Starboarders, a Lutheran-grown band, is playing at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. New songs by Lutheran musicians are fre- quently first heard at youth gatherings before catching on in congregations.
Singing
a newsong U
Lutheran artists at the 2012 Youth Gathering By Tom Lyberg
nder the theme “Citizens With the Saints,” sounds of worship will echo from the New Orleans Superdome July 18-22 during the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. In large and small group settings, participants will hear the new songs of Lutheran musical artists that point toward a future where our youth are leading.
This all began in 1988 in San Antonio, the location of the newly born ELCA’s first national youth gathering. Following the traditions of its predecessor churches, the ELCA committed to bringing thousands of youth from across the nation and around the world to learn, serve and, perhaps most memorably, worship in song, dance and sounds most would never hear back home. In those early years, many youth tried to return home to give their congregations a taste of their experience, using visuals and cassettes or CDs. Back then many adults
Lyberg is a pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Findlay, Ohio, and host of the Wired Jesus Podcast (
www.wiredjesus.com).
34 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
KATIE SNYDER PHOTOGRAPHY
weren’t used to hearing rock tunes in worship. Even the names of the Lutheran artists of the 1990s were unfamil- iar: Jay Beech, Dakota Road, Peter Eide and Jonathan Rundman, to name a few.
Now fast-forward about 20 years. Band-led worship is no longer “odd” but the norm in many ELCA con- gregations with multiple worship services. Evangelical Lutheran Worship includes Beech’s songs and Dakota Road’s Holy Communion Setting 8. Meanwhile, Youth Gathering worship continues to be cutting edge, showing where Lutheran worship songs and styles are moving. Grounded in Scripture and our Lutheran foundations, these musicians are singing to the Lord an ever new song, just as previous generations. For the 2012 Gathering, much of the worship will be led by a house band, with featured artists adding their gifts in both worship and performance. All are veterans of past Gatherings and worth exploring for personal inspiration as well as congregational worship. Here are just a few: Rachel Kurtz (
www.rachelkurtz.com): The writer of
this year’s theme song, Kurtz is a Minnesota-based singer/ songwriter with a unique voice and a folk-pop style. She teamed up with AGAPE for a “Citizens With the Saints” promotional tour in 2011. AGAPE (David Scherer; www.hiphopoutreach. com): It might surprise you to hear that this ground-
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