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Join us at THE FEAST!

There is certainly a lot of anticipation for THE FEAST!

The 2006 Higher Things Lutheran Youth Conference will be held July 18-21, 2006 at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO, right at the foot of Pike’s Peak.

If you haven’t seen the logo yet, what are you waiting for!?! Check it out. Be sure to make this link your best friend. It will be the place to check back often to access future information about the conference.

The principal speakers at THE FEAST will be Rev. Peter Bender and Rev. Dr. Brian Mosemann. Rev. Bender is the Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, WI, and Dr. Mosemann is the Director of the Pre-Seminary Program at Concordia University in Austin, TX.

Detailed conference information and registration forms will be available online by October 15, 2005. Please put that date on your calendar. You won’t want to miss out because Saturday, October 15th will be the equivalent of a Lutheran cyber block party!

But to help many of you out with your own immediate planning so that you can be at THE FEAST next summer, here are some things that you probably want to know:

  • Registration, Housing and Meals: $300
  • Registration information and forms will be available on our web page by October 15, 2005.
  • Registration will open on November 15, 2005. A non-refundable deposit of

$75 is due at the time of registration.

A lot is still in the planning stages at this point, but I can tell you about a few new things in store for everyone at THE FEAST, in addition to everything you come to expect at a Higher Things Conference:

  • THE FEAST will appropriately begin *and* conclude with the Divine Service.
  • There will be Pre-Conference Activities and Hiking Excursions for those who wish to come early on Monday.
  • Registrants will be able to attend two different “In-Depth Sectionals” this year.
  • We are looking forward to having upwards of 30 youth join us from such places as Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Ghana.

If you have questions that can’t wait until October 15, please contact us at TheFeast@HigherThings.org.

So who is helping to plan for THE FEAST? The conference committee includes:

Rev. George Borghardt, Conroe, TX (Catechesis)
Mrs. Jane Casey, Fort Wayne, IN (Local Arrangements)
Rev. Dr. Steven Hein, Monument, CO (Entertainment/Recreation)
Mrs. Sandra Ostapowich, Plymouth, MN (Publications)
Mrs. Sue Pellegrini, Everett, WA (Information/Registration)
Rev. Adrian Sherrill, Denver, CO (Volunteer Coordination)
Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch, South Bend, IN (Worship)

Also helping to serve in an advisory capacity are Rev. Bruce Keseman (Freeburg, IL) and Mrs. Lynn Fredericksen (Pleasant Prairie, WI). Rev.

Pr. Keseman was the conference chair for DARE TO BE LUTHERAN and Mrs. Fredericksen is the Higher Things Treasurer. Countless others will be involved in similar fashion along the way.

Please keep all of us in your prayers as we continue to plan for the conference, and know that we look forward to helping you prepare to arrive at THE FEAST next summer.

In Christ,

Rev. Marcus Zill, Laramie, WY, 2006 Conference Director

Isaiah 25:6:  “And in this mountain The Lord of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.”

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Higher Things Dares to Organize for the Future

In the past five years, Higher Things has held five major conferences and produced 16 magazine issues. These have become consistent and trustworthy tools for many LC-MS congregations in their ministry to youth. Higher Things also offers a suite of online resources, including devotional materials, Bible Studies, web forums, blogs, and e-mail lists for high school youth and college students alike. Higher Things has also expanded into campus ministry and plans to offer leadership training opportunities in the future. 

We’ve sure come a long way since the “Dying to Live Conference” in Laramie, WY in July, 2000! Thanks be to God for His gifts!

Success and growth brings forth a variety of challenges and it creates new opportunities. The Higher Things Board of Directors met in mid-August in Minneapolis, MN for a governance retreat to dream, plan and organize for the future. This sort of self-examination is necessary for any growing organization, including those who “Dare to be Lutheran.” 

We took a good, honest and objective look at how Higher Things is structured and we adopted some important organizational changes that will best suit the future development and expansion of Higher Things. These changes include a shift from a single Executive Director to several focused Executive positions in key operational areas such as Publications, Conferences, Web, Campus Ministry, and Leadership Training. 

This new structure will unburden operations, increase creative freedom, and create a responsive organization that will be able to deliver more conferences and impact more youth and their congregations without sacrificing the quality and character people have come to expect from Higher Things. 

Work on implementing the details of this new structure is now underway. Look for an update in early October.

Rev. Klemet Preus 
President, Higher Things
September 05, 2005

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Vote in the HT Photo Contest

Higher Things has a photo contest! If you would like to vote on the best photo of who is reading Higher Things, CLICK HERE and you will be able to download the file and vote. Enjoy!

-Pastor Todd Peperkorn
Executive Editor

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DTBL Pictures Now Available!

Higher Things wishes to offer our apologies for the delay in providing pictures from the recent Dare to be Lutheran conference. We ran into unexpected problems.

However – we have pictures now!! LOTS of them. Come and see all that went on last month in St. Louis at DTBL.

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Summer 05 Bible Studies Available

Six new Bible studies with leader guides are now available on the Higher Things web site. These Bible studies are based on articles in the current issue of Higher Things, and include addressing topics such as life, aliens, the pope, getting punched for defending the faith, ceremonies, prayer, and losing stupid. They are downloadable, and are available in PDF format, or other formats upon request. They are also free, so enjoy!

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Dr. Nagel’s Sermon

Check otu Dr. Norman Nagels (of the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis) sermon from the Dare to be Lutheran Conference here.

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Update on College Sectional at Dare to Be Lutheran

If you are a college student, or a group leader with college students coming, don’t forget about our Christ on Campus College Sectional. Detailed information, including some changes in program, are available at:

http://higherthings.org/html/campus/events/dtbl.html

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Update on College Sectional at Dare to Be Lutheran

If you are a college student, or a group leader with college students coming, don’t forget about our Christ on Campus College Sectional. Detailed information, including some changes in program, are available at:

http://higherthings.org/html/campus/events/dtbl.html

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Live DTBL Blogcat

7 Days ’til 1200 Youth DARE TO BE LUTHERAN!!

The annual Higher Things youth conference, “Dare to be Lutheran”, begins ONE WEEK from TODAY in St. Louis, MO.

You’ve heard about this upcoming conference for months. Maybe your church is sending youth to it. But what will actually be going on there each day? What are the speakers talking about? What is the worship like? Who got to throw out the first pitch at that Cardinals game?

Keep up with the Higher Things conference on our Live DTBL BlogCast. Articles and pictures from the conference will be posted multiple times each day by Higher Things Webmaster, Stan Lemon, as well as other DTBL reporters.

Talk about the conference on the Higher Things Dare to be Lutheran Conference Forum.

Following the DTBL conference, keep up with your favorite reporters on their new Higher Things weblogs!

Watch www.HigherThings.org for more news and updates on the Conference, Forums, and Blogs.

Higher Things – Dare to be Lutheran
http://dtbl.HigherThings.org
http://dtbl.HigherThings.org/photos/

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In the Downtime…

Did you just finish reading a Higher Things article and can’t wait to tell us how awesome it was?  Or did it stink?  Maybe it raised some questions in your mind…

Go to www.higherthings.org and tell us what’s up.  Once there, click on a magazine cover and comment on the articles you’ve read from that issue! You can even download short Bible studies on favorite articles to dig deeper into the topics they cover. 

Or you can register to participate on the HT Forums and start a discussion on an article or question one brought up for you. HT now has Forums for Middle and High School youth, College students, and Youth Workers. We even have a Forum just for the upcoming Higher Things: Dare to be Lutheran Conference! Make plans to get together with your online friends, find out what everyone is doing with their free time and what exciting sectionals to attend, and get inside information on St. Louis and what great things to expect at the this summer.

If you look forward to getting your Higher Things magazine, check out our www.higherthings.org to stay up on Higher Things in the downtime.