A total of 13 service trips are planned for FaithX 2024, the Church of the Brethren’s program of short-term service opportunities for youth, young adults, and adults. New opportunities include more options for combined junior and senior high youth groups, a family camp with childcare provided, an older adult trip in February, and both international and domestic trips for adults.
Upcoming Youth and Young Adult Ministries programs and events include National Junior High Sunday on Nov. 6, 2022; Christian Citizenship Seminar on April 22-27, 2023; National Youth Sunday on May 7, 2023; Young Adult Conference on May 5-7, 2023; and National Junior High Conference on June 16-18, 2023.
Registration for FaithX (formerly workcamps) events in the summer of 2022 opens online next Thursday, Jan. 13, at 8 p.m. (Eastern time) at www.brethren.org/faithx.
The Church of the Brethren’s National Youth Cabinet gathered Aug. 6-10 in Fort Collins, Colo., at Colorado State University for an onsite visit preparing for National Youth Conference (NYC) 2022.
“Thinking Theologically with Our Hands,” a virtual webinar featuring MaryAnn McKibben Dana, will be presented by the Church of the Brethren’s Youth and Young Adult Ministries on June 13 from 5-6 p.m. (Eastern time). Registration is free, and ministers may earn .01 continuing education units through the Brethren Academy for $10.
“In person” is the mode for most Church of the Brethren camps this summer. Representatives of several of the camps reported on their planning for the 2021 season in a recent Zoom meeting of the Outdoor Ministries Association, chaired by Gene Hollenberg with Linetta Ballew as vice-chair.
“Play, on Purpose,” a virtual webinar featuring Lakisha Lockhart, associate professor of Practical Theology at Chicago Theological Seminary, will be presented by the Youth and Young Adult Ministries on May 11 at 8-9:30 p.m. (Eastern time). After registering for the webinar, participants will watch a 30-minute video before joining the live conversation on May 11. Ministers may earn 0.2 continuing education units through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership.
National Youth Conference (NYC) 2022 will focus on Colossians 2:5-7 and the theme “Foundational.” The event will be held July 23-28, 2022. The registration fee, which includes food, lodging, and programing, will be $550. Youth who have completed ninth grade through one year of college at the time of NYC (or are age equivalent) and their adult advisors will gather at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. Online registration will open in early 2022 on www.brethren.org.
The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy has endorsed the Selective Service Repeal Act on the recommendation of longterm partner organization the Center on Conscience and War (CCW). The bill offers an alternative during a time when others are urging Congress to expand draft registration to women as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022.
National Youth Sunday is in early May and provides congregations the chance to experience and celebrate the faith and creativity of their youth within the context of worship. In other words, it’s a chance for youth to “take over” worship from the adults, offering their own perspectives and leadership in many forms.
