Fully Committed

I just returned from the ELCA Youth Workers' Convention in Charlotte, NC. This is an annual event for Lutheran youth workers with which I have been involved almost since its inception thirteen years ago. We meet in various cities to "renew, educate and connect" as they say in the mission statement. There is a definite community that has been built around this event so it always feels like a reunion and also a place to meet more like-minded people.

I am currently on the team that plans and executes the event. It is the most functional team that I work on. We are sixteen people who love to work and play together. We are based all over the United States and gather only twice a year, once to plan and once at the event itself. The rest of the year, we connect online and by phone and trust one another to do the work. It astounds me the number of details that come together into something that is greater than the sum of its parts. As an Urban Nomad, it works well for me to be on a strong team that is not tied to geography. I feel very connected to the team and communicate with some of them more often than some of my friends in the same city as me. Everyone is "fully committed." That term, "fully committed" took on another meaning when we arrived at the Westin a couple days before our event. Apparently "fully committed" is hotel-speak for "no more room at the inn." That means that if we needed extra rooms or meeting space, there was none to be had. At first, "fully committed" was a road block. Then we latched on to the term and became "fully committed" to making things work. And we did.