2009 Young Adult Retreat

Could you use a break? Join the Young Adult Retreat from Aug. 29-30, 2009 at Camp Manidokan,

in Harper's Ferry. Connect with other area young adults for a weeked of revitalization, growth and a chance to renew your spiritual passion.

• Meet other area young adults and share and learn tips for doing young adult ministry in your own church.
• Spend time growing and exploring your own faith in a relaxing atmosphere.
• Engage in worship, small groups, outdoor activities.
• Learn how to revitalize or begin a young adult group in your own congregation. 

Unite. Replenish. Become.  Register now for $60 for Saturday and Sunday, including overnight or $45 just for Saturday. This event is for young adults ages 18-35. Click here for another YA training event for all ages.

See full Retreat Schedule

Read Speaker Bios

Downloadable Bulletin Insert .pdf  ::: Black and White Bulletin Insert .pdf 

Downloadable Poster .pdf  :::  Black and White Poster .pdf 

Retreat Schedule 

Saturday, August 29th

10:00 am - Registration Begins 

11:00 am - Gathering Worship: Unite

12:15 pm - Lunch

1:00 pm - Breakout Sessions 

2:30 pm - Breakout Sessions

4:00 pm - Breakout Sessions

5:15 pm - Dinner

6:00 pm - Worship: Replenish

7:30 pm - Panel Discussion:

9:00 pm - Camp Fire and S'mores

Sunday, August 30th

8:00 am - Breakfast

9:00 am - Worship: Refresh - Rev. Jenny Cannon

10:00 am - Mission Project: UMCOR Back to School Kits

11:00 am - Regional Challenge

12:15 pm - Lunch

1:00 pm - Worship: Become - Rev. William Chaney

2:30 pm - Heading Home

Back to top

Session Descriptions

Worship: Unite: Explore God's way of bringing light to life through the Creation story. Write your own story and worship through the global music of DeLyn Celec.

Workshop: Soul Sabbath: How is your soul?  Are you feeling full of life and energy or are you worn out, depleted, & exhausted?  Sometimes life gets so busy that we forget what "rest" looks like.  Perhaps you don't need to learn more "stuff" at the retreat, maybe you just need to "be" for a while.
Each of the three Soul Sabbath sessions will focus on different ways for you to slow down and connect with Jesus through silence, scripture, nature, prayer, and other disciplines.  After a short introduction to each practice of spiritual formation, the bulk of the Soul Sabbath time will be yours to spend with God.  Take a break from the busyness and let God renew your soul this weekend; you'll be amazed at how refreshed you'll feel! Led by Brian Shockey.

Workshop: Difficult Discussions: Learn how to practically start and mediate difficult discussions. Understand how to relate inter-generationally and across other divisive bounds. Participate hands on, led by the Rev. Karin Walker.

Worship: Replenish: Hear a word from our bishop, John R. Schol. Feel the healing water of the Spirit and spend time connecting through prayer with others.

Worship: Refresh: How can heaven exist on Earth? How can you see hope amidst difficult circumstances? Come taste and see as the Rev. Jenny Cannon leads us through worship, including experiencing God through artwork.

Worship: Become: We are formed in God'simage. Reflect and respond to how you might "become" through the preaching of the Rev. William T. Chaney, the reading of poetry and the gift of bluegrass song Frankie Revell brings.

Speaker Bios

DeLyn Celec is the Worship Arts Coordinator at Shenandoah University and a and a staff musician in various community and faith-based organizations including Front Royal UMC. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Drew Theological School. Her study of peace-building and social justice is evident in her music and poetry.  DeLyn enjoys coaching young musical artists in many settings, and hopes to use art to build community and raise awareness of local and worldwide inequality.  Her work with Mark Miller's Band, and Global Praise music within the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, has led to a deep desire to contextualize old and new traditions in musical and worshipful settings. She can be reached at dcelec@su.edu.

Brian Shockey is the proud father of two girls under the age of 3 and is learning that true love means even dad's play with dolls.  Brian serves as pastor of Jennings Chapel UMC and Poplar Springs UMC in western Howard County, MD.  He loves being with people, teaching others to understand the Bible, and reminding people of God's grace in their lives.  When not at church or with his family Brian can be found hanging out at Dunkin Donuts, watching tv & movies, playing guitar,  challenging his wife to Mario Kart, or lost in a book.

Jenny Cannon has served for three years as the Associate Pastor of Bethesda United Methodist Church. Before being appointed to Bethesda, Jenny spent some time in nonprofit services, working with a refugee resettlement agency and a women and children's shelter in Atlanta. Since coming to Bethesda, her wardrobe has grown to include work camp boots, a cowboy hat, Mardi Gras beads and a neon blue wig which just about sums up what it looks like to be a pastor at BUMC. When she's not serving (and playing) with her congregation, she enjoys taking walks, making cookies, and playing very competitive Wii tennis. Jenny and her husband Kirkland Reynolds, live in Silver Spring with their two cats, Harry and Calvin.

Karin Walker has been a pastor in the Baltimore-Washington Conference for the past 20 years.  She is a graduate of University of Maryland, Baltimore County receiving a BA in "Religion and Social Change."  Her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees are from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.
Karin currently serves as the District Superintendent for the Baltimore Suburban District.  She believes that this culture is primed for accepting Christ and her passion is to help congregations figure out how best to win souls for Christ with a sense of urgency.
Karin sees a key to an effective faith community connected with peacebuilding.  She has served the conference as the coordinator of the Conflict Transformation Team and the facilitator of the conference LGBT Dialogue Team.  She has been doing mediation in local churches since 1992.  She has over 100 training hours in this field, providing crisis intervention and training for laity and clergy in the conference.
Karin and her husband, Mike, have two children:  Joshua, who is 14, and Marissa who is 13.  Mike works as a lab technician for Cytec Industries in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Rev. William T. Chaney Jr. is a Discipleship Adventure Guide for the Western Region of the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church and coaches pastors and guides churches to develop vital and vibrant disciple making ministries in the Western Region of the Baltimore Washington Conference. Rev. Chaney has previously served as the pastor of young adults at Concord Church in Dallas, TX and Ray of Hope in Atlanta, GA.  Pastor Chaney is a graduate of Candler School of Theology at Emory University which is one of the 13 United Methodist Seminaries. Along with his degree he earned certificates in Christian Education and Black Church Studies. William is currently pursuing his PhD on Leadership and Ethics from Union Institute and University. William is married to Rev. Michelle Holmes Chaney and they have one elementary age daughter, Courtney Elizabeth Chaney.

"Whimsical" is one of Kate Thomas' favorite words. And it's often those whimsical, detailed, quirky colorful stories that Kate enjoys discovering and pointing out to others. She loves watching life and sharing her own unique story and visual expression with others. As a graphic designer for the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Kate watches a ministry or object and then allows it to come alive visually. Other parts of Kate include the love of being with and serving people in need, the love of music and dance, laughter and deep conversations, photography and crafts or any other medium she can get her hands on. She lives in Laurel with her husband, pet turtle and collection of found objects that will one day be art.

Frankie Revell has been playing the banjo nearly a quarter of a century.  During that time he has been the Maryland State Champion in the adult division on three occasions.  He currently plays the banjo and the guitar in "The Lickety Split Bluegrass Band" with his father, Fred.  Frankie believes that Bluegrass music brings people together and he enjoys sharing the gift of music with all who will listen.

Beth Ludlum serves as Director of Recruitment at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. In her position, she works with people of all ages, backgrounds, and denominations who are in processes of vocational discernment and transition. Alongside her work, Beth is working toward a Master's of Divinity degree at Wesley and is a candidate for ordination in the United Methodist Church. Beth is an active member of Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church, a growing congregation in downtown DC.
Beth's greatest privilege is to walk with individuals who are discovering their passions, gifts, and purpose from God. A farm girl at heart, she graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Agricultural Communications then taught English at a university in China for a year. Prior to working at Wesley, she was an aide to Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), then managed national partnerships, training, and community nonprofit development programs for the Points of Light Foundation in Washington. In her free time, she loves to run, kayak, travel, and read.

The Rev. B. Kevin Smalls is pastor of Beltsville United Methodist Church. He was previously the Young Adult Coordinator for the Baltimore-Washington Conference and now continues to foster young adult ministry in his local church.

Back to top