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BY LINDA WORTHINGTON
UMCONNECTION STAFF

No sooner had Shaun A. Lane set foot in the conference center to begin as communications director, than he was off again. He had to go renew his passport on short notice, in order to accept the bishop?s invitation to accompany the conference team of clergy and lay people to Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, June 7.

Lane comes to the conference with extensive experience in marketing and communications management, most recently as director of marketing and client relations for the graduate school at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has also worked for United Way of Central Maryland, Goodwill Industries, Erikson Retirement Communities, Option One and Reebok International, always in marketing leadership positions.

He became excited when he read about the position in the Washington Post, because it offered an opportunity to share his faith, work for God, bring people to Jesus and immerse himself in faith, he said. 'Such opportunities don?t come very often.'

Lane grew up Catholic and was active as an altar boy and in youth ministries. He dropped out of church during college at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut; but it became clear to him when he met his wife-to-be that her father, a pastor in Philadelphia, expected his daughter to marry someone of faith. 'That got me back into church,' he said.

He and his wife, Stacey, a middle-school Spanish teacher, have two daughters, 5 and 2 years old.

Lane gets up most mornings at 4:30 a.m. and runs for seven to 12 miles. He?s also an avid chess player.

Having grown up in Boston, he says he?s a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan. 'You can tell my mood by how the Red Sox are doing,' he said. He also likes the Ravens.

Lane is expected to develop a strategy for communications that enables the conference and local churches to move deeper and more meaningfully into the Discipleship Adventure.

New director at Manidokan

'Camping is my passion,' said Chris Schliekert, the new Manidokan Camp director.

Schliekert, 26, arrived in the area May 18 to begin his ministry at Manidokan, learning from the previous director, the Rev. Bill Herche, who moves to Mt. Zion UMC in Lothian, July 1.

Schliekert spent three days in training on the high ropes, something he?d never done before, he said. He came to the position from Northern Pines United Methodist Assembly Grounds in the Minnesota Annual Conference, where he was the assistant director.

He spent his youth as a camper at Northern Pines and on the summer camp staff while in Kenyon College, where he graduated with a double major in sociology and psychology. 'In college, I knew I wanted to be a camp director,' he said.

Schliekert brings enthusiasm for the opportunities camping offers young people. 'I became a Christian at camp in junior high school. It changed my life,' he said.

Not only will he spend much of his working life outside; it?s also where he likes to spend his leisure time. He enjoys all kinds of skiing, both water and snow, and likes to hike. He said he looks forward to opportunities to learn the history of the area, including the area surrounding the Antietam Battlefield. 'We didn?t have anything like that in Minnesota,' he chuckled.

He?s ready for this year?s camping schedule, including the special youth-group event over the July 4 holiday. Then after this summer, he says he has some new ideas for camps, fundraisers and promotions.

Schliekert is single, 'just me and my dog, Daphne (a yellow lab mix).' He?ll live at Manidokan. 'This is where God wants me to be,' he said.

Sidebar: July event to celebrate Charles Wesley?s 300th Birthday

The legacy of Charles Wesley, one of Methodism?s founders and the author of more than 9,000 poems and hymns, will be celebrated July 20-22 at a national tercentenary celebration at the 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase.

The convocation begins at 1:30 p.m., July 20. Over the next two days, participants will hear plenary addresses by Wesley scholars, participate in workshops, and attend a festival of music on July 20 at Asbury UMC in Washington, D.C., and a musical program at Chevy Chase UMC on July 21.

The 300th birthday celebration will conclude with worship July 22, featuring the preaching of Paul Chilcote, the president of the Charles Wesley Society, at Chevy Chase UMC, which is across the street from the 4-H Center.

The event will include the annual meetings of the Historical Society of The United Methodist Church, the Charles Wesley Society, the Southeastern Jurisdiction Historical Society and the General Commission on Archives and History.

Registration is $80. There are additional costs for room and board.

For more information or to register visit http://www.gcah.org.