The Lutheran Peace Fellowship recently sponsored "Let Justice Roll," an event for peace and justice-minded high school-aged youth. The attending youth were engaging, passionate, and lively. Here are the reflections of one such youth, Coleen Hogan:
My name is Coleen Hogan and I am a senior at Olympia High School and a member of The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard in Olympia WA. A few weekends ago I was fortunate enough to go on a fun and meaningful retreat up at Holden Village called "Let Justice Roll" to learn and discuss the theme of practicing our faith in the Salmon Nation. The number of people was small but we immediately made connections and became a very close-knit group, sharing fun and faith throughout the weekend.
Our discussions on practicing our faith in the Salmon Nation centered on care of self, care of neighbor, and care of creation, and we explored these topics in different ways using art, games, movies, slideshows, and scripture. In care of self we thought about our self image and the difference between what we want to see in ourselves and what the media wants us to see. In care of neighbor we talked about all the different parts in our communities and how our decisions can affect everything in our world. Our last focus was care of creation where we thought of all the ways we can change and preserve the beautiful gifts God has given us by “going green” or just helping a friend in need. These topics inspired a lot of thought and insight and gave me new ideas on how to live my life in the Salmon Nation.
Throughout this experience it was evident that though we may be talking about the pros and cons of being more eco-friendly, God was ever present in our hearts and minds. It is one thing to discuss “going green” but to talk about it from a Christian standpoint gives new perspective and made me realize that it’s not just an issue of environmental conservation, but of faith and responsibility. For me practicing my faith in the Salmon Nation means learning how to preserve and sustain the beautiful home and people God has given me while educating others as well. Being at Holden was the best part of retreat, with all the quiet beauty around it was easy to feel God’s presence and kept me focused on the theme. All the great ideas against the amazing backdrop of Holden Village is enough to fill a weekend with laughter, song, and fellowship while also restoring and preparing me for my life back home. I came back a little happier, a little wiser, and a little more prepared to go out and practice my faith in the Salmon Nation.
