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Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team goes to National Young Adult Conference 2012!

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Molly’s reflections: The past week has been filled with the excitement of meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones at National Young Adult Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. I knew even before arriving that I would attend worship sessions, workshops, and small group meetings. What I hadn’t expected was being so inspired by other young adults getting involved and making a difference within the denomination. From BVS to Open Table Cooperative and being delegates at Annual Conference, young adults are moving mountains. As we leave conference I am given a new hope for the future of the denomination and how I might be part of it.

Katie’s reflections: Even though we’ve only been to one camp so far, this week was an interesting and enjoyable change of pace as we traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to be participants at National Young Adult Conference. The daily Bible studies and evening worships were all great, but one worship that has been in my mind since it happened involved feetwashing.

We were told the logistics of the service—you could come up to have your feet washed as you felt comfortable and would the stay at the station to wash the next person’s feet. The group was then left in a moment of silence and contemplation… and I panicked… just a little. The act of footwashing isn’t unfamiliar to me, but I’ve always done it in communities that I was comfortable with, like my church or school, but this was different. I was going to be having my feet washed by a someone I most likely didn’t know, and then I was going to have to wash the feet of still another stranger; that’s a TOTALLY different level of humility, and it made me uncomfortable.

Then, I realized, as I was having my feet washed by my new friend Dylan, that that’s the thing with feetwashing: it should never be “comfortable.” It should be a unique experience each and every time, and we should always strive to take something new from it.

Hunter’s reflections: On the orange and white campus of the University of Tennessee, young adults flocked for a week of rest and fun! I was able to meet so many people and gain so many new friends. I learned so many different things from different worship styles to cool organizations.

NYAC was a great week, but it wouldn’t have if we didn’t have Carol Fike doing all the stuff she did! So a HUGE thanks goes out to her!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2012 orientation

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2012 YPTT

2012 Youth Peace Travel Team

Explorer
Fun
Enthusiastic
Happy

Upon our arrival to Camp Mack for Youth Peace Travel Team orientation, we each chose one of these words as a short self-descriptor and as a way to get to know one another. These words became formative in helping us to better know ourselves, what concepts of peace we stand for, and how we can combine them into how we act and carry out our lives.

As we spent our time in close community over the three days, we have truly become a team who is able to support one another in our growth in these aspects, and we are truly excited to spread peace as our summer journey begins! Peace!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Camp Galilee

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I climbed into the top bunk and glanced at my watch.  It read half an hour until campers arrive – just enough time to get my bearings.

Where am I?  Camp Galilee, West Virginia.

Will I have enough clothes to get through the week?   Hasn’t stopped me yet.

Will I be able to nestle in the cove of pine trees outside the window?  Time will tell.

What will God bring forth in the week to come?  …

There rests a mysterious anticipation in the moment between traveling and the arrival of campers – a moment to dream of what might be experienced.  Each camp is so new and each mix of individuals so unique.  In this sense, Camp Galilee held a special mystery for me.  Despite the web of Brethren connections from camp to camp, I had never been to Galilee, never met the staff, and didn’t yet sense where God might be leading me.

As with each week, mystery soon turns to movement.  Camper after camper ran into our cabin, claiming their space and catching up with summer friends.  Parents were skirted away, and into a week of sharing we went.

In the corner of the recreation hall at Camp Galilee rested a large pad of newsprint a camper and I had been eyeing up all week.  Activities kept us swirling past until finally we grabbed the board, crayons, Mr. Sketch smelly markers, and headed outside.  Setting up our outdoor studio, we began sketching the Camp Galilee driveway, sign, and gorgeous tree just behind.  As we worked, camper after camper came behind us…

Camper – Watcha drawing?

Me – Camp.  Would you like to draw?  Grab a maker.

Camper – Uh, no way.  I’d mess it up.

Me – Yo, everyone has a touch of creativity inside them.

Camper – Everyone except me.  The height of my creativity rests in stick figures.

Me – I love stick figures!  Draw some here.

Camper – Haha, nah.

Me – Alright then, I think the sky needs some purple over there.  Give it a whirl…

Camper – …ok

Soon our setup had a clan of artists working hard, stepping away, adding something more, and coming back to proudly check progress.  Individuals no longer looked to me for direction, but to their own leading and community support.

When we create a space for all youth — shy, bold, self-conscious, outspoken, gay, searching, active, compassionate — we create a space for something beautiful to emerge.  Sometimes the beauty is art of crayons and markers.  Other times, beauty is found in the process of creation itself.  When youth create a supportive community, this is a dance of beauty.  When they join singing, forming dramas, playing games, and seeking God, beauty is found.

Emerging from mystery came art — the art of creating space, building community, and bringing forth beauty.  May it be so with us, our communities, our church, our world.

Peace and joy,

Kay

Youth Peace Travel Team

Brethren Woods – Keepin’ It Extreme

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“I think I’ll try climbing the most difficult rock face, because we keep it extreme!”

“This down hill crawlspace looks like a tight fit…I’ll do it head first! Gotta keep it extreme.”

“Let’s see how many people we can fit in one canoe…and let’s act like pirates at the same time! Keepin’ it extreme!”

The Campers of Youth Challenge Camp at Brethren Woods no only know how to have a fun filled week of camp, but, as their motto for that week says, they “Keep it extreme!” From a day worth of canoeing on the rapids of the Shenandoah river, to crawling into the depths of the Earth with caving and then climbing vertically to the clouds with rock climbing in West Virginia, what an adventure it was to be a part of this group all week! While Peace Team got to lead a session for the other younger campers, we primarily followed the youth challenge camp’s schedule. What a blast!

What was most “extreme” about the senior high campers was the joy and compassion in between the official “adventures.” Like staging a spontaneous “sit-in” after a meal or creating a human tunnel for other groups entering the dinning hall; what fun! Or, accepting everyone in the group and forming meaningful friendships; what compassion! Or laughing for hours as we looked at God’s star-filled sky; what community! Those youth at Brethren Woods, like the other campers and counselors there, taught us a thing or two about how to keep everything in life extreme…specifically the joy in community.

Youth Peace Travel Team

YPTT reflections on Annual Conference 2011

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When we claim to be both a historic and living peace church, yet we do not lament our brokenness, where do we go from here?

When progressive and BRF young adults spend an evening together playing games and building friendships, why don’t we go from here?

When women were ordained in the Church of the Brethren in 1958, yet we undermine the vote for a woman in 2011, where do we go from here?

When Bethany Theological Seminary lifts up all women’s voices, why don’t we go from here?

When our global neighbors are suffering from the impacts of climate change, yet we are slow to take responsibility and action, where do we go from here?

When those in the Church of the Brethren transform their churches and homes to be energy efficient with the help of the New Community Project, why don’t we go from here?

When youth and young adults on the Annual Conference floor push for our voice to be heard even more, where do we go from here?

When Moderator Tim Harvey holds a meeting to hear youth and young adult concerns, and challenges them to take it upon themselves to invest in the church, why don’t we go from here?

When youth and young adults are in love with a Church of the Brethren which lives a just love and peace, yet this church has seemed to disappear before them, where do we go from here?

When youth and young adults are inspired by Brethren who literally put their lives on the line for peace, why don’t we go from here?

When the theme of Annual Conference is “Gifted with Promise: Extending Jesus’ Table,” yet the church does not extend this table to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, where do we go to here?

When a spontaneous footwashing is held to support all walks of life in the church, why don’t we go from here?

When we focus so much on being in the world, not of the world, that we forget we are FOR the world, where do we go from here?

When Brethren rise through Brethren Disaster Ministries, New Community Project, On Earth Peace, Washington Advocacy…enough said, why don’t we go from here?

When we lift up the love of law over the law of love, where do we go from here?

Radically following the life of Jesus, why don’t we go from here?

Striving to live as radically as we began,
Kay, Mark, Sarah, Tyler

Youth Peace Travel Team

Ode to Camp Bethel

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Camp Bethel, Camp Bethel, what a sacred space
You welcomed us in like one great big embrace

With campers many, a new challenge came
We had to split in half, step up our game

The joy, the laughter, the smiles with all
We learned many new songs and had a ball

The counselors, you amazed us all, for real for real
Your dedication to campers, your overflowing zeal

We loved meeting you, summer staff, memories hilarious and grand
Interacting with such inspiring peers, to you we clap our hand…s

From Rest Period Song, silly skits, great worships too
we are so grateful to share in such greatness with you

And campers, you impressed us something wonderful
Your talents, leadership, with joy your hearts were full

For me personally, as this summer we roam
I cherish the love found at Camp Bethel, my home.

Tyler Goss

Youth Peace Travel Team

The Work of Art

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I found myself working on a piece of art today.

The reason? I had always admired the particular technique of this One artist whose art is timeless.

I see the works of others who have learned from the original artist, and they are always so creative in adopting the style and making it fit their own works of art.

Mine was to also be a creative spin on this style. Any great work requires new angles of this classic technique to help mold it to today’s culture.

My work of art is not finished, but I do know a few things…
The subjects – people and nature
The colors – bold
The overall plan – well thought out
The time spent on it – it feels like a lifetime…and then some
The shading – it’s too dark for my liking. Still, the light needs to spread across more.
The time period portrayed – now
The message – it’s difficult to say as of now, but that needs to change…obviously
The price – thankfully I was able to borrow the supplies from my Teacher. The finished product will for sure come at a price many are not comfortable with, but this work of art is something all people would appreciate if they were willing to pay the price.
The texture – I have really tried to smooth things out
The contrast – there’s a lot present, but differences will hopefully be perceived in a more harmonizing way

The title – Peace

~ Tyler Goss

Youth Peace Travel Team

Camp Woodland Altars

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When I think “altar,” I think a table of stones, or table at the front of a church building holding flowers (and sometimes communion). I think offering plates, lilies, white drip-less candles, and flowing colored cloth: something to help your attention stay fixed on God.

Besides the marker indicating that the land on which we stood had great natural significance as a “crypto explosive area,” (an area in which an unexplained geological explosion occurred), I couldn’t see an altar. But I had a feeling it was there somewhere.

Woodland Altars has youth camp at the beginning of summer and as it happened, it was the beginning of our summer together as well. We had our apprehensions about presenting our message just as the youth had apprehensions about what we were going to say. We were all new. One particular day, the team led a session for the youth camp of about 18 participants. I remember being quite nervous about our session as it was “untested.” It’s quite hard to gauge how people will react or how much time each activity will take. Then there is the ultimate question: “Will our message actually make sense?”

As it came time for me to present ‘Story Time with Mark’ and read an example of Brethren faith as service in action, I wondered whether to sit, stand, dance, pace, or simply fidget while reading. Quickly, I decided to sit in hopes of making it seem more like story time. Of course, I was then a little “off my game” in terms of focus. I read the story like I was part of the Congressional Budget Committee. Nerves. Uneasiness. Hesitation. I was feeling all of these things. As the week passed, so did these feelings, and I began to find altars.

They weren’t stone tables. They weren’t the two foot high hills around camp where several colonies of ants lived together in harmony. The altars weren’t even made of wood. They were found underneath tarps where the fire ring and picnic tables were. They were found on wooden platforms where the hogans were constructed. They were found in kind words, an “apple-mango-tango” dance named after Unit One’s dish soap, a banner displaying the Lord’s Prayer carried by Unit Two, and the bonds formed by each camper as they grew together as the body of Christ. These were the places where their gifts of friendship, singing, cooking, and learning were offered and laid before God: on the altar, in the woods.

-Mark

Youth Peace Travel Team

National Junior High Conference

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Piece by Piece: Finding Our Place within God’s Story

Traveling as a team always brings fun challenges into the mix when it comes to luggage.  Hands down, our greatest challenge to date came on our journey to National Junior High Conference.  Piece by piece we packed, unpacked, and repacked an oh-so-snug trunk until all latches were squeezed shut and we made our way to Elizabethtown.

As a team we dove into National Junior High Conference ready to share pieces of our own leadership.  Whether it was workshop leading, writing skits, creating art for worship, rapping on stage, performing drama or even calling in Brethren Boy, we were excited to offer all we could in a few action-packed days.  More than our own offerings, we enjoyed talking about Jesus’ call to peacemaking with Church of the Brethren young people.  The passion held for peace is inspiring not simply for us, but for the growing community of people building a better world.

We left National Junior High Conference energized for the hope we bring to one another knowing we each hold an integral place in God’s story.   Just as we piece together our luggage week by week, so too must we seek and pursue our own peace in the world.
– Kay

Youth Peace Travel Team

Meet the 2011 Youth Peace Travel Team!

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On Monday, we entered the lodge at Camp Inspiration Hills near Burbank, Ohio that would be our home for a week and it smelled like Pine-Sol. By Friday morning of our orientation, it didn’t smell like Pine-Sol anymore because we made it our home. We lived, ate, worked, slept, and prayed there. It become our base camp for deeply exploring the gospel of peace proclaimed by our Savior. We sank into couches while mentors poured the Good News into our eager souls. We soaked it all in with the fascination of children. The fortunate thing here is that we are children. We are children of God. Something akin to child-like energy spreads from person to person like a spark kindling fires of inspiration. Our piney lodge is where this “summer of sparks” starts. And, it must never end, for our job is to continuously pursue the Kingdom of God on earth by spreading the fragrance of Jesus wherever we journey.

Peace be with you, from the 2011 Youth Peace Travel Team: Kay Guyer, Tyler Goss, Sarah Neher, and Mark Dowdy! Spread it!

-MD