Lutheran Church History Contest for Youth
LUTHERAN CHURCH HISTORY CONTEST
FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH
CONTEST RULES
The Lutheran Church History Contest for Middle and High School youth is sponsored by the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic (LHSMA). The contest period begins on December 1, 2009 and concludes on March 1, 2010.
How to Enter: Contestants will create a multimedia presentation, e.g., a DVD or a Power Point presentation, and an accompanying typewritten script. They should submit the following to the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic, 61 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA 17325 postmarked no later than March 1, 2010:
1. A completed application form
2. A copy of the completed DVD or Power Point project.
Please note: if you are submitting a DVD, please provide
two copies. A Power Point project should be placed on a CD-Rom
or flash drive and submitted
3. An electronic copy of the typewritten script.
As part of the project contestants must include a bibliography of resources including information about people who were interviewed. In addition to the project, they should complete the application form and have their pastor or youth advisor sign the form. The society also requests that each contestant submit a copy of the project for the congregation’s archives.
Who can enter? Middle School (grades 6-8) and High School (grades 9-12) students who participate in a Lutheran congregation.
Can more than one person work on a project? Each project should be the work of only one person. While other people may be consulted, the primary work of the project should be completed by a single individual.
How Long Should the Project be?: The length of the project should be 15-20 minutes. The typewritten script should be in the Times New Roman font size 12.
Topic: Contestants may choose from the following two topics: My Congregation’s Story or My Congregation’s Youth Ministry Story. If a participant chooses My Congregation’s Story he or she will develop a general history of a congregation. If a contestant chooses My Congregation’s Youth Ministry Story he or she will focus on the history of youth ministry within the congregation and explore it in greater detail.
Some Suggestions on how to approach these topics: Below are listed some guidelines to help direct contestants’ research and presentations. These are not requirements but rather aides to contestants as they seek to develop their projects.
• Tell about the origins of your congregation or the origins of youth work there: when, where, and why was it founded; who were the leaders; was there a pastor or youth worker in place when the church was first established?
•Articulate the congregation’s mission or youth ministry’s mission and explain its importance in parish ministry.
•Name significant leaders, e.g., youth leaders, pastors, council presidents, and explain their importance in the congregation’s history/youth work.
•Indicate significant events or decisions in the history of your congregation and the effects they have had on your story, e.g., language use, relocation, the historical decision to call a pastor, calling or hiring of other staff such as an organist/music minister or youth worker, a tragedy such as a fire, building projects, the addition of technology.
•How has your congregation or the youth of the congregation served your community?
•Tell what is most important in this congregation or youth ministry for you.
Judging: The board of directors of the Lutheran Historical Society of Mid-Atlantic will appoint a panel of judges to review the projects and determine winners.
Projects will be judged in the following categories:
1.Coherence of presentation (i.e., Is the narrative well organized? Does it tell the story effectively? Does it have a clearly articulated beginning and ending?)
2. Number and diversity of resources consulted (i.e., Has the contestant used archival material, oral history interviews, previous congregational histories, congregational documents, etc?)
3. Creativity of presentation (i.e., Is the style of the submission engaging?)
Prizes First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each age group. A certain minimum level of excellence determined by a panel of judges must be demonstrated to win a prize. Prizes are: $125-First Prize, $75-Second Prize, $50-Third Prize. First prize recipients will be invited to the Tuesday, April 20, 2009 LHSMA Spring Program to be held at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The two first prize recipients will present their projects as part of the society’s annual Spring program. Winners will be notified on or about April 1, 2010.
Questions: Questions can be directed to Pastor Stephen Herr, president of the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic at pastor@christgettysburg.org or 717-334-5212.
Approved: November 11, 2009
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LUTHERAN CHURCH HISTORY CONTEST
FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH
APPLICATION FORM
Contestant’s name______________________________________________________
Contestant’s address____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Contestant’s phone number_____________________________________________________
Contestant’s email address____________________________________________________
Congregation________________________________________________
Congregation address____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Congregation’s email address____________________________________________________
Congregation’s Phone Number_____________________________________________________
Pastor______________________________________________________
Youth Minister or Advistor____________________________________________________
Synod______________________________________________________
Please have your pastor or youth advisor sign below to indicate that she or he has been consulted In the preparation of this project.
_________________________________________________________
Please print
________________________________
Signature
Contestants are asked to submit a copy of their project to their congregation for its archives. Please check below to indicate that this has been done. Thank you.
________ I have given a copy of my project to the congregation for its archives.
admin | 
November 18, 2009 12:15 am
Mary Elizabeth Markley