“Celebrating the Church of the Brethren’s 300th Anniversary in 2008″
(Nov. 3, 2008) — The Youth and Young Adult Office of the Church of the Brethren has announced the 2009 schedule of summer workcamps. The workcamp theme for the year is “Bound Together, Finely Woven” based on 2 Corinthians 8:12-15. In 2009, 29 workcamps will be offered in 25 diverse locations in the United States and several international locations.
Each workcamp offers a week-long service opportunity for junior high youth, senior high youth, young adults, or an intergenerational group. Held in the months of June, July, and August, the workcamps provide experiences that unite service, spiritual growth, and Brethren heritage.
Four of the 2009 workcamps are highlighted by staff as offering new or unique opportunities:
A workcamp titled “We Are Able” for senior high youth and young adults will be held at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on July 6-10. This is a new concept in the workcamp ministry. Recognizing that all people have gifts to share, this workcamp will enable youth and young adults with intellectual disabilities to serve side-by-side with a service-partner youth or young adult.
A young adult workcamp in Northern Ireland will be the first workcamp of the summer, on June 6-14. It will offers young adults the opportunity to travel to an area of extreme beauty, but also extreme conflict. Participants will learn about conflict and reconciliation while working at the Kilcranny House in Coleraine, a Brethren Volunteer Service project site. Kilcranny House is committed to healing the division that exists between people in Northern Ireland and exploring nonviolence as a way of life and a means of working for change.
An intergenerational workcamp titled “Passing on the Peace Witness” will be held at the Brethren Service Center on Aug. 2-7, co-sponsored by On Earth Peace. This is offered to people of all ages. Multiple generations will serve together at the Brethren Service Center, exploring the legacy and importance of the peace witness in the Church of the Brethren. Families are invited.
A workcamp exploring the issue of racism will be offered for senior high youth in Germantown, Pa., on July 27-Aug. 2, co-sponsored by On Earth Peace. Church of the Brethren leaders recently issued a letter calling for continued study and self-examination on the issue of racism. This workcamp will offer that opportunity as participants serve together in an urban setting.
Other junior high workcamps will be held at 10 sites including the John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va., on June 15-19; Innisfree in Crozet, Va., on June 21-25; the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on July 5-9; Ashland, Ohio, on July 6-10 and July 12-16; the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on July 13-17; Richmond, Va., on July 22-26; Harrisburg, Pa., on July 27-31; Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 29-Aug.1; and Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 5-9.
Other senior high workcamps will be held at 15 sites including Camp Wilbur Stover in Idaho on June 14-21; Brooklyn, N.Y., cosponsored by Brethren Revival Fellowship on June 14-21; Caimito, P.R., on July 5-12; Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding projects on the Gulf coast on July 5-11 and July 12-18; Camp Myrtlewood in Oregon on July 12-18; Lakota Native American Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle, S.D., on July 13-19; Chicago and Lombard, Ill., on July 20-26; Putney, Vt., on July 20-26; Keyser, W.Va., on July 26-Aug. 1; St. Croix, the US Virgin Islands, on July 27-Aug. 2; Los Angeles, Calif., on July 27-Aug. 2; the Dominican Republic on Aug. 1-9; N. Fort Myers, Fla., on Aug. 3-9; and Tijuana, Mexico, on Aug. 3-9.
“Just as each thread is important in a tapestry, each person is important in a workcamp,” said an announcement from the workcamp staff. “This summer we will work side by side, giving and receiving; revealing a God already present in the world. Come discover the importance of each thread of the tapestry, bound together and finely woven as the community of all God’s children.”
Workcamp registration begins online at 8 p.m. central time on Jan. 5, 2009. Go to http://www.brethrenworkcamps.org/ for more information, or contact Jeanne Davies, Meghan Horne, Bekah Houff, or Emily LaPrade in the workcamp office at cobworkcamps_gb@brethren.org or 800-323-8039.
–Meghan Horne is one of the coordinators for the workcamp program in 2009, working through Brethren Volunteer Service.
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The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. To receive Newsline by e-mail go to http://listserver.emountain.net/mailman/listinfo/newsline. Submit news to the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. For more Church of the Brethren news and features, subscribe to “Messenger” magazine; call 800-323-8039 ext. 247.