Extravaganza General Session SpeakersThere are six general sessions throughout the Extravaganza. These carefully selected speakers will inspire, challenge and equip you for the ministry ahead. Additional speakers will be added so be sure to check back for updates. Extravaganza TheologianDr. Michael ChanExecutive Director for Faith and Learning, Concordia College EXTRAVAGANZA EmceeMatthew Lovett Matthew met his spiritual Mother, Pastor Regina Goodrich at Mediator Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Philadelphia in 2018, and became layman and armor bearer. Pastor Goodrich has allowed Matthew to preach the Word, become a part of the Multicultural Initiative. Matthew serves on the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Board of Directors. Matthew is here to serve, nothing more and absolutely nothing less. General Session #1 Rev. Carla Christopher (she/they)
The Rev. Carla Christopher (she/they) is a former Poet Laureate of York, Pennsylvania who plays in a poetry-funk fusion band, Groove Ink, and spoils her dog (Bishop Winifred Mandela) shamelessly. In her spare time she serves as Assistant to the Bishop for Justice Ministries in Lower Susquehanna and Delaware-Maryland Synods, is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Consultant and Trauma-Informed Care / Restorative Justice Mediator for multiple synods and faith-based organizations. Carla works joyfully as a member of churchwide Congregational Vitality team as curriculum developer and trainer as advocates as a Statewide Policy Council member with Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of PA. A former youth and family caseworker who studied brain development and early childhood education at Columbia University before attending United Lutheran Seminary, Carla has supported multiple congregations in community engagement and youth ministry as part of renewal and redevelopment. She writes regularly for ELCA World Hunger, Sundays and Seasons, and Sparkhouse and loves energetic storytelling from her queer, Creole, Romani, Spanish perspective. Co-chair of the Commission for A Renewed Lutheran Church and chaplain for Proclaim, an ELCA ministry that supports LGBTQIA2S+ seminarians and rostered leaders, Carla specializes in dreams shepherded into movements, especially when empowerment of children and youth are at the center.
Jeff Hiller General Session #2 Rev. Carla Christopher (she/they)
The Rev. Carla Christopher (she/they) is a former Poet Laureate of York, Pennsylvania who plays in a poetry-funk fusion band, Groove Ink, and spoils her dog (Bishop Winifred Mandela) shamelessly. In her spare time she serves as Assistant to the Bishop for Justice Ministries in Lower Susquehanna and Delaware-Maryland Synods, is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Consultant and Trauma-Informed Care / Restorative Justice Mediator for multiple synods and faith-based organizations. Carla works joyfully as a member of churchwide Congregational Vitality team as curriculum developer and trainer as advocates as a Statewide Policy Council member with Lutheran Advocacy Ministries of PA. A former youth and family caseworker who studied brain development and early childhood education at Columbia University before attending United Lutheran Seminary, Carla has supported multiple congregations in community engagement and youth ministry as part of renewal and redevelopment. She writes regularly for ELCA World Hunger, Sundays and Seasons, and Sparkhouse and loves energetic storytelling from her queer, Creole, Romani, Spanish perspective. Co-chair of the Commission for A Renewed Lutheran Church and chaplain for Proclaim, an ELCA ministry that supports LGBTQIA2S+ seminarians and rostered leaders, Carla specializes in dreams shepherded into movements, especially when empowerment of children and youth are at the center.
Deacon Ross Murray
Director of The Naming Project Ross holds a BA in Youth & Family Ministry from Augsburg College and a MA in Outreach & Discipleship from Luther Seminary and is a consecrated Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has worked with youth and families in rural parishes, camps, multicultural urban congregations, college campuses, and has presented models of youth & family ministry all over the country. Ross is responsible for communication, fundraising, and development of the programs of The Naming Project. Ross is especially interested in helping youth cultivate a holistic identity that includes sexuality and spirituality. General Session #3 This general session will be unlike any other General Session. We are delighted to announce that this session will include a special staged reading of a play entitled, "Jabari Dreams of Freedom," written by Nambi E. Kelley and directed by Daniel Carlton. The play will be cast with members of our own Multicultural Initiative. JABARI DREAMS OF FREEDOM is presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.trwplays.com Nambi E. Kelley Daniel Carlton General Session #4 The tAble & ELCA Disability Ministries The tAble is an intentional gathering of youth who live with a wide range of disabilities. First held in 1997 under the name DAYLE (Definitely-abled Youth Leadership Event), the tAble is one of the pre-gathering experiences that celebrates the ways we have been uniquely created and called into the family of Jesus. Every three years young people form a community as they preview the sites and themes of the ELCA Youth Gathering and create lasting friendships with others who “get” an integral part of their life story. The tAble is one of the few places in the ELCA and wider church intentionally designed for the full inclusion of young people, regardless of ability. General Session #5 Pastora Jade Mohorko Ortiz Jamie Bruesehoff General Session #6: Worship Bishop Michael Rinehart
Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod Michael Rinehart is Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a community of over one hundred congregations, campus ministries, retreat centers, and other agencies. Michael studied music at Valparaiso University, a Lutheran university in Valparaiso, Indiana, focusing on organ performance and singing in the VU Schola Cantorum, Chorale, Concert Choir. He received his Master of Divinity at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. He lives in Montgomery, Texas with his wife and children. Worship PresiderRev. Nicolette Peñaranda
Rev. Nicolette Peñaranda serves as the Program Director for the African Descent Ministries of the ELCA. One of Rev. Nicolette’s most recent projects includes being the Illustrator of “God’s Holy Darkness,” a children’s book that “deconstructs anti-Blackness in Christian theology by celebrating instances in the story of God’s people when darkness, blackness, and night are beautiful, good, and holy.” She is a guest artist for Sanctified Art’s 2023 Advent and 2024 Lent resources. Rev. Nic is a DMin student at United Lutheran Seminary.
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