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Three inspiring commentaries by young adults who attended the retreat.

• An oasis for growth -- Libby Harris
• Sharing wisdom -- Rev. Frankie Revell
• Vital worship engages Spirit -- Chis Bishop
  

BY LIBBY HARRIS, BETHESDA UMC

This was the message printed on buttons handed out at last month’s Young Adult Retreat, sponsored by the conference’s Young Adult Council.

I had never really stopped to think of Jesus in that context before. In Sunday School, we learn to think of him as savior, teacher and friend, but he was also a young adult, just like me and nearly 48 million other people in the United States.

In our individual congregations, young adults are often a minority, and as we are in a transitional phase in our lives – no longer students but not yet veterans of the “real world” – we can feel a little lost.

And so one of my favorite parts about coming to this Young Adult Retreat was finding a larger community of young adults who are active proclaimers of their faith. With 85 young adults from across the Baltimore-Washington Conference, we gathered at Camp Manidokan and enjoyed discussions on how to nurture the young adult groups we are currently a part of and how to grow our involvement as church leaders as we continue to mature.

I came to the Young Adult Retreat as a young adult member of Bethesda UMC mainly looking for a chance to spend some time away from my usual hustle and bustle and to slow down and enjoy the serenity of Camp Manidokan.

But I came away with more than just a few hours of R&R. The weekend offered many opportunities for new and fun experiences. For me it was climbing my first rock wall and ringing the bell, s’mores and singing at the campfire, joining in a late-night round of Apple to Apples, singing songs in new languages, and assembling back-to-school bags.
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Sharing wisdom

BY REV. FRANKIE REVELL, COKESBURY MEMORIAL UMC

The 2009 Young Adult Retreat was a great success. The most helpful aspect of the retreat for me was the Rev. Kevin Small’s presentation on “Starting a Young Adult Ministry,” in which he drew from his own experiences leading a Christian Café’ for young adults in Washington.

During his presentation, Kevin presented the following facts that are useful for every church:

• The key to any young adult ministry is the message that God still loves me.
• Since young adults are trying to make sense of the world they are often lonely and long for community.
• Young adults like topics that are edgy and controversial. As a mainline denomination, we often don’t get “personal enough.”
• All young adult ministries are temporary and must be reinvented every few years.
• Young adults will not tolerate an environment where their ideas are not considered. It is important to listen to them.
• Younger and older constituents in our congregations might need training in order to know how to “deal with each other.”
• Because most churches have very few young adults, it is best to come together as a region when attempting to reach young adults in an area.
• When it comes to young adult ministry, Kevin said, “too many churches are operating with a 1988 mentality when we need to be operating with a 2012 mentality.”

I left the retreat with a renewed sense of God’s calling for me to reach young adults in my region.
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Vital worship engages Spirit

BY CHIS BISHOP, MIDDLETOWN UMC

The worship at the young adult retreat was vital and vibrant.

One of the first things that I was struck by was the wonderful diversity on styles that were woven throughout the music and messages that gave a well rounded and varied scope of worship.

Dan Broberg, from Gaithersburg, commented to me that his connection point was with the worldly music on the first day of the retreat, and this then set the stage for continued worshipful connection during his time in the prayer labyrinth.

I was particularly engaged by Jenny Cannon’s message during the final worship encounter.

Her experiential message told us about her love-hate relationship with newspapers. She encouraged us to not get bogged down with the heart breaking headlines, but to look through the type and find the hope and potential for transformation in the world around us.

We were able to see this transformation happen as we were surrounded by origami peace cranes throughout the worship space.

The worship services sought to engage all of who we are. Through the services, there were times to sing, reflect and connect with God on a number of different levels.

Daniel Coffey, a member of Middletown UMC, shared that he liked the time for group reflection and conversation that grew out of the worship services. I am excited to see where worship will take us at next year’s retreat.
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