Illinois/Wisconsin Youth Information

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If you are a senior high youth who is interested in serving on the Illinois/Wisconsin District Youth Cabinet, click here for more information. New Cabinet members are selected each August.
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When:  March  2-4, 2012

Who: Everyone currently in 9th through 12th grades during the 2011-2012 school year. Friends and advisors are welcome.

Where: Neighborhood Church of the Brethren

Speaker: Dana McNeil is the Pastor of the First Church of the Brethren of Peoria. He has also been the director of Senior High Youth Camp at Camp Emmanuel.
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Spring Work Week: April 14-21, 2012
CIT Workshop: May 4-5, 2012
Sr Hi Youth Camp: June 3-9, 2012
Jr Hi Youth Camp: June 10-16, 2012
Young Adult Camp: August 3-5, 2012
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Counselor-in-Training Event - July 13–15, 2012
Elementary I Camp - July 14–15, 2012
Elementary II Camp - July 17–20, 2012
Senior High Camp - July 22–28, 2012
Junior High Camp - July 29–August 4, 2012
Elementary III Camp - August 5–10, 2012
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November 4th – November 6th, 2011

Where: Lake Williamson Christian Center, Carlinville, Illinois 62626 (1-800-500-5922)

When: Registration will begin at 7 pm on Friday Night at Lake Williamson Christian Center. Retreat; participants will be dismissed at 11:45 am on Sunday.

Who: Everyone currently in 9th through 12th grades during the 2011-2012 school year. Friends and advisors are welcome.

Cost: $30 for Youth and advisors. Make checks payable to “Illinois/Wisconsin District Office”

What to Bring: Bible, Swim Suite, Games, Sleeping Bag, and Towel.

Registration Deadline: August 12th, 2011

Return completed registration form, covenant and check to: Beth Carpentier, 269 E. Chestnut; Canton Illinois 61520

Questions: Contact Ralph at (847) 742-0918 evenings, or via e-mail: rminer151@earthlink.net
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The second annual “Powerhouse” regional youth conference took place at Manchester College Nov. 12-13, with nearly 100 senior high youth and advisors from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, spoke at three worship services on the theme “Follow: If You Dare,” looking at what it really means to follow Jesus. Worship themes were inspired by Shawn Kirchner’s 2010 National Youth Conference theme song, “More Than Meets the Eye,” which touched on various aspects of Jesus as he carried out his ministry. Carter looked at some of these aspects in his messages, emphasizing the importance of all facets in fully understanding who Jesus is and what that means for Christians. Students, staff, and others led a variety of workshops during the weekend, which also included opportunities for a campus tour, displays from Brethren programs, recreation, and a game of “Mission Impossible.” The next Powerhouse is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 10-11, 2012.

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"Humble yet bold; being the church"
Matthew 5:13-18
NYAC 2012
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
June 18-22, 2012

Online registration opens on January 6, 2012!



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The next National Junior High Conference will take place during the summer of 2013. Start saving now, and watch for more information!

Contact the Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office with questions at 800-323-8039, x 297.
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Before high school ends and the rest of your life begins, why not take a minute (or ten amazing days) to explore places where

• You can meet people and find friends who care deeply about the same things you do. 
• Get a big taste of what pastors and other ministers really do. 
• Discuss the Big Questions of Life with seminary professors. 
• Learn Brethren history and plan for the Brethren future. 
• Where you can eat healthy food that’s also delicious. 
• And work off healthy food on fun trips across fields and rivers. 
• A place where you can laugh a lot, maybe cry a little, and collect lifelong memories. 
• Explore where your passion connects with God’s great purpose for your life.

Where: At Exploring Your Call, a summer discernment event for young people.

When: June 15 – 25, 2012.

Who: Students who will be entering their junior or senior year of high school next Fall.

How much? Zero dollars for the entire ten days. (You’re responsible for just your transportation cost to and from the Richmond campus.) Because of a generous grant from a Christian foundation, the event is offered free to qualified students.

More information for Exploring Your Call can be found at www.bethanyseminary.edu/eyc. Persons who have additional questions may contact eyc@bethanyseminary.edu or 800-287-8822.
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God is always present, listening to us. Join us this summer and be ready to listen as we answer God’s call to continue the work of Jesus.

Registration opens on January 9, 2012, at 7 p.m. central time.

More information is available at www.brethren.org/workcamps or call 1-800-323-8039.
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The 2012 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren will be held July 7-11, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The theme statement is

Continuing the Work of Jesus. Peacefully. Simply. Together.

The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 stands at an important intersection of New Testament faith. Jesus has just completed his earthly ministry, a time when his life and teaching gave evidence of another kingdom among us. This kingdom is hidden from those who will not see, and yet made clearly present through his life and ministry. Jesus taught, healed, felt deep sorrow at the suffering of others, confronted injustice, invited other persons into this kingdom life, and finally was crucified. Three days later, he was raised. And now, perhaps moments before his ascension into Heaven, Jesus gives the disciples this instruction, words that will serve the Brethren as the theme verses for the 2012 Annual Conference:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20, NRSV).

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The Church of the Brethren’s Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS) in 2012 will consider carbon footprints and large-scale responses to elevated levels of carbon in the atmosphere, such as carbon labeling. The event for high school youth and adult advisors takes place April 14-19 in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Participants will focus on how individuals and the country might respond to the high level of carbon in today’s atmosphere. Rather than debate global warming, participants will explore questions like "How much carbon do everyday tasks, such as driving to school or eating a banana, put into the atmosphere?" "What is our country’s carbon footprint?" "How does that footprint compare to other developed countries?" "Are there actions we can encourage our government to implement?"

As always, after a number of educational sessions, CCS participants will visit their legislators to discuss what they have learned and what changes they would like to see in government policy as a result.

Online registration opens at www.brethren.org on Dec. 1. Registration is limited to the first 100 participants. Churches sending over four youth are required to send at least one adult advisor to insure an adequate number of adults. Cost is $375, which includes lodging for five nights, dinner on the opening evening of the seminar, and transportation from New York to Washington. Each participant should bring additional money for meals, sightseeing, personal expenses, and a few subway or taxi fares.

“Our task is nothing less than to join God in preserving, renewing, and fulfilling the creation. It is to relate to nature in ways that sustain life on the planet, provide for the essential material and physical needs of all humankind, and increase justice and wellbeing for all life in a peaceful world” (from the “Creation: Called to Care” statement approved by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in 1991).

Visit www.brethren.org/ccs for more information, to download a flyer, or to register.
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• What: Youth Sunday
  
• When: May 1, 2011

*Resources will be posted after the first of the year.

National Youth Sunday is scheduled for May 1. Congregations are encouraged to celebrate youth by inviting high school youth to participate in leading worship on that Sunday. Go to the Youth and Young Adult Ministries website for worship resources.
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The first Youth Peace Travel Team was formed in the summer of 1991 as a cooperative effort of a number of Church of the Brethren programs. Since that year, a team has been fielded every summer. The members of the Youth Peace Travel Team travel to Brethren camps throughout the United States. The goal of the team's work is to talk with other young people about the Christian message and the Brethren tradition of peacemaking.

The Youth Peace Travel Team is sponsored by On Earth Peace, the Outdoor Ministries Association, and the Church of the Brethren's Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office, Brethren Witness/ Washington Office, and Brethren Volunteer Service.

College age (19 - 22 yrs.) Church of the Brethren young adults are selected as team members. A stipend is paid to team members.

Check brethren.org for more details.
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What is Ministry Summer Service?

Ministry Summer Service (MSS) is a leadership development program for college students in the Church of the Brethren who spend 10 weeks of summer working in the church (local congregation, district office, camp, or national program).

Why Ministry Summer Service?

Congregations may ask, "Why should we take on a summer intern?" Young adults may ask, "Why should we work for the church for a whole summer?"

The answer has to do with God's call. The Bible is a record of God calling people to challenging tasks. MSS is no exception. Through MSS, God is calling congregations to reach out in the ministry of teaching and receiving. God is calling young adults to explore the possibility of church work as their vocation.
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