Workcamp ministry records another successful season.

The workcamp ministry of the Church of the Brethren Youth and Young Adult program had another successful season, with 31 workcamps and over 700 participants. It is inspiring to see the continued dedication of our youth and support of our congregations for the workcamp ministry.

Even in the current economic climate, junior and senior high youth and advisors, and young adult workcamp groups, gave a week of their time to serve others, worship together, meet new people, experience another culture, and have fun at a Church of the Brethren workcamp.

This workcamp year included two workcamps co-led by On Earth Peace: one on the topic of racism in Germantown, Pa.; and an intergenerational workcamp at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., focused on the peace witness of the Church of the Brethren and its connection to service. It was the first year for the "We Are Able" workcamp for intellectually disabled young adult participants, also held at the Brethren Service Center.

Young adult participants traveled to Northern Ireland to learn about "the troubles" and efforts at peacemaking and reconciliation, as they served at Kilcranny House. Senior highs served in Mexico, Brooklyn, West Virginia, the Lakota Reservation, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, among other locations.

Junior highs served at many places, including the John Kline Homestead, learning about Brethren history during the Civil War era. They also served at Innisfree Village, a residential community for intellectually disabled adults; at Indianapolis, helping restore houses; and at Washington, D.C., in soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

The 2009 workcamp theme was "Bound Together, Finely Woven" (2 Cor. 8:12-15). At each workcamp, participants explored their place in the tapestry of God’s creation and how the threads of their lives are interwoven with the lives of others, in both giving and receiving.

Watch www.brethren.org for an upcoming photo album from this summer’s workcamps. Watch the workcamp website ( www.brethrenworkcamps.org ) this fall for information about the 2010 workcamps. Brochures will be mailed to each Church of the Brethren congregation.

-- Jeanne Davies is coordinator of the Church of the Brethren’s workcamp ministry. The assistants coordinators for the 2009 workcamps were Meghan Horne, Bekah Houff, and Emily Laprade, serving through Brethren Volunteer Service.

Source: 8/26/2009 Newsline