‘We had so many opportunities to learn’: Reflections from Young Adult Conference 2023

By Ruth Ritchey Moore

I am always excited to go to Camp Mack. The rural Indiana roads nearby are familiar and it’s wonderful to see the remarkable sights of Lake Waubee and Arky Parky. It’s my home camp, the camp I attended as a camper, and I have returned to be on staff, a counselor, and team leader.

Recently, I was even more excited than normal to come to Camp Mack because I was looking forward to spending time in community, learning and growing as part of Young Adult Conference. This is my second year as part of the Young Adult Steering Committee, and I love to see our plans change and become reality as the weekend unfolds.

Although we were only together for parts of three days, I was happy to see people quickly making new connections and renewing friendships with those they hadn’t seen in awhile.

We had so many opportunities to learn during the conference. We took advantage of our beautiful location to reflect on what we had heard during worship while walking in nature. During workshops we learned about slow racism and both made and decorated cookies (and ate them). We also participated in group discussions about our scriptures for the week.

Our main scripture was the story of the potter and the clay, Jeremiah 18:1-6. We are often in phases of transition in our lives and can use the reminder that God is continuing to work on us, never giving up on us, with the goal to continue equipping us to create the kingdom of God on earth.

Please pray… For the participants in and leaders of Young Adult Conference 2023, that they may continue to grow in their faith following an inspirational time together.