Summer brings the annual joy of BYC, the multi-church youth camp which CUCC's youth attend. This year's camp brings the challenge of virtual gathering, but our youth are undaunted and will attend BYC virtually.
Please pray daily for the BYC youth and adult leaders that this be a time of spiritual richness and renewal, of friendship and fun. Sunday, July 5 through Thursday, July 9
This Sunday, July 5, we will commission the youth and adults from CUCC. This is what we will pray together; you might use this prayer for them during the week.
Prayer
Gracious God, we pray that in their BYC camp experience, these 12 youth and adults will create a community of inclusion, hospitality, and hope for all participants to grow in their identity as beloved people of God. We pray that they will have opportunities to open themselves to your presence, to experience you, and to deepen their knowledge of you in their lives. And we pray that they may bring their transformative experiences back to our larger church community, so we may all know you more fully and better recognize our own community as one that is “singing the Lord’s song in a strange land.”
Our 2020 campers and adults are: Mason Atkinson, Kayla Barrett, Gabby Bretz, Zenna Bryan, Maya Cobeland, Jocelyn Flores, Hannah Flores, Sophie Flynn, Jake Langenderfer, Ella Powell, Bill Bryan, and Santi Matthews
More about the 2020 BYC theme: Exile
This is our 11th year attending BYC Camp – an ecumenical camp of 12 progressive Baptist and/or UCC churches from all over the country.
BYC follows a seven-year cycle of Bible-based curriculum. We study Creation, Exodus, Exile, the life of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the early Christian church, and Sabbath. This happens to be year three of that cycle… Exile (of course). We’ll be focusing on understanding that our current profound experiences of exile are reflected in the experiences of the Israelites who were exiled to Babylon for 70 years. We’ll be wondering together:
As a partner congregation in BYC we covenant to:
1. Create a community of inclusion, hospitality, and hope for all participants to grow in their identity as beloved people of God;
2. Provide opportunities for young people to experience God and to embody the way of Jesus in a manner that honors and reflects the lives of youth;
3. Open ourselves to the creative presence of the Holy Spirit who enlivens our collaborative work;
4. Claim our Christian heritage.
To keep faith with our covenant we will:
1. Embrace the diversities of age, race, ability, sexual identity, and gender expression as opportunities to expand our fellowship with one another and deepen our knowledge of God;
2. Nurture Christian discipleship through practices of spiritual formation and corporate worship planned and led by youth;
3. Build relationships as a central component of our shared ministry, and hold one another accountable as full participants in all aspects of BYC including time, energy, and financial resources;
4. Invite people and churches to partner with us in the good news of BYC.
Please pray daily for the BYC youth and adult leaders that this be a time of spiritual richness and renewal, of friendship and fun. Sunday, July 5 through Thursday, July 9
This Sunday, July 5, we will commission the youth and adults from CUCC. This is what we will pray together; you might use this prayer for them during the week.
Prayer
Our 2020 campers and adults are: Mason Atkinson, Kayla Barrett, Gabby Bretz, Zenna Bryan, Maya Cobeland, Jocelyn Flores, Hannah Flores, Sophie Flynn, Jake Langenderfer, Ella Powell, Bill Bryan, and Santi Matthews
More about the 2020 BYC theme: Exile
This is our 11th year attending BYC Camp – an ecumenical camp of 12 progressive Baptist and/or UCC churches from all over the country.
BYC follows a seven-year cycle of Bible-based curriculum. We study Creation, Exodus, Exile, the life of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the early Christian church, and Sabbath. This happens to be year three of that cycle… Exile (of course). We’ll be focusing on understanding that our current profound experiences of exile are reflected in the experiences of the Israelites who were exiled to Babylon for 70 years. We’ll be wondering together:
- How can we feel we are in community and know God’s presence while we are not physically together?
- How can we have mountaintop experiences and not be on the mountain?
- In what ways have we exiled ourselves and others from the oneness that Spirit calls us to?
- How can we claim each other better?
- How can we draw from and become inspired by the exile stories of the Old Testament as we try to “sing our song in a strange land”?
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| Photo is of the 2018 BYC campers.
Our Covenant with BYC Youth and Adults
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As a partner congregation in BYC we covenant to:
1. Create a community of inclusion, hospitality, and hope for all participants to grow in their identity as beloved people of God;
2. Provide opportunities for young people to experience God and to embody the way of Jesus in a manner that honors and reflects the lives of youth;
3. Open ourselves to the creative presence of the Holy Spirit who enlivens our collaborative work;
4. Claim our Christian heritage.
To keep faith with our covenant we will:
1. Embrace the diversities of age, race, ability, sexual identity, and gender expression as opportunities to expand our fellowship with one another and deepen our knowledge of God;
2. Nurture Christian discipleship through practices of spiritual formation and corporate worship planned and led by youth;
3. Build relationships as a central component of our shared ministry, and hold one another accountable as full participants in all aspects of BYC including time, energy, and financial resources;
4. Invite people and churches to partner with us in the good news of BYC.