At this year’s Welcome Festival, offered during registration on the first afternoon of NOAC, a talented local bluegrass group—Upstream Rebellion—entertained folks while they waited for their rooms to be ready. Water, snacks, board games, art supplies, and word puzzles were laid out on the tables, and the weather cooperated with mild cloud cover and a gentle breeze.
Folks had stories to tell around the tables, from bee keepers, to church pianists, to those working with immigrants and refugees.
More than one new arrival spoke of traffic jams on I-40 from the construction still dating back to Hurricane Helene flooding. We heard of Hurricane Helene and the damage it did to the Asheville region.
Later in the evening, Ken Howle, executive director of Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, described the havoc wreaked by the storm. True heroics by the staff, aid workers, and local ministers kept the place afloat while parts of it literally floated. So it shouldn’t have been surprising that portions of I-40 were undergoing massive repairs.
I am a veteran of several NOACs and I know how hard it can be to travel to this out-of-the-way spot where all the roads have two or three or four numbers, a real name, and the one the locals use. So I know from experience just how easy it is to get lost. I can’t help but ask–how’d you get here?
Just asking. Because this is where the NOAC memories begin.
My wife, Jennie, and I drive. That means we kind of know what to expect. We leave Nappanee, Ind., in the morning, with a car full of drinks and treats. We almost always spend the first night at the same motel in Gallipolis, on the southern border of Ohio, where we eat at the same Italian restaurant. There’s always a stop for gas and a hot dog and soda at a big box store that shall remain nameless. Plus I get to walk the aisles of the store to stretch my legs. When we arrive at Lake Junaluska we eat at the same barbecue place before NOAC starts.
If you’ve ever been to Annual Conference, you know it takes at least a day to get the lay of the land. Where’s your hotel? How do you get to the convention center? Where are the restaurants? Where do delegates sit?
Once you’ve been to NOAC, however, you know everything. Stuff doesn’t change at Lake J. And if this is your first time, then just ask somebody. If there’s someone wearing a staff shirt (we all wear them the first day) just ask one of us. Or just ask anybody.
Here’s a little secret. Unlike National Youth Conference, where responsible adults see to it that you don’t hide away but take part in everything, or Annual Conference, where your Brethren conscience makes you do everything out of a sense of duty, here at NOAC you don’t have to do anything. No one is keeping attendance. No one is keeping score! Go have fun.
The difference is, you’ll want to do everything. It’s all fun. The problem is you have to make choices! We’re all together for the Bible study and keynote speakers in the morning, and worship in the evening, but in the afternoon and after worship in the evenings several things are going on at once: workshops, field trips, camp fires, ice cream socials, talent shows.
So welcome. And how did you get here anyway? Tell me. Or tell somebody. Share your story!
— Frank Ramirez is a retired pastor and frequent contributor to Church of the Brethren communications.
#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving
———-
Find more Church of the Brethren news:
- Mission and Ministry Board extends general secretary’s term, recognizes Material Resources, approves 2026 budget parameter, among other business
- Deportation Defense Response offers new online giving option to support Church of the Brethren members, shares requests for prayer and praise
- Brethren Disaster Ministries shares domestic program survey
- Faith leaders condemn administration efforts to abandon historic US refugee program
- Join a Children’s Disaster Services volunteer training in Spring 2026