Greetings from Sweden!

I am here as a young communicator for a Lutheran World Federation conference and 60th anniversary celebration. After an all-night flight (nothing makes me long to be horizontal more than trying to sleep on a plane) I arrived in Copenhagen and took a train to the town of Lund. Here I'm reconnecting with a group of young adults from all the LWF regions -- fellow young Lutherans from places like Brazil, Ethiopia, Argentina, Australia, India, Madagascar, France, Norway... and that's just a handful.

One of the things I may get the chance to do here is to communicate some of the important issues facing young adult Lutherans in North America, and specifically in the U.S. But why speak alone when I could include your input?

So I officially invite you to share your thoughts -- and here's a meme (a short personal quiz) to get you going!


Name: Meghan

Age: 27... for two more months.

The way I describe my faith identity: Lutheran. Or Lutheran-Christian. Or "Christian who happens to be a Lutheran." Depends on the audience.

I think God is like... wise and loving laughter.

I think the core of Christianity is... Belonging to God because Jesus gathered us, and living out our part of Christ's body in the world.

Paid to go to church? Yes, I'm working as a pastor.

If not, how would you describe your participation in your faith community? As I said -- leading.

Number of people in the LWF "youth" range (18-30) in your worship community: a handful.

Favorite thing about being a Lutheran: paradoxes! And the ability to laugh at ourselves.

Biggest issue(s) facing me, and other Lutherans my age where I live: As I see it, there's the large geographical distance... plus the way young Lutheran adults are spread out among congregations... plus the fact that there are not a lot of resources for people 18-30, especially once you leave college... plus the fact that many of us who ARE this age and ARE involved in church are working as lay or ordained leaders.

Greatest gift our generation can offer the church right now: a perspective familiar with the smallness and "grey"ness and interconnectedness of the world, and the interest in being the church in ways that reflect diversity.

Future of Lutherans in North America? I'm not sure. I get worried about the deficit of people in our generation in church because I think we are missing their gifts. And we need them.

A role model of faith: someone like Anne Lamott or Barbara Brown Taylor, for being confident enough of God's grace to admit doubt and vulnerability on purpose, because it helps to make the gospel real for them and others.

Favorite non-religious movie or book that taught you something about God or faith: Big Fish, for wondering: what makes a story true?

What's most important to you about a community of faith you'd want to join? Not perfection... but the openness to be surprised by the Holy Spirit, the willingness to be uncomfortable for God's sake, the sense that living faith in the world is the point, and "church" is practice.

How about a favorite quote to end? Life is too important to be taken seriously -- Oscar Wilde

Greetings from Geneva!

I'm writing this from a desk in the offices of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland (lest you thought I was referring to Geneva, Illinois, which would make considerably more sense, being as it is several thousand miles closer to my home than the Geneva I'm in!)

This building shares space with the World Council of Churches, Action by Churches Together, and even some UN folks. The main United Nations building is down the way. The Red Cross/Red Crescent are headquartered here. So is the WTO, for that matter. And despite being one of the smaller and less-famous international organizations here, did you know that the LWF represents 66 million Lutherans worldwide?

It's kind of heady stuff...and yet, Geneva is a fairly normal (even fairly small) European city, and the LWF office is a fairly normal (and VERY 1960s) building. With regular people doing regular work, notwithstanding the fact that I keep hearing a mixture of English, German and French drifting in from the hallway. And coming from the same people.

I'm here for eight or nine days, helping the Office for Communication Services with part of their Communications Audit. Ever heard of one? It's like the financial kind, only it measures how effective communications are: do the various newsletters, magazines, emails, website, etc. successfully communicate who the LWF is? Is the message getting out? Is it clear? Is there a common look to LWF publications that provide widespread recognition? (Answer is NO to the last one.) If this is fascinating to you, welcome to my world. If you think it's boring as dirt, I guess that just goes to show the truth of all the world's various kinds of work being holy callings. (For example, for soil engineers or archaeologists I suppose dirt is fascinating.)

But I think it's amazing how powerful communication (verbal and especially visual) is these days, and how much churches often struggle with it. My current congregation is trying to let go of the "Will you tell Bob when you see him at bowling on Tuesday that the meeting is at noon on Sunday, and could he tell June?" style of communication, because we're just too big for that now.

As I'm doing research, I was hit again by how well these sisters and brothers in Christ are communicating these days. Kind of makes ME want to join the UCC.

I've missed our group and hope we can get together sometime soon!
Until then, wish me luck. Post a comment and I'll buy you some swiss chocolate.

From my vacation after the conference...let me also echo my thanks to all who made this experience possible. How wonderful to reconnect with Karin, Frank, Meghan and Daranne. And even though I'm submurged (subdued? subcontracted?) in parish ministry, I still have passion and excitement about communication with young adults. I also learned some things at the conference....

Top 10 Things I Learned at the ELCA Communicators Conference

10.) Blogs can be set up in 90 seconds.
9.) Technorati.com.
8.) Networking matters.
7.) Vocare is Latin for vocation.
6.) It IS important to learn to juggle.
5.) "New Morning" on Faith & Values network is a better way to wake up.
4.) A blog and a wiki are the same...but different.
3.) Michelle Daniels can SING!
2.) Podcasting doesn't require an Ipod.

and the Number 1 thing I learned at the ELCA Communicators Conference....

Communication IS our vocation, no matter what our job or career!

Thanks for everything! I look forward to seeing you all in 2007.

"How about some bread to go with that water?"

The title of this morning's sermon at worship pointed us towards Holy Communion. We gathered to hear that Jesus is the bread of life, and to share the bread and wine.

I don't know how often you have Communion in your churches, whether you use wheat bread and grape wine or something else. I don't know if you share one cup or many small ones, whether you kneel or stand, who is responsible for distribution. I know that even among our Lutheran churches, Holy Communion can be a sensitive issue. Our various churches' understandings make it difficult for us even to share this holy meal together.

But I have been thinking a lot about communion. It sounds like communication, and I think the two are related by meaning as well as language. What we as communicators try to do with our words (and video, and music, and visual art and design) is to build up the community of faith, the body of Christ. And as we discovered in Lyon, and again here in Chicago, there is something powerful about embodiment--being able to shake hands and look in the eyes of someone else. Bread that we can feel and taste.

As our communication becomes more and more virtual, we can meet and come to know and even love people without meeting them in the body. Yet I think we as a church are still called to embody our community as often as we can. Church may live through and in the Internet, on websites and blogs and forums, but it cannot live only there. And I think we, the young communicators, will be increasingly called upon to try to determine the balance between "virtual" and embodied communication in our international Lutheran community. I am so glad to have you all as partners in this conversation...and I hope and pray that we may be safely brought together again next year, to be together in body as we are in spirit!

I add my thanks to Frank, Karin, Daranne and Lisa for a wonderful time of fellowship and support here. God be with you all!

It has been an incredible three days - a chance to reconnect with acquaintances and friends, network with other communicators in the region, acquire newfound knowledge and garner some motivation for the journey. I am looking forward to the next phases of my communications project - the realization of the visioning and planning that has taken place up to this point.

Thanks to Karin and Frank for their contributions and facilitation. You are great mentors for those of us who are "up-and-coming"!

Over and out.

Who Needs Volunteers?

If you're a Lutheran church member (that includes most of us, I think), you probably have experience with volunteering. A lot of ministry in the church is done by people freely giving of their time—including the congregation coming to worship! And I am guessing that for many of us working on our LWF projects, volunteers are also a part of the process. My project, for one, involved a group of young adults working together to form a discussion group and create some networks. So I attended the workshop entitled: “Working with Volunteers, Reluctant and Eager” by Noreen Buhmann, who is the director for volunteering at Gustavus Adolphus College, an ELCA college in Minnesota.

In the workshop, we began by identifying “who volunteers.” I imagine this list might look different in our different regions, so here's a North American answer. Keep in mind that the problem of “busy-ness” in American lives is a prominent one for us: Americans work more with less vacation than Europeans, and many American kids participate in numerous out-of-school activities. “I don't have time” is an obstacle our congregations face every day in trying to help people get more involved!

Volunteers are:
1.People called “Baby Boomers,” born in the U.S. in the years following the second world war. They are aging, retiring from work, and want to volunteer because “when they are gone, it is the difference they have made in people's lives that matters.”
2.Seniors, those in their 70s, 80s, even 90s who are active enough and have the time to offer. 45% of American seniors volunteer an average of 4 hours per week.
3.Families, who volunteer to spend time together in a meaningful way
4.Teenagers, as long as they can see results for their efforts, be inspired by the leadership of an organization, understand what is expected of them and have a voice in decision making.
5.Working adults, possibly caring for children and their parents, are the hardest group because they have less time, but they can also become committed volunteers.

Some of the tips that were offered for finding and keeping volunteers included: clearly communicating time, responsibilities, expectations; offering people recognizable results for their efforts; appreciating volunteers through thank-you notes, public acknowledgment, and other means; making sure volunteers have support in their work, and helping people to see the time they give as a meaningful ministry that also changes their own lives.

Have some of you had success working with volunteers? Share your stories! What has worked for you? Where do you need help?

Who's the youngest of them all?

Checking IDs at this communicator's conference would reveal several "under 30" professionals learning how to network and use media in new ways. What is this experience like for young adults? What are they learning? How do they connect? Here are their stories.

The presenter
Annie Lynsen works with grassroots advocacy and communication with the ELCA Washington, D.C., office. At 26, she was the youngest presenter on a panel discussion this morning to discuss networking and professional development. Lynsen has a journalism school background and worked four years as communicator for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod. Moving from college into a professional world was a "culture shock," Lynsen said in an interview, as her colleagues were at least 20 years older.

She adapted and thrived in an environment that was supportive, possibly because it was a non-profit, Lynsen figures. After four years, she landed the job in advocacy. Being young is a benefit, Lynsen said, because she works with high school and college-aged students.

What helped her in the process? Networking. Lots of it. She also kept her secular writing skills alive by freelancing. Lynsen visualized where she wanted to be in five years and worked on skills to get there. She practiced for job interviews and focused on her "why I'm awesome" sheet when real interviews came along.

Events like this conference teach her new things. Rick KIau (presenter from Feedburner, an on-line feed management provider) "blew my mind," Lynsen said. His presentation opened up new blogging possibilities, Lynsen said, to enhance her work.

The Connector
Katie Butler, 22, dreams of bringing more communicators to this conference, regardless of age. She works with congregation communicators in her position as Southeastern Minnesota communicator and wishes more would utilize this training opportunity.

She's still learning herself. On the job for only seven months, Butler studied communication at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and interned in corporate marketing. Butler said she is discovering how to do her job. Currently, she does the Web site, newsletter, E-news and all synod publications. Oh, she also does workshops and meetings for congregation communicators. "Do I do too much?" She asks. Networking here might help her learn, Butler said.

How's the conference for Butler? "I've gotten so much inspiration," she said. Concrete ideas are most helpful, Butler said, especially about Web sites.

The Newbie
Daniel Ross-Jones started his job on Tuesday. Yes, that's just last Tuesday, August 1. "I'm learning everything," he said on break between workshops. The 21-year-old just graduated from Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, with a communications degree. Now he does communications for the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA.

Obviously, it's his first communicators conference. "I'm learning about how I fit in with everything else," Ross-Jones said. And he's not alone. Ross-Jones said he's realizing the deep connections between synods and partner agencies.

After only a few days in the office, his age difference is glaring. Ross-Jones said at the lunch table at the office, people discuss homes, mortgages and kids. He can't relate, which is a blessing and a draw-back, Ross-Jones said. Age can be a definite advantage in his ministry, though. He will work with college-aged students from two campus ministries in Milwaukee and one ELCA school in nearby Kenosha.

Ross-Jones will work closely with the synod youth staff and focus on new media and the Internet. "I'm going to grow a lot in this next year," he predicts. At this point, his age is an advantage, he said. Ross-Jones said he will try new things. "I'm not locked in," he said.

"Vocare" (vo - cah - ray)! Draw out the second syllable - c...ahhh! Roll your "r"! Shout it with passion! This is the commendation of presenter Kristen Glass at her interactive workshop entitled "Communication as Vocation: Called to Live and Serve." Vocare is the Latin root of the word vocation, meaning "to call out".

"For every call," Glass explains, "there is a response." If you touch your hand to a hot stove, the response is to pull it away and exclaim "ouch!" In Lutheran churches of North America, if the leader says the words "the Lord be with you," the people undoubtedly respond "and also with you."

What is calling out to you? How are you responding? Glass guided participants through this process of discovery by exploring who we are. What groups do you belong to? How would others describe you? What do you enjoy?

"We are not neutral people. We are a people of context," Glass proclaims! We are shaped by and reflect this context. We also have a unique set of skills, gifts, talents, passions and values. The point of intersection between our context (the community in which we live, our families etc.) and our skills, gifts, talents, passions and values is the space of vocation. Understanding who we are better allows us to identify our vocational calling, the core of what God created us to be.

Vocare! Respond to your call; become what you have always been!

Sushi Experience!

Friday evening was a "free" evening, when conference participants were encouraged to see Chicago and enjoy dinner in one of the city's myriad restaurants. Chicago restaurants are known for their vast variety of ethnic cuisines -- from Aboriginal to Zulu. And the city is also famous for its own variations of most of those fares.

When we sat down to decide on a quiet place to eat and talk, Meghan consulted the Internet for our choices of restaurants in the area immediate to the conference hotel. There were hundreds of choices, but Japanese restaurants jumped out for Karin, Daranne and Meghan. "Sushi," they said, almost in unison.

I had to admit that in my 54 years I had never had sushi. The women were willing to introduce me to this cookery, but I was very skeptical. We agreed on a restaurant that specialized in sushi but offered several other dishes of "real" food. When Lisa arrived, we told her of our culinary choice, and she was delighted.

Friday night we walked to "Cocoro." By the time we arrived, it had changed its name to "East." Its forte was still sushi. I was there with four women, who were very familiar with sushi and eager to share this experience with me. So, it didn't take much more coaxing. We ordered sushi prepared in a dozen fashions, including "Mexican," "California" and "Alaskan." It didn't sound very Japanese to me, but the ingredients did -- eel, roe, tuna, etc. I watched and learned how to prepare the soy sauce, dip and pop. It was delicious! What do you know? The conversation was equally delectable. I look forward to my next opportunity to experience sushi in such company.

Preaching to the Wired (Not to be confused with the weird...)

Working with young adults? Get thee on the Web! As part of the North American communicators conference, I attended a workshop about using Web-based technologies for communication in ministry. Even though I'm in the demographic, I still have much to learn.

Our presenter was Rick Klau, who provided a keynote address earlier this morning. Klau works with Feedburner, which provides free content feeds from weblogs and podcasts. His workshop was a "how to" for those who would communicate to a wired nation.

First step: get a Web site and know how to manage the links and file names. When people do a Google search, your Web links are more important for visibility than the actual words on your Web site. For your site, know about video on the Web. Check out YouTube, Google Video and Revver for uploading video.

Get a blog. Now. Yes, you. Klau showed us that obtaining a blog thorugh sites like Blogger is merely a 1.5 minute process. No software needed. You're on. You can even put Blogger on your church Web site, so the logo is yours, not Blogger's.

More advice: you need to be on MySpace. For young people, this online bulletin board IS the web. MySpace provides an email platform, instant messenger and music sharing. Though the site has had controversial publicity regarding sexual predators, it remains the largest community on the 'net, with a quarter million people joining each day. And it's free! Church youth groups are hopping aboard; could yours use MySpace to communicate or announce events?

One more techno layer: Klau discussed podcasts, which is basically the simple delivery of audio content to computer or audio devices. It's like radion on demand. Churches are getting into it by offering podcast sermons.

Klau finished with some recommended sites to keep up with techno-communications. Check out micropersuasion.com, Technorati.com and del.icio.us. These sites provide info on the latest in communication and PR, as well as a summary of who's blogging about what. Check them out!

And the Voters' Prize goes to... Dirk-Michael!

Thanks to his input, I attended the conference entitled "Reality Check: Are Your Communications Effective?" The workshop discussed how an organization (like a congregation, a synod/district, or even something like the LWF) could evaluate their own communication through a "communication audit." The process is similar to a financial audit...but, as presenters Randolph Jennings and Jeff McLaughlin pointed out, many organizations are much more comfortable analyzing their finances than their communication!

The model of communication auditing presented in the workshop looked for the following aspects of communication:
1. Centrality: Is the message central to the core mission of the organization? According to the presenters, look for "staff message fatigue"--at the point where staff feel they have repeated the message too much, it will just be starting to become familiar to the hearers!
2. Clarity: How clear is the message? Does your organization have an "elevator speech"--a 30-second description of the organization that could be explained to someone riding on an elevator with you? The message should be consistent, but not dry or generic. A challenging thought!
3. Consistency: Do the images, language, stories of the organization communicate the same message? Is everyone on the same page?
4. Creativity: Communication should be creative in presentation and style, not for its own sake ("because we can") but in service of the message. Is the tool right for the message? Is the message right for the context?
5. Context: What is the framework for the message? In a short-attention span, media-saturated world, how do people categorize the organization's message?

These are five important "C" words to ask of any communicating organization, I think! How do our communications in the regions match up? Any examples?

Know Thyself: What's Your Communication Style?

I am one of those people who just loves exploring tools of personality type and behavioural tendencies. It will be of no surprise to anyone who knows me that I chose to attend a session on behaviour and communication styles ;-)

Many of us may be familiar with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or True Colours, however this session explored behavioural tendencies based on propensity toward Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance - DISC.

After completing a quick assessment I am a high "I". At their best, "I's" can be described as confident, convincing, enthusiastic, optimistic, popular, social and trusting. Unfortunately, the flip side of this is that under stress "I's" can be self-promoting, overly optimistic, gabby and unrealistic. Hmmm... I like the sounds of "at my best" a lot more than the flip side!

The reality is that we all have a flip side. The point of the workshop was to explore the strength/stress tendencies so that we might better communicate with those around us. How can we identify the tendencies of our co-workers, committee members and fellow congregants? How do we adapt our communication style to best meet them where they are at?

For example - when making decisions:

• D makes quick on-the-spot decisions
  
• I tends to make decisions based on intuition
  
• S hopes others will make the decision
  
• C seeks research, evidence, and alternatives
  

If we aware of these different communication styles we can be more accommodating and understanding when such differences arise.

In true "I" fashion, this post is turning into a text of book-length proportions, so I'll wrap this up to try and accommodate all you "D's" out there that like things brief. Thanks to all you "S's" out there for your commitment to reading the whole post. For those "C's" who are bound to want to know more do check out the website - www.lsiowa.org/CLL/

Respect for the Word...and Juggling, part deux!

Our lunchtime speaker, Dr. Paul J. Dovre, challenged us to think about Dag Hammarskjöld's concept of "respect for the Word."

As communicators, we can understand "the word" in more than one way. Of course, the word is the message that we are trying to communicate. Dovre, a former Lutheran college president and communication educator, reminded us of the ways the "word" of communication can be misused: for example, by inaccurate or biased news reporting on world issues, or the ways media explain things superficially rather than comprehensively. Respecting the word includes treating it with integrity.

But as Christian communicators, the word is also the Word -- the "word made flesh" that is God in Jesus Christ. It is our "good word" to share, Dovre said. From his experience with college students in the U.S., Dovre reported that fewer students claim spiritual understanding as a top priority; a high-paying job is the goal. And yet more and more, American college students are "seeking something more meaningful in their lives." Americans in general, he said, are "well-off [financially] but not satisfied." The gospel is the Word that is truly needed--but how can this best be communicated?

Dovre mentioned narrative--story--as one way to do this. He reminded us of the popularity of films currently available in the U.S. that tell the story of the attacks of September 11, 2001; his theory was that people search for a narrative to use as a framework for meaning.

I'm wondering: What narratives hold this kind of power for your regions? How do they act as a framework? And how do you see the place of Christian faith in them? What does it mean for you to "respect the word"?

In other news, we got another chance to test and improve our juggling skills! Sorry, no photos this time... but maybe we'll have to give you a demonstration the next time we meet together!

The morning in review -

"Well, well, well..." - Pastor Stephen Gary Marsh opened our day with a Bible study on the woman at the well. We explored the communication rhetoric in the text, specifically the use of agitation - the technique of uncovering through provocative statements and probing questions the passions, interests and beliefs of, in this case, the Samaritan woman, while challenging her to act on them.

The opening plenary session featured Rick Klau, vice president of business development at FeedBurner, a leading manager of syndicated content feeds from weblogs, podcasts etc. that connects providers and users. Klau, not only shared with attendees the current state of web-based technologies like instant messaging, blogging, and virtual communities, but also his expertise to help us, as communicators, better connect with those we seek to reach.

Be a Part of the Conference!

Meghan, Daranne, and Lisa invite you to give us your opinions! Which of the following workshops would YOU attend in our place? Vote in the "Comments" section, and if we get your vote in time, one of us will try to attend that workshop. Read below:

"Connecting Stories, Changing Lives"
"Know Thyself: What's Your Communication Style?"
"Managing Communication During a Crisis"
"Preaching to the Wired" (Internet)
"Quiet and Noisy: The Vocation of Disaster Response Communication"
"Reality Check: Are Your Communications Effective?"
"Branding: The Honest Value of Authentic Marketing"
"Da 'Video' Code"
"Onboard the Flight--Destination: The Church Communicator"
"Policies or Bust: Planning the Road Trip"
"Building Virtual Community"
"So, You Want to Hold a News Conference?"
"This Isn't Your Father's Camera Anymore"
"Webzilla: Making the Web Beast Work for You"
"Working with Volunteers: Reluctant and Eager"
"Writing 101"
"Blest be the Ties: Building a Communications Network"
"Communication as Vocation: Called to Live and Serve"
"Listen Before You Leap: Knowing Your Audience First"
"Translating Resources: Getting it Right"
"Web Connection"
"Well-Informed Lutherans: It's a Win-Win Combination!"

Greetings from my home!

As some of you may remember, Chicago is home for me, in addition to being the host city for the 2006 ELCA Communicators' Conference. Our hotel sits in the middle of downtown, on a bank of the Chicago river, and looking outside we can see the lights of the city surrounding us.

I also feel the rest of our LWF Young Communicators surrounding us--farther away than the city lights, but closer than the stars! Karin Achtelstetter, Frank Imhoff, Daranne Mills and I met this evening for the start of the conference. (Lisa Smith will join us tomorrow.) In addition to planning our work schedule, we had the opportunity to hear some news from the rest of the participants: Babies! Marriages! New jobs! Life sounds full for all of us. Maybe this is a characteristic of our age group: already, halfway through a three-year program, our lives can change in many profound ways! I am so glad to have this chance to reconnect with the group here in Chicago. It fills my head with memories of our time together and prayers that all of you are doing well.

Over the next few days, this conference will focus on issues related to our own group's work: communication. Daranne also blogged about tonight's opening sermon by Rev. Peter Marty, about the parable of the sower from Matthew's gospel. What struck me was how Pastor Marty talked about the "waste" of the sower: the sower threw seeds everywhere, onto good and bad soil. Three of every four seeds would fail. Still the sower threw the seed wherever possible. What waste!

Pastor Marty was talking about us, of course: communicators, whose seed is the gospel. Sometimes it feels as though we are sowing seeds wastefully, not knowing how much growth will result. Maybe some of us in our LWF projects have not seen as much response as we hoped, or we're still trying to decide when and where and how to sow the seeds. But Pastor Marty reminded us that sometimes, our job is to sow the seeds anyway. After all, doesn't God throw out grace extravagantly, all over the place, even where it doesn't seem to produce growth?

A Theology of Juggling?

Watch Karin Achtelstetter, Meghan Johnston Aelabouni, Daranne Mills, and Frank Imhoff (far left on the stage) as we learn communication through juggling scarves.

Pardon?

It's true...as an opening activity of the ELCA Communicators' Conference, guest speaker Dave Finnigan instructed us in the fine art of scarf-juggling. Besides giving us an aerobic workout and causing much laughter, Finnigan taught us about the importance of confidence. "If you think you're going to fail you will," he said. But if we focus on success and let our arms "communicate" with each other... with God's help, we can succeed!

Of the four of us, Frank seems to have found the most success so far. As the evening's preacher (the Rev. Peter Marty) said, when it comes to juggling, "many are called...but few are chosen."

In some ways, though, communication can be like juggling. Remember Eva and Gerald in Lyon, keeping us connected by translating between French, Spanish, and English?

Blogging!

Daranne Mills and Meghan Johnston Aelabouni are blogging from the Westin Hotel in downtown Chicago. Lisa Smith arrives tomorrow (Friday). The fun has begun. Karin Achtelstetter is here from the LWF Office for Communication Services. And I'm here too.

Hello from Chicago!

At the close of the day, we (Frank Imhoff - NA regional resource person, Karin Achtelstetter - LWF Director of Communications, Meghan Johnston Aelabouni - ELCA participant and myself, Daranne Mills - ELCIC participant) sit with our computers in our laps hoping to connect with you, our fellow young communicators. If you are reading this we are on track.

The conference schedule promises an action-packed itinerary of plenary sessions and seminars exploring many different facets of "communication arts". Pastor Peter Marty used this term in his Thursday evening sermon and it resonated with me. I like the idea of communication as art. Like a painting or selection of music communication is indeed creative, often reflects the perspective/biases of the communicator, and evokes emotion based on how it perceived by the hearer/reader/viewer.

Drawing comparison to the parable of the sower, Pastor Marty encouraged conference attendees to "sow our seed" (communicate) as prolifically as the sower sowed his seed! In such a spirit, these initial posts are just the beginning. Stay tuned for updates throughout the next 3 days. We look forward to your comments and questions.