Youth Peace Travel Team named for 2013.

The Church of the Brethren’s Youth Peace Travel Team for 2013 has been announced: Jacob Crouse, Heather Gentry, and Amanda McLearn-Montz.

Composed of Ministry Summer Service interns between the ages of 19 and 22, the team is sponsored by the church’s Outdoor Ministries Association, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Advocacy and Peace Witness Ministry, and On Earth Peace. The group gives peace programs at a variety of camps and conferences over the summer including the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren. The first Youth Peace Travel Team was formed in the summer of 1991, and since that year a team has been fielded every summer.

Jacob Crouse, from Warrensburg, Mo., is a member of Warrensburg Church of the Brethren and Missouri and Arkansas District. He is majoring in Music Technology and minoring in Spanish at the University of Central Missouri. “I've had the good fortune of attending many Brethren camps, conferences, and churches,” he writes in a personal bio prepared for the Youth and Young Adult Ministries office. “This summer, I will finally be able to visit some of them again and see new places while meeting many people and sharing with them a message of peace!”

Heather Gentry, from Hinton, Va., is a member of Mount Bethel Church of the Brethren and Shenandoah District and counts Brethren Woods as her “home camp.” She attends Bridgewater (Va.) College where she is studying Family and Consumer Sciences as well as Elementary and ESL Education. She write, “I look forward to seeing new camps, meeting new people, and seeing what God is doing and how we can be a part of it.”

Amanda McLearn-Montz, from Ankeny, Iowa, is a member of Panther Creek Church of the Brethren and Northern Plains District. Currently, she attends Tulane University in New Orleans, where she is majoring in Public Health, minoring in Spanish, and is a pre-med student. “I went to Camp Emmaus as a camper and served on Camp Pine Lake's summer staff last summer,” she write. “I can't wait to come back to camp and share my love of peace and God with teens and kids!”

As the team spends time with junior and senior high youth this summer at camps across the denomination, they will teach about peace, justice, and reconciliation, all core values throughout the Church of the Brethren’s 300-plus year history. Follow the ministry of the 2013 Youth Peace Travel Team by visiting www.brethren.org/youthpeacetravelteam.

Source: 2/7/2013 Newsline