Let Justice Roll October 11-13 Holden Village Cost: $145 per person (includes round-trip boat to Holden, 2 nites/7 meals at Holden, and program)   Sponsored by Trinity Lutheran College, Holden Village, Lutheran Peace Fellowship, and Lutheran Public Policy Office, Earth Ministry. LJR is an annual program traditionally held at Holden Village, a Lutheran Retreat Center above Lake Chelan in Eastern Washington. The program is intended to reach high school students interested in social, economic, political, and environmental justice issues. The goal is to provide a place where these students can learn about these global issues incorporating a Lutheran theological perspective and to provide a place where students can putting their faith into action.

2008 Theme: Practicing our Faith in the Salmon Nation

The “Salmon Nation” is a project developed by the EcoTrust in Portland, Oregon.  It is a creative project that seeks to bring people together to think about the interconnectedness of life, specifically in the Pacific Northwest. Anywhere pacific salmon are found is included in the Salmon Nation bio-region.  Salmon Nation is about fostering healthy relationships between people, businesses, and the environment.  It is a way to learn about the place we call home, to take seriously the natural beauty of the environment that surrounds us, listen to the stories of this place, and to have fun meeting our neighbors.  

“Practicing our Faith in the Salmon Nation” is a project convened by Dr. Patricia Killen and Dr. Samuel Torvent of Pacific Lutheran University.  They gathered eight ELCA clergy to talk about the ways life in the Pacific Northwest shapes our lives in the Christian faith. For more information please visit http://oregonsynod.org/docs/careforcreationsalmon.pdf

Using this theme at the Let Justice Roll Event will provide presentations sparking lively conversations around the practices of sustainability, relationships, and creation. Sustainability is meant in this context to include relationships between the environment, communities, businesses, people, friends, neighbors, and healthy care of self.

The subthemes of the weekend are Caring for Self, Caring for Neighbor, and Caring for Creation flowing out of the biblical “great commandment” to love God, neighbor, and self.

•     Self: The focus here has two parts, one focusing on physical self-care (diet, exercise, sleep, and healthy self images) and the other focusing on self care though healthy spiritual practices (scripture, prayer, meditation)
•     Neighbor: The focus here will be on “who is my neighbor” and “how can I love my neighbor” by looking at issues, but not limited to, such as social justice, race, slavery, gender.
•     Creation: The focus will be on examining this deeply complex and currently very popular topic (carbon footprint, going green, organic etc) from a theological perpective of being faithful stewards of God’s creation. 

Holden Village provides a uniquely beautiful “laboratory” to celebrate and examine these issues and apply them to our Pacific Northwest.   Building on the first two components we will explore the interconnected relationships between self, neighbor, and creation to discover faithful responses as followers of Jesus.

This year in addition to our regular “partners” in this program we welcome Earth Ministry who will be providing wisdom and resources for our conversation.

A Word about LJR: LJR is not designed like the Holden Youth Weekends for participation from large youth groups.  Its unique focus is meant to feed, support, and stimulate those young people who have a special interest in the issues of peace, justice, and care of creation. Because of the fall date, space is limited, so encourage you to bring young people with a passion for this subject.