Nine high school students and two advisers from Union Lutheran Church, Schnecksville, traveled to Detroit, Mich., this summer for a national denominational event that included worship, learning experiences, mission work and fun.

After an 11-hour trip on a bus shared with youth from other Lehigh Valley churches, the group settled in a hotel for the weeklong Evangelical Lutheran Church in America national youth gathering.

They were accompanied by Cathy Shaffer, assistant to Pastor Dennis Moore at Union Lutheran, and Doug Collins, youth group adviser.

Robert Blose, Logan Collins, Morgan Collins, Jacob Geiger, Dakota Haldeman, Breanna Hoffman, Madison Hoffman, Becca Kosar and Madison Williams joined 28,000 other young people from all over the United States who participated in the conference.

They listened to motivational speakers and Christian music every night at Ford Field, an enclosed dome arena which is home to the Detroit Lions football team.

Performers included the Christian hard rock band, Skillet and Christian rapper, Agape, an ordained pastor.

Event organizers assigned the Union Lutheran contingent to a mission project in a rundown section of the city.

The kids were told to clear brush and debris from properties so the city could have access to dilapidated or burnt abandoned houses.

Shaffer said the young people were not allowed inside the houses due to unsafe conditions, but found sofas, mattresses and other debris all around which had to be taken to the curb for pick-up.

She said the city wants to board up the windows to keep out squatters and will eventually demolish the buildings.

Shaffer said the youth worked hard an entire day on that service project.

Other activities included time with Bishop Samuel Zeiser from the Northeast Pennsylvania Synod and the chance to explore the city.

Shaffer offered her impressions of Detroit.

"The downtown is pristine, clean and well-maintained with hotels, restaurants and municipal buildings," Shaffer said. "People were open and friendly.

"Waiters in restaurants and people outside were high-fiving and thanking us for coming to their city."

She also saw deteriorated neighborhoods and boarded up businesses outside the center of town.

The highlight of the week, said Shaffer, was the Sunday morning worship service in Ford Field led by the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Elizabeth Eaton.

"There was beautiful Christian music and communion with 28,000 other people," Shaffer said. "It was very moving."

She credits Collins for his dedication to the youth group.

"Doug runs the weekly meetings and is in the nitty-gritty with all the kids," Shaffer said. "He's the backbone of the youth group.

The National Lutheran youth gathering takes place every three years. In 2018, the event will be in Houston, Texas.

Shaffer said young adults who attended previous National Lutheran Youth events recall the experience as a highlight of their teen years.