The Western States Youth Gathering (WSYG) and Western States Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (WYLE) is back! Coming to California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA, July 4-9, 2023, the Western States Youth Gathering is open to high school aged youth in Regions 1-4 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

WSYG and WYLE will gather around the theme, “Revive, Reunite, Rejoice”, grounded in Acts 2:1 “When the day [of WSYG] came, they were all together in one place.”

With nearly 35 years of history, WSYG is a multi-day youth gathering that gives high schoolers the opportunity to explore their faith, gather as a community through creative team-building activities and workshops, and enjoy endless summer fun all under the Southern California sunshine. In 2017, the WSYG planning team hosted the first ever Western States Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (WYLE). WYLE is a pre-gathering intended for students of color and/or youth groups that makes up at least 20% persons of color, taking place the few days leading up to WSYG.

This year’s event will feature an outdoor festival-style main stage, interactive and service learning opportunities, team-building activities with our lutheran outdoor ministries, creative worship elements, and exciting nightlife events.

After a cancelled 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with a new core leadership team, this year’s WSYG and WYLE may look a bit different, but will still center the good news that Christ dwells among us and through us. With synodical sponsorship from the Southwest California Synod and Pacifica Synod, WSYG and WYLE hopes to bring together over 500 participants from as far east as Minnesota, down south to the Gulf-Coast, up north to Alaska, and out west to the islands of Hawai’i.

Registration for WSYG and WYLE opens Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, at $385 per person, with prices increasing Jan. 4, 2023. Registration spots can be reserved with an early bird registration deposit of $115 per person. https://www.wsyg.com/