The fifth annual Young Adult conference was a huge success! St. Paul hosted around 90 young adults from all over the country—representing Texas, Florida Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, Virginia, Arizona, and more. The topic of the weekend was “Grounded: A Really, Really Old Faith.” The presentations and services, led by Pastor Wolfmueller, Pastor LeBlanc, and Kantor Mueller, focused on the “really old” hymns and liturgies of the church passed down through history—every Sunday we sing with the scriptures and the Saints throughout the centuries. Vicar Krueger also taught on the Lutheran view of tradition, and navigating the pitfalls between the Protestant rejection of tradition, and the Catholic exultation of tradition. Pastor Wolfmueller, as well as introducing the theme and discussing the more theologically-conservative bent of today’s young people, discussed a biblical view of history, “which contrasts the cultural /evolutionary view of technical progress with the biblical understanding that the Lord is always preaching, and the devil is always resisting the truth.” Haley Peterson, who is a member of St. Paul’s Young Adult Group and who planned the conference alongside of Sam Temple, highlighted that within the sessions, Pastor Wolfmueller allowed for deeper conversations among the participants about their faith and understanding of the world: “I think a lot of people really appreciated having a chance to have these intelligent and deep discussions, which I know often continued later in the evening during the social nights. We talked a lot about how history and tradition grounds us and connects us, bringing us hope and peace in an otherwise turbulent world.”
Following the formal sessions and services each day of the conference, the young adults had the opportunity to socialize and get to know one another. Haley explained, “the fire pit was a big hit both nights, with a lot of attendees choosing to spend the evening out there, roasting marshmallows and chatting by the fire. We also had board games available inside that people seemed to enjoy on Saturday night. It was nice to get to see people having fun and mingling!”
