Group from Friedens Church attends Youth Rally

Six teens from Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Prague, along with Pastor Henry Koch, traveled to Bowling Green State University in Ohio for the 2018 WELS teen rally June 25-30.

Teens and chaperones from Friedens and Trinity in Belle Plaine took minivans to Menomonie, WI, where they caught a motor coach leaving St. Paul Lutheran just before midnight. They breezed through Chicago before dawn--the opposite of what traffic was like on the return trip late afternoon Friday.

The opening service on Tuesday was held at the Stroh Center (basketball arena). All the participants gathered there each morning for a devotion and keynote address, followed by lunch. Afternoons had two 75- minute workshops for teens and for youth leaders. Among the dozen spiritual workshops were "I'm Tired of Just Getting By" and "Let's Talk About Self-Harm and Suicide." Seven recreational topics included improvisation and ice skating.

One of the presenters for the leaders was Rev. Jon Enter, who has taken a call to St. Croix Lutheran in the Minnesota District, and expressed willingness to present at Friedens. His topic was "Transforming Youth Leaders," with many, many ideas for helping parents and youth.

Evenings included entertainment at the Stroh Center, refreshments and recreation, such as swimming, ice skating, basketball, racquetball, broomball, wall climbing, etc. The Stroh Center was more than a mile from the dormitories, which meant walking about eight miles a day. The evening closed with each leader having a Bible study with his or her teens at 10:45 p.m.

The Thursday keynote address was memorable:....

To see more on this story pick up the July 12, 2018 print edition of The New Prague Times.