Directors Report Final May 2010 by ELCA Youth Ministry Network

directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report may, 2010 rev. todd buegler

elca youth ministry network - director’s report may, 2010

Dear friends and colleagues, Greetings! Welcome to Chicago! I am very excited for our time together. I’m looking forward to opportunities to talk about the future of our Network. I think there are great things ahead. I’m really looking forward to discovering with you where God is calling the Network to grow. The “table of contents” for my report includes the following: 1. The Box Scores 2. Extravaganza 2010 3. Extravaganza 2011 4. Thrivent Grant 5. Extravaganzas ‘12, ‘13 and ‘14. 6. Finances 7. Insurance 8. An Initial Budget 9. Vision 1 Update: Standards and Guidelines 10. Vision 1 Update: Partnerships 11. October Board Meeting 12. 3rdTuesday Conversations 13. The Gathering in the East 1. The Box Scores Our current Network membership is hovering right around 500, which is down from last October. This isn’t a surprise since our Extravaganza numbers were down and most people’s renewal takes place with their registration. By the time we meet, we’ll have sent out an e-mail reminder to people whose membership expired over a year ago. Our memberships renewals will begin to bounce back up July 1 when our Extravaganza 2011 registrations begin to come in. 2. Extravaganza 2010 We are really pleased with how Extravaganza 2010 went. The Extravaganza Team really went above and beyond to ensure a high quality event that finished under its budget. The full evaluation data is over 30 pages long (in a 9pt. font!). I wrote up a 2 page executive summary which is attached as an appendix to this document. I also included the full evaluation comments on both the “Culture of Receptivity” lunches and the “Heart of Multiculturalism” Intensive Care Course. I wanted to give the board the full data on these two elements since they are such an important part of our vision. We did wind up going about $2000 over-budget on the Vision 2.0 initiative events at the Extravaganza. We have absorbed this overage into the rest of the E budget. Overall, I feel very, very good about both the Extravaganza evaluations and the V2.0 evaluation comments. We’ve learned some important things, which we will incorporate into future events. 3. Extravaganza 2011 This is going to be a great event. I just returned from Kansas City, where I met with 3 of the event team leaders and we had a chance to tour the hotel property. This was my first time seeing the property. I was stunned with how well the property is set up to

elca youth ministry network - director’s report may, 2010

host an Extravaganza. The planning team is working up a great program, and we continue to operate on a conservative budget. We intentionally lowered the program cost of the event by $20. We also were able to get a hotel room rate of $20/night lower than last year. Those items together represent an $80 savings from last year for our participants. There is good “buzz” around this event. I’m hearing from lots of people in the Midwest who are planning on driving because of the proximity, and I am aware of at least two synods who are thinking seriously about renting a bus and bringing a group to lower costs. We are on track to open registration on July 1, 2010. 4. Thrivent Grant We have always received financial support from Thrivent for the Extravaganza. In Charlotte, one of the Thrivent key staff folks was present and loved the event. In conversation we came up with the idea of finding a way to fund “first-timers” to the event. You remember that we had discussed this in February. At that time, we were considering letting all first-timers come for free. After further analysis, we discovered that almost a full third of 2010 participants were first-timers, which is fantastic! Unfortunately, we weren’t at all confident that our budget could withstand that kind of a hit to our revenue stream. Thrivent is funding the full-registration fees for 54 people who have never been to the event before. We are working on criteria now for how people can receive those funds. We will be using the Regional Facilitators to distribute the funds, in essence making each of them responsible for 6 scholarships. At our RF meeting this week we will be discussing a uniform and fair process for distributing those scholarships. We’re very, very excited about this. This information will “go public” as soon as we have the details worked out. We really have a good feeling about the 2011 event. 5. Extravaganzas ‘12, ‘13 and ‘14 We have signed a contract with the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans for the 2012 event, to again align ourselves with the site of the ‘12 Youth Gathering. I plan on having a contract for 2013 signed by June 1, 2010. We will be on the west coast. If I were a betting man, I’d bet on being back in Anaheim. (Keep in mind that in February I told you that I’d bet on Denver for 2011!) We won’t sign a 2014 contract until after the ‘11 event is done. We are planning on being on the east coast. Our pattern will then be to book 3 years out, as soon as possible after the Extravaganza. As a follow up: We did investigate alternative sites/venues/formats for the event. I wrote up a response for this that I put into the Network blog as a public document. I have attached the text in the appendix of this document, explaining the rationale behind staying in a hotel format. 6. Finances Our current financial situation is better than I had anticipated last fall. Due largely to the good work of the E-Team and careful spending by our staff, we have money in the bank that should carry us into July and August, when our cash flow will begin to increase again. We are actually in a better cash-flow position than

elca youth ministry network - director’s report may, 2010

we were a year ago. We are grateful for God’s continued faithfulness and for the good work and support of God’s people. 7. Insurance We have purchased insurance for the Network. There are basically 3 policies that we have purchased:  Liability insurance (i.e. someone breaks a leg at an Extravaganza…)  Director’s, Officers & Trustees Insurance (if the Board or staff makes a bad decision)  Workman’s Comp (in case I hurt my back lifting a box, I guess.) This is something we’ve never had that we probably should have. The cost for all 3 policies is right around $1000 for a year. For the sake of protecting the organization it is money well spent. 8. An Initial Budget I have attached a proposed budget for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. It is, I feel, a conservative budget. We would need to pass this (or an edited version) budget during the Board’s time together this spring. 9. Vision I Update: Standards and Guidelines I love having the Standards and Guidelines. They are a gift and I am grateful to the team Tammy Jones West put together for their good work. Next: implementation. At the roundtable meeting in February, groups were formed to begin work on further developing these standards and guidelines, and figuring out a plan for implementation on a broader scale. Those teams will begin their work soon. Also, Tammy is creating a team (some from the first group, other new people {especially volunteers}) to work on the Volunteer Standards and Guidelines. Our hope is to have a draft for you to review in October and to approve in January. We are already using them. The E-Team is using them to give shape to workshops and IC Courses. 10. Vision I Update: Partnerships After the Extravaganza, we launched the new “Partnerships” initiative that the board approved. There has been good interest in this to date. Groups that have “signed on” as partners include Youth Leadership, the Lutheran Educational Council of North America, and Lutheridge+Lutherock outdoor ministries. We already list both ELCA Youth Ministries and Thrivent as this level of partnership. 11. October Board Meeting We are currently scheduled to meet October 12-14, 2010. Nate has graciously extended an invitation for the Board to come to Dubuque. We are grateful for the offer of hospitality! I did some checking on costs. I ran travel costs from each of the Board’s cities to Dubuque. If we booked the travel today (April 23, 2010) our average ticket price would be $623.57. (That excludes Nate and Bill, who I assume would probably drive.) The total cost for our tickets would be $4365.00. (If Charlene flew out of Philadelphia instead of Newark, it would reduce her cost by almost $500.) So the travel costs to Dubuque seem very high. If Wartburg is able to provide

elca youth ministry network - director’s report may, 2010

housing and food, that would offset some of these costs. 12. 3rdTuesday Conversations Knowing that our 2010 E registrations were low, we wanted to give as many other reasons for people to join the Network as possible, and we wanted to create new ways to fulfill our mission. We created 3TC (3rdTuesday Conversations). These monthly national conference calls give opportunities for experts in the field to be interviewed to talk about their work for 10-15 minutes, followed by 15-20 minutes of q&a from telephone listeners, who e-mail or twitter in their questions. We have hosted two of these so far. The first, with Andy Root as guest, had 65 participants. The second, with David Anderson, had about 25. We have one more for this spring, and then will resume in September. We are going to build participation in one of these calls into the contract for our Extravaganza keynote speakers, to give people a chance to hear from and get to know them. This will also hopefully build some ‘hype’ for the event. Our feedback has been very positive. Participation is free to members, and we make the audio available to them online after the event. The cost the first two months has been $65 and then $40. This has a lot of ‘bang for the buck.’ 13. The Gathering in the East We provided significant logistical support for the GIE this year. That event just happened a couple of weeks ago and I haven’t yet heard a report of how it went. In conclusion This is a good time to be the Network. Good things are happening. I feel like the next year is going to be one of growth for us. Thank you for your role in leadership. Peace,

Rev. Todd Buegler Executive Director

Extravaganza 2010 Evaluation Executive Summary Total number of evaluations received: 120 (approx. 33% of total participants) (For reference: in 2009 we received a total of 50 evaluations, approx. 8% of total participants)

1. Overall, this event was (1=terrible; 10=awesome!):

8.37

Comments were overall very positive. There were many, many compliments. Themes we heard included:

      

Multiple comments on people's expectations being exceeded. People really appreciated the worship style. There was a strong sense of spirituality in the worship times. People appreciated the choice of Dick Hardel as the Hunstad Award recipient. Exhibitors would like us to think of new ways to increase the "traffic" in the exhibit room. Some people missed the higher energy general sessions. People loved the look/feel of the ballroom (except maybe for the distance to the musicians. Reactions on the combo of theater-set chairs and round tables were mixed. We heard some that would like more workshops that connect with children's ministry.

2. This event was worth the money spent:

8.00

Themes:  This year, more than most, we heard about costs of the event in the evaluations. Almost all of the negative comments were related to the ancillary hotel costs. (Food in the restaurant, etc...)  Generally, comments about the value of the registration cost were positive. People felt like the event itself was well-worth the registration cost.  People asked us to remain aware of the costs and the reduction of resources congregations are experiencing.

3. The schedule and format for the Extravganza was (1=terrible; 10= wonderful):

8.03

Themes:  Generally people really liked the more relaxed schedule of the event compared to some years in the past.  People wanted workshops to be repeated more often.  A couple of people commented that it might not have been worth staying past Sunday afternoon because of the Super Bowl. The next program item wasn't until Monday morning.  The lunch time conversations felt too long.

4. Evaluate the General Sessions (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.33

5. Evaluate the workshop experiences (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.24

6. Evaluate the Westin Hotel (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.53

7. Evaluate the Regional Networking Opportunities (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.66

8. Evaluate the Exhibit Area (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.23

9. Evaluate the Network Celebration (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.85

10. Evaluate the Publicity & Promotion (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.80

11. Evaluate the General Sessions (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.33

12. Evaluate the Communication after you registered (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

7.60

13. Evaluate the Sound/Lights/Production (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.59

Themes       

from the above: More communication after registration would be helpful. Workshops were very well-received (with 2 exceptions) First timers orientation could use a make-over. Main stage production was god. Speakers wer excellent. More variety in music styles would be good (acoustic/guitars) People really liked Peder and Celia singing together.

15. Please evaluate Celia Whitler (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.47

16. Please evaluate Peder Eide (1=terrible; 10=wonderful):

8.23

Themes on musicians:  People liked them together  People universally liked Celia  Most liked Peder. Some had seen him before and were ready for something different.

17. Numerical evaluations of workshops were taken after each session and the info is available from Kristen Baltrum. 18. I will be back next year: No Chance: Might Take A Year or 2 Off: Maybe: Count Me In:

2* 12 43 60

* = The 2 who said “no chance” both said that they Both would like to return, but they are volunteers and that they would not go next year so that other volunteers from their congregation could participate.

Themes on coming back next year:  Extremely positive on coming back to the event next year.  Much would depend on congregational finances.

Full Data from the Vision 2.0 “Culture of Receptivity” lunches: Lunch One attendance during meal = 253 Lunch One attendance post meal = 225 Lunch Two attendance during meal = 191 Lunch Two attendance post meal = 162 Overall evaluations gathered following Lunch Two = 75 Vision 2.0 lunch conversation Overall Evaluations 2010 Question 1. What is the most important thing you heard, learned or experienced? Question 2. What surprised you the most? E1.1a Sessions were very long – was tough on Saturday to go from long lunch session to 3 workshops in a row – (wrap up on Sunday was LONG) E1.1b However, good and fruitful conversations and content. Thank you E1.1c “For the sake of the other” E1.2 I truly appreciated this time for conversation and reflection. My brain is fried and I am not sure how to answer these questions right now except to say that I hear/see that the Network wants to learn & grow in diversity. For this I give great thanks and celebrate. E2.1 Relationships are central – Embrace the presence – Change causes tension E2.2 The process of sharing this conversation was generally welcomed and transforming E3.1 Most important I thought was thinking about how the network reaches the people who aren’t here, don’t know about it, and have no connections in their area. This network is GREAT for me as a professional in this field, but I think it is crucial for volunteers to have support, resources and education so that they can be better served in their ministry E3.2 What surprised me – and not at the same time – is how the conversations steered away from how to make our congregations more diverse. E4.1 How complicated this issue is! E4.2 The ignorance, of my knowledge of this issue E5.1 Conversation was very stimulating. Some of the questions didn’t get us in the direction I thought was most helpful for the topic. E5.2 There is so much passion BUT there is only so much we can do… we can’t force people to join the table. I think it is wonderful that the Network so exploring how to bring more people to the table. This is a great conversation and I agree we need more diversity at the table. I would ask how and if the Network is prepared for the new people who join the table. Perhaps the table is going to look different when and in order to have new people join the table. Inviting is one thing, but we also need to be open to changing/tweaking the table to welcome/accommodate/be with the people at this new, diverse table. E6.1 Getting the opinion of people from other parts of the country E6.2 How so many different people from different places can come together in common E7 It was a difficult format a. too much time when connected to a meal b. it was difficult to hear well. Sound needed more directional speakers, 40%house 60%directional c. Even around a table, it was difficult to hear the discussion. Perhaps smaller groups of 3 might cut down the time and hold the focus

Still we had helpful discussions. The key is to move from vision to action. The Network has made marvelous growth: vision, governance, education, and events! The workshops I attended were excellent and gave helpful information of new beginnings. E8.1 (this was numbered but left blank) E8.2 the concept was good, but it felt a little dragged out. E9 The dinners were absolutely wonderful and a real help to the budget. The chance to visit with others in ministry and hear their stories was enlightening and affirming and supported a view of the greater church. One aspect that was difficult was the sound system – you really had to listen “hard” to hear the speakers. One thought – with all the talk about diversity, where is the gospel in the midst of this? How does the gospel drive this? Center in this? I’m not sure that is always considered. Instead, we are just told to be diverse. What is meant by success? E10 Thank you – the meals were awesome. Conversation was good. Suggestion for future, have meal and conversation be 90 minutes vs 2.5 hours. It was a gift to have two meals – planned at that – included in the weekend! What a nice surprise! E11 This time was too long some of this time could have been used in/for workshops, that were too short E12.1 The most important thing heard was that Vision 2.0 team is committed to continue this discussion. And that the issue is not necessarily individual racism that the issue it is institutional racism!!! E12.2 What surprised you the most? The resistance of some to be a part of the discussion on day two. E13.1 Most important thing: I’m not as open and receptive as I thought I was. Ouch! E13.2 Same thing as above but – I have been redeemed! E14.1 Our network is committed to continuing this important conversation. E14.2 Depth of honest by participants at the table both days. E15.1 Important thing learned: Need to let people know about Network, the gifts of support it gives to all. To find and reach out to all who are not here. Intentional. I need to tell the Vision. E15.2 How many do not know and have not been reached. E16.1 The flavor and rich traditions we can embrace and learn from each other, is one of the important things I heard and experienced in this conversation. E16.2 What surprised me the most was the passion and commitment our church has in moving towards this important aspect of including all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. E17.1 We need to be uncomfortable to make our dream (YM Network’s vision) a reality. We need to be intentional about our outreach in doing that. E17.2 I was shocked that I was picked to be a scribe. Lol E18.1 Those here are already committed and ready. E18.2 We all struggle with the same issues and we desire to learn on more of a regional level E19.1 Internal recognition of my own prejudices or predispositions E19.2 My interest in this! E20 Culture of receptivity – I love this term! It feels like a level playing field, where everyone is receptive to hearing, learning/sharing with/from everyone else. E21.1 learned where you got the word “receptive” from. Thanks. E21.2 The openness at the tables to learn more. E22.1 awareness of the larger definition of diversity – (beyond race – to developmental disabilities, education, class, etc) E22.2 Depth of conversation and sharing – Thanks for the lunches, the opportunities to meet and listen to new people and share deeply with RESPECT E23.1 The amazing diversity in our nation and how we can work better together. E23.2 Surprised me most – Number of “older” adults who continue to lead youth. Be receptive to each other and learn from each other. God takes all of us with our many different gifts and talents. E24.1 Most important: We can make change when we let God use us to be his facilitator. And I’m not alone and we have a Network to access. E24.2 That we need to have conversation about diversity and to be deliberate and intentional with our words, action with love and kindness in the forefront of representing or Lord and Savior. Another surprise; I don’t feel as afraid of the unknown because I feel more trusting of God and loved by Him and other believers. It is OK to be different and to speak, share, cry, and laugh it. E25.1 That in an attempt to be inclusive we can sometimes exclude

E25.2 I have a lot to learn about being inclusive E26.1 The lack of connection within synods and the disconnect between new youth workers and those that have been doing ministry for a while. E26.2 It was surprising how much diversity there is in seemingly homogeneous congregations/communities. E26.1 I know the diversity is big but yet how some congregations really aren’t able to identify diversity E26.2 It still surprises me that new folks in ministry are still not feeling comfortable getting connected. E27.1 I learned about how we can be culturally receptive to different groups in our congregations. I enjoyed sharing our experiences in our particular settings to our experiences. E27.2 I was surprised by the variety of experiences shared around our tables related to receptivity not only culturally, but economically etc. E28.1 That the culture of receptivity does not simply refer to race but to all people in all circumstances. E28.2 How helpful it was for my thinking and how I will go from here. E29.1 Lots of time in conversation with people from across the U.S. has helped gain some new practical ways to work in the ministry. E29.2 How many people were closed to the idea of making this a more intentional event for young adult ministry too. E30.1 The most important thing I experienced was time to have authentic conversations with others who care about youth ministry. Time to listen to their thoughts and experiences, to be a little uncomfortable, to share and to reflect. Thanks for intentionally scheduling this time! E30.2 It surprised me how the time was a big spring board for more conversations around the topic of race, diversity, inclusivity etc. in the church. Yay God! E31 Wow! A lot of planning and thought went into this workshop/event – it well may be the best ever – the opportunity to learn and share was awesome! Is it possible to continue the conversation? I also believe this concept should be used for additional topics. Thank you!! E32.1 The diversity of the people at our table and their insights, views and compassion in the work they do for the youth and the people in their congregations. E32.2 How easy it can be to think our view is the right or only view. E33.1 That this conversation needs to continue – diversity in where we stand – it’s about love, first from God – shared with our neighbor E33.2 “ “ E34 Most important…The conversations were important to me because it hammered home the emptiness of some of the answers we often tell ourselves to deal with this. There were many times that I felt frustrated that my groups were unable to move past these “pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities” (humbly I include myself in that…) E35.1 It’s about God! E35.2 Hearing language such as “the dominant” culture and us. E36.1 How diversity and multiculturalism seemed to be race based at the beginning of the conversation but became much broader as we continued discussion – so much deeper than race! E36.2 Don’t know what surprised me the most, just know there’s a lot more work to be done. E37.1 The experience of sharing conversation was very valuable – we are all in such different places and we don’t have these conversations which need to happen in order to get anywhere with issues of diversity. E37.2 No huge surprises – but I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and the thoughts/stories/feelings that were shared. E38 There are so many different places people are in concerning this topic. The question is difficult and it can be hard to figure out how to honor where people are and invite them to see them in their place as a place of growth. I include myself in this. If I am honest with myself and others where do I need to grow? How can people be allowed to be honest and not just say what “should” be said. – I am not answering your question – oh well.

E39.1 Need to be comfortable in our uncomfortableness when dealing with diversity – authentic and seeking the story behind each person E39.2 The willingness of others to engage the discussion – to be vulnerable E40.1 The most important thing I came away with is that I believe it is more productive and welcoming in terms of “diversity” to point out and focus on how we are the same. We are ALL children of God and that is ALL that matters. E40.2 What surprised me was how incredibly condescending it made me feel that because I happened to be born to a middle-class white family, I had somehow done something unwelcoming! -This was WAY too long! E41.1 It’s up to us. E41.2 It’s up to us. E42 That to be welcoming we have to go into the communities, churches and youth groups of “others”. E43.1 Hearing from the young gentleman’s experience quilting with “old white women”. Hearing that people aren’t insulted when they know the intentions of your heart. E44.1 Others stories and time to listen, share and be heard – received E44.2 The depth to which the idea of Network membership is being absorbed. E45.1 Perhaps the practice of our theology has a way of inhibiting a culture of welcome. E45.2 How we frame/ask questions from positions of power and authority. E46.1 time to share with others was valuable on an important concern E46.2 how people added thoughts about how the Network is a receptive community – asset – while also seeing growth opportunities E47.1 Are we committed to doing this well and fully? E47.2 how deeply rooted the “isms” are seeded in the ELCA in 2010 E48.1 The importance of having a mission question as a mission statement? E48.2 Surprised you – all the time dedicated to the discussion of diversity – AAA adults – authentic, available, affirming E49.1 the richness of our many contexts and how much we need each other E49.2 I was surprised by the frustration at the table to wrestle with these questions. E50.1 Starting to think about classism as being as important to consider as racism – being reminded that authentic in relationships means and allows for had discussions and lots of grace! E50.2 How easy it was to be real and to learn from one another. E51.1 What I learned most is that this conversation is deeper than I first knew. It’s so important that we just keep having this dialogue and that we return to our congregations as leaders of it. E51.2 The conversation got easier to have over the two days. To me, that means you were successful. Well done! Well led! Well thought! E52.1 Most importantly we need to carry this message of receptivity – of hard but open conversations – home with us. We need to share and include so many other people and voices in this process! E52.2 The openness and honesty of all those that participated. Simply wonderful! E53 Great conversation – but I think the 2.5 hour slot kept people away – they didn’t want to commit 5 hours of time to conversation in the midst of an already full schedule (to come to these conversations I had to miss 2 workshops or not work out – I chose to miss 2 workshops). Maybe tables could be set for a few less – there wasn’t enough time for 10 people to share. E54.1 Having to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. E54.2 We are all in agreement E55.1 What is the most important thing you learned? We need to be careful how we think; i.e. we say we’re open, but are we really the gatekeepers?

E55.2 What surprised you the most? People are willing to be challenged by the question; i.e. open to possibilities. E56.1 To be welcoming – invite, be authentic, listen E56.2 Our similar answers. E57.1 Commitment of youth folks in our congregation. We don’t really know what the youth Network is. E57.2 That the youth Network is such an extensive organization, we didn’t know about it! -This conversation (2.5 hours) was way too long. E58.1 Relationships are key. Conversation grows relationship. E58.2 ? – the 2 lunch conversations were about 30 minutes too long. E59.1 This is the hard way of love. Community and connectedness takes time and effort and intentionality. We are adults in YM called to outreach. E59.2 Our youth really can lead our congregations in this – they are in community to and with multidimensional people in ways churches are not. -This went a little long. E60.1 Building relationships with “the other” is how we can help be a more welcoming community. My table, on both days, had interesting things to say, but also got tired of sitting. E60.2 The two lunch sessions were too long and could have been one session? Perhaps a statement on what “a culture of receptivity” would have helped. E61.1 Different viewpoints and stories from different backgrounds E61.2 Variety of ways of looking at the questions. E62.1 Most important…Kindling conversation of depth and real honest among two very strong youth ministry staffs of congregations. E62.2 What surprised…how readily people moved to a more uncomfortable place. E63 It was helpful to talk and network with others while having honest conversation. These conversations could have been nice even earlier in the conference to get the topic started. E64.1 A reminder of our need to check our egos at the door and just be who God created us to be E64.2 How much time we spent and barely even scratched the surface. E65.1 Most important thing learned/experienced – Reminded to remember that we need to learn to welcome those that are “unwelcoming” – that Micah reminds us not only to “do justice” but also to “walk humbly” E65.2 What surprised – How many people are struggling to find a way to make this work in their context – even those who live where it should be “easy” E66.1 We can talk all we want but we have to start action to help make change. E66.2 That we talked more about things that divide us besides race, than just race; Such as GLBT, economic status, disabilities, etc. E67.1 It was inspiring to learn about people doing justice in contexts where I didn’t expect it. E67.2 See above E68.1 Honesty of others around the table – though the opinions were diverse, the conversation was fruitful, which is likely the idea for having such conversation. E68.2 (this was numbered but left blank) Other observations – a. interesting that most people who spoke from the table groups were white. b. an upper middle-class “banquet” was an ironic setting for the conversation. E69.1 A reminder of the importance to set fear aside so change can happen. As a white person I hope to help this church realize this is possible. With God’s call all things are possible. E69.2 The stories shared. E70.1 Most important thing heard…It starts with us – the network. We need to help lead as leaders…show our congregations that we will help them with this vision and walk with them through it. E70.2 What surprised you…I think we all need to take a step back and see how “where we are” can take a step…

E71.1 That other people are struggling to figure out how to tackle these issues. E71.2 same as above E72.1 Many do not understand race, racism, prejudice, or culturalism E72.2 Surprised by the vagueness of Vision 2.0 statement – not clear to me what we’ll look like. E73.1 Most important – Ideas on how the Network can be more receptive E73.2 Surprise – People took questions seriously E74.1 The contextual challenges of creating a culture of receptivity as expressed by tablemates who all came from different ministry situations E74.2 Willingness of people to respectfully engage in sensitive issues. E75.1 The efforts that already exist are not recognized – will we ever do enough – we all deeply have/do/will continue to care and act in inclusive/listening/learning ways E75.2 Assumptions

Full Evaluation of "The Heart of Multiculturalism" Intensive Care course . This ICC course met my expectations. 1 – Totally Disagree 16.7% 1 2 – Moderately Disagree 0.0% 0 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 16.7% 1 5 – Totally Agree 50.0% 3 B. This workshop was relevant and useful. 1 – Totally Disagree 16.7% 1 2 – Moderately Disagree 16.7% 1 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 33.3% 2 5 – Totally Agree 16.7% 1 C. I would recommend this workshop to a friend. 1 – Totally Disagree 33.3% 2 2 – Moderately Disagree 0.0% 0 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 16.7% 1 5 – Totally Agree 33.3% 2 D. Since you attended the workshop, what is the one thing that you remember from your time? 1. The need to listen carefully, thoughfully, laying aside preconcieved notions of what ought to be!!! 2. The “RESPECT” guidelines for dialogue on diversity and multiculturalism 3. I have been to other workshops like this, but it was good to get the anti-racim message from two MEN and from the Mexican/Latino perspective. 4. ? 5. How disappointed I was in the workshop and feeling trapped. 6. looking through a different scope E. What have you been able to implement from the ICC into your ministry context? 1. A Latino Ministry Taskforce is gaining traction and raising awareness of new ministry needs and opportunities in our community and neighborhood. 2. my newly developed passion for this particular topic area has affected the type of programming I hope to provide in the future 3. In our Synod, we offer several workshops on this topic. We are just beginning conversations about how to frame a workshop that relates to young adults and youth around multi-culturalism. We will be contacting Martin for some input. 4. it did not speak to my ministry context 5. I used a joke I heard from one of the presenters…”where two or three people are gathered, there will be conflict” LOL

F. What surprised you the most? 1. Perhaps that we didn’t focus a bit more attention on the African American community, in addition to the excellent info we got on the Latino community! 2. some of the intense/awkward small group discussions 3. Nothing surprised me…but both the presentors were very humble and passionate about their work. I really appreciated that. 4. that it only addressed one small part of multiculturalism 5. How one-sided the presentation was. The majority of the presentation was either on Eric Law’s material or Hispanic matters. 6. people’s prejudices

ICC Evaluation: "The Heart of Multiculturalism" Greetings Martin and Antonio! Here are you long awaited for ICC Evaluations. You had 6 respondents. We hope this information is helpful! Rock on Kristen A. This ICC course met my expectations. 1 – Totally Disagree 16.7% 1 2 – Moderately Disagree 0.0% 0 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 16.7% 1 5 – Totally Agree 50.0% 3 B. This workshop was relevant and useful. 1 – Totally Disagree 16.7% 1 2 – Moderately Disagree 16.7% 1 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 33.3% 2 5 – Totally Agree 16.7% 1 C. I would recommend this workshop to a friend. 1 – Totally Disagree 33.3% 2 2 – Moderately Disagree 0.0% 0 3 – Neutral 16.7% 1 4 – Moderately Agree 16.7% 1 5 – Totally Agree 33.3% 2 D. Since you attended the workshop, what is the one thing that you remember from your time? 1. The need to listen carefully, thoughfully, laying aside preconcieved notions of what ought to be!!! 2. The “RESPECT” guidelines for dialogue on diversity and multiculturalism 3. I have been to other workshops like this, but it was good to get the anti-racim message from two MENand from the Mexican/Latino perspective. 4. ? 5. How disappointed I was in the workshop and feeling trapped. 6. looking through a different scope E. What have you been able to implement from the ICC into your ministry context? 1. A Latino Ministry Taskforce is gaining traction and raising awareness of new ministry needs and opportunities in our community and neighborhood. 2. my newly developed passion for this particular topic area has affected the type of programming I hope to provide in the future 3. In our Synod, we offer several workshops on this topic. We are just beginning conversations about how to frame a workshop that relates to young adults and youth around multi-culturalism. We will be contacting Martin for some input. 4. it did not speak to my ministry context 5. I used a joke I heard from one of the presenters…”where two or three people are gathered, there will be conflict” LOL

Let's Talk: Why Does the E Hotel Cost What It Does?

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Let's Talk: Why Does the E Hotel Cost What It Does? Todd Buegler - Thursday, March 04, 2010

The Extravaganza planning crew has been busily going through the evaluation forms. Over 120 of you (a 33% return rate!) turned in evaluations. Thanks! It's giving us lots of great data. We take evaluations seriously. As we read them we try and discover what we can learn and then we integrate that information into our future planning process. Sometimes we see or hear strong themes that we want to pay attention, be proactive about, and even to respond to publically if that is helpful.

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Several themes popped up in this year’s evaluations that we thought would be helpful to discuss publically. Several of the evals asked questions or comments like these: The expense of the hotel Local food options The venue selection process We want folks to know that we take these concerns very seriously. We know that the Extravaganza is not inexpensive. We know that congregations and individuals invest a lot in being at the event, and the E-Team works extremely hard to keep costs low and to make sure that being at the "E" has as much value as possible. The cost of food: Yes, we know that the Westin had very expensive hotel food. My jaw dropped a bit too when I ate in the restaurant for the first time. There actually were a lot of other local food options available: The food court at the Epicenter 3 blocks away with a bunch of restaurants, the pizza place kitty-corner from the hotel... a map we got from the hotel indicated that there were over 40 restaurants ranging from a deli ($6) to a Rock Bottom Brewery ($12-15) within a 6 block walk. So there were local food options available. We erred by not having this information readily available for our constituents. Participants needed to rely on their own research methods to discover the local optionsIn hindsight (always 20/20) we should have put a list and a map in the program book. We will make that change for future events. The Westin Hotel:

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Yes, the Westin was a very "nice" hotel. Just to be clear, it is not a 5-star hotel. It is a 4-star hotel. We know, that isn't the point, and it is still very nice...but I think it's probably important that we at least are accurate in our language.

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We work extremely hard with the hotel to provide the best possible value for the participants. The price our participants pay to stay at the hotels we choose is probably 25%-33% of the hotel's normal "rack rate." Sometimes they run discounts and you can go cheaper, but for us to book rooms 12-36 months out, we get the cheapest deal we possibly can at the time. We know that your resources are scarce

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Let's Talk: Why Does the E Hotel Cost What It Does?

and we hope that you trust that we do our best to make the event affordable. Why we do hotels at all? Why not a retreat center?

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This is a great question. The Extravaganza is a unique event, because of the goals (Renew, Educate and Connect) and the size. There are only a half-dozen retreat centers around the country that could host an Extravaganza. (None of them are Lutheran, but that's not one of the factors.)

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Many factors come into play when talking about cost: Housing Food Transportation into airports...being near major airport hubs for the cheapest possible flights Transportation to and from the airport The sleeping accommodations The factor of having our constituency feel cared for and as much as possible "pampered." Lots of "hang out" space (couches, lounges, etc...) for people to network and talk.

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We contacted a few of these half-dozen retreat centers so we would have a point of comparison. When we calculated things out we found that the real costs would be: Housing and food for 4 days and 3 nights: $210. The housing would be quad occupancy in bunks. Bathrooms down the hallway. Our program costs (these don't go away, though they might be slightly reduced): $200 Transportation to and from the airport. The nearest one of these to an airport is an hour away. Some of the six were 2-3 hours away. At least 2 of them were in the snow belt, making transportation a little iffy depending on the weather. So you'd have to rent cars (but the retreat center doesn't have enough parking for that many cars) or we'd have to run shuttle buses. Because people come and go at different times, we'd have to have shuttles run over multiple days, multiple times. We'd have to cover all of these costs. This means that the airport to retreat center transportation could be between $100 and $150 per person (or more) depending on which retreat center we're talking about. Airfare (only one of these retreat centers is near a major hub. So you can expect to pay around 30% more to fly into one of the smaller, regional airports...i.e. Greensboro, Little Rock, etc...) The event program would have higher costs because we'd also need to transport the speakers/resource people/musicians/equipment/sound/lights to this spot. This is a hard number to calculate. So conservatively, we're talking about a $510 event plus air travel (at a higher rate because you'd be flying into a smaller, regional airport) plus whatever we need to add in to cover the program costs of being in a more remote location. When we start piecing these things together, we realize that the cost of being in a retreat center is not that much cheaper than being in a hotel. Plus, one of the things we have heard on evals and in the regional caucuses when we asked the question was that a significant number of people like to be in a hotel...to sleep on a nice bed...to feel well-taken care of. One person said “we sleep at camps and on the floors all the time…once a year, I get to do this.” Why then not a cheaper hotel? We explore all options available, and if we could find a Hampton Inn with 15,000 square feet of ballroom space, 7,000 square feet of exhibit space, the capacity to do meals and up to 12 breakout rooms for workshops, prayer chapels, etc, we'd book it. Less expensive hotels that meet our needs don’t exist. Our mission, values, goals and care of the constituents steer us to look for particular locations. These are typically convention style hotels. Why not smaller, regional events? We're exploring this option. Keep in mind that there are still costs in terms of doing this too. It might be cheaper, but it would not necessarily be the same level of program as we can do in a single national event. Evaluations indicate that people like the level of the program. We are also looking at some new ways of keeping the costs affordable for you.

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Let's Talk: Why Does the E Hotel Cost What It Does?

By signing a multi-year deal with a single chain/brand, we can get lower costs/rates. By booking in smaller hub cities, we can get lower room rates. We value your feedback and we are grateful for your asking these questions. Please know that we take them very, very seriously. We will continue to work hard to be good stewards of your membership and registration dollars and to ensure an affordable event. If you have questions or comments, please either post them in the "comment" section below, or e-mail them to me at todd@elcaymnet.org. Blessings, Todd. Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

Comments Jeff Kelty commented on 06-Mar-2010 10:27 AM

thanks Todd for all the work at reasearching this. my one comment would be about going regional with the E. i would be sad to see this happen, to me it defeats one of the best parts about the E, to network with the whole country in one weekend. Where else, as youth people, in the ELCA, do we get this opportunity. so there is my 2 cents. i will appreciate what ever you all put together! God's peace and blessings for all you do for us!

Marnie Dahle Backer commented on 09-Mar-2010 10:24 AM

Wow! That was amazing research and explanation of these areas of concern from folks! Clearly it must be quite a financial strain for some churches to send a staff member or volunteer ~ this is so sad. We will keep trying to share the message of the Extravaganza with our colleagues and help them find ways of getting the money together. This conference is superb and well worth any struggle of going! Keep up the great work Todd and company!

Shelly Gehring commented on 09-Mar-2010 11:15 AM

Hi Todd: This information was really helpful for me as I have had some of these same questions. Although I come from a "lg" congregation (over 2000 members) I receive very little in the way of financial assistance to attend an event like this, unlike my ordained colleagues, and must cover the bulk of the expense on my own. As a result I was not able to attend the event this year and have recently gotten approval by our council to "save" my allowance for two years and use it attend the E event once every three years. I will be able to save nearly all of the cost, including travel, meals, and participating in the intensives prior to the full event, with this plan. This is NOT my first choice but, I gain so much from the E events that it is worth the sacrifice the other two years. Thanks for all the considerations that you and the E Team must have to make this event the best possible. I'm living proof that where there's a will there's a way to get to the Extravaganza!!!

Rocky commented on 09-Mar-2010 11:28 AM

Wow,is right! And thank you,Todd and whoever for the info and research! I guess I am just echoing the previous 2 comments. We could have regional events but like Jeff the "churchwide" big picture experience is what I gain from the most, the knowledge and support. I, also, agree I like the retreat feel. I cannot sleep in too many so/so beds anymore and a bathroom for 6, no thanks. I am trying to think of new ways to finance others to come to this wealth of knowledge and experience the whole church. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to all for what you bring to the ministry of God.

Mark Jackson commented on 09-Mar-2010 02:54 PM

Thanks to Todd and E-Team for these frank responses to expressed concerns. It indicates that while it is easy to think "hey, why don't they do it THIS way?" it isn't necessarily a cost savings in the long run once other factors come into play (such as costly transportation from airport to a retreat center). My

http://elcaymnet.org/_blog/Network_Blog/post/Let's_Talk_Why_Does_the_E_Hotel_Cost_What_It_Does/[4/30/2010 5:17:58 PM]

Let's Talk: Why Does the E Hotel Cost What It Does? guess is that if we had the "E" at a camp or retreat center, evaluations would quickly suggest dozens of reasons why a convention-style hotel would be a much better option. : ) I would also add that with all costs factored in (registration, hotel, flight, meals, etc.), it is a low cost professional development option; i.e., compared to professional conferences of other fields, this is inexpensive. Kudos to the E-Team for paying attention to these concerns and for finding long-term solutions to address them.

Greg Kaufmann commented on 09-Mar-2010 10:09 PM

Todd, Thanks for taking time to do the research. I run events on a regular basis, and I know what it costs to do them. The E is very well done, and reasonably priced. Don't change it. It is critical that we meet as a national association. At least in our neck of the woods, anything we can do to help folks "put skin" on the national church is worth every penny. Keep it coming. Greg