By Jenny Williams
Next summer has a special event in store for junior high students:
Immerse! will bring youth who have completed seventh, eighth, and ninth
grades together to share questions, experiences, and ideas about faith,
all within a community of friendship and support. Sponsored by the
Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults at Bethany Seminary,
Immerse! will take place at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College June 12-17,
2014, and is free. Participants are only responsible for the cost of
transportation to and from the event.
Russell Haitch, professor of practical theology at Bethany, is
overseeing the event as director of the institute. “As its name implies,
the purpose of Immerse! is to go beneath the surface and dive more
deeply into learning about the Bible and questions of faith. For young
people who may be thinking about baptism or just what it means to be a
Christian, we want to create an engaging, friendship-forming,
potentially life-changing experience."
Youth participants will take part in worship, classroom time, group
activities, and recreation, enjoying the amenities of Elizabethtown
College and surrounding area. The central Pennsylvania location is ideal
for incorporating Brethren history into the week’s schedule, such as
visits to historic sites. Leadership will be provided in part by Bethany
faculty and staff, including Bekah Houff, coordinator of outreach
programs; Steve Schweitzer, academic dean; and Haitch.
Bethany faculty and staff are enthusiastic about engaging with this
age group, their energy and personalities, and the life questions they
are beginning to ask. Dana Cassell, minister of youth formation at
Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, says that her church’s junior
high group also was enthused to hear about Immerse! “I think that their
excitement centered around the opportunity to travel together, being
with their peers from around the denomination, and the exposure to the
reality that this ‘church thing’ is bigger than our congregation--an
exciting prospect for middle schoolers.”
Registration is open on the Bethany Seminary website at www.bethanyseminary.edu/immerse/register
. In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,
parents of children under 13 are required to complete the Parent Consent
Form as part of the application process. For more information, contact
Bekah Houff at houffre@bethanyseminary.edu.
A note for clarification
Immerse! is for junior high students interested in experiencing the
Bible and Church of the Brethren history more deeply. Participation is
available to roughly 30 participants. Although Immerse! happens to have
the same location and similar date range to the Church of the Brethren
National Junior High Conferences, it is a separate, grant-funded program
of Bethany Theological Seminary.
The next National Junior High Conference is being planned for June of
2015. Contact Becky Ullom Naugle in the Youth and Young Adult Ministry
Office for more information about National Junior High Conference. Call
847-429-4385.
-- Jenny Williams is director of Communications and Alumni/ae Relations for Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
Source: 12/16/2013 Newsline
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