“[Our hearts] will sing of the day you bring, let the fires of your justice burn, 

Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.”

- Canticle of the Turning - ELW #723

Summit Goals 

Ignite courageous community across the Upper Midwest to spark:

• An unquenchable fire of love for Creator and Creation.

• A controlled burn of holy fear, wonder, and joy - across generations and divides.

• A germinating fire seed of collaborating and creative networks.

 

Peril:

Our planet is in peril: from rampant forest fires to flagrant abuses of power, from raging economic and racial injustices to the burning anxieties of children, youth, and adults.

Smoldering in our spirits are embers of paralyzing fear: fear that Earth’s ability to support life is damaged beyond repair; fear that we are powerless; fear that our efforts are too little and too late because the harm that has been done is irreversible; fear that what power we wield will be answered with callous disregard and violent retaliation and any good we do will be overturned; fear that we are alone.

 

Promise:

The Spirit’s baptismal spark blazes away this dross, making space for a different fear that ignites our hearts: the fear of the Holy One, Creator of the Cosmos, Healer of All, Sustainer of Life. Living in wonder, awe, and sacred trembling, we fall in love with Creator’s self-revelation, Healer’s presence, Sustainer’s gifts: the beauty and bounty of this planet, all our kin, our beloved and only home.

• We gather to be refined through crossgenerational repentance and lament.

• We gather to be refueled in creation, community, worship, and art.

• We gather to be reignited by a constellation of speakers and organizers - youth, young adults, and elders.

• We gather to be a renewed community, ablaze with New Life for God’s beloved Creation.

• We gather for our fear to become our fuel…

 

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road…?”

- Luke 24:32