two youth elected to the ELCA Church Council, the first young people to receive both voice and vote on this governing body. This church has equipped me


with a passion to understand and love the world around me. It has engaged me in conversations that moved me to view the world differ- ently—and to welcome the stranger and make room at the table for every voice. It’s “synod assembly season” and I


write this as a reminder that the way in which young people are addressed and taught has such potential to impact their lives—either positively or negatively. This church has shown me what it means to be listened to and valued. And in so doing, I join you in the call to live out “God’s work. Our hands.” 


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