Almont Winter Retreat Memories

Here it is one month after the Almont Winter Retreat. I often wonder what teens get out of retreats. What do you guys take home? What sticks with you? Sometimes you take the time to tell me, in an email or on an evaluation form. But,usually I don't hear too much. Then, I started thinking, "What did I get out of it"? One month later, what do I remember? Here's what comes to mind.

• The long, fascinating stories that Ardit and Arbnor told me about their lives.
• Ultimate Frisbee in the cold (especially watching poor Sola try to catch the Frisbee in her boots on the ice).
• The wonderful glow that Nina had after her Baptism.
• Junchol's incredible hexagonal diagram illustrating how we view and connect with God.
• The van ride "Newlywed Game" with Nina and Holly (more on this in a future post).
• DJ Rev. Jenn at the rink. I'd hire her for my party anytime. She might be Disney, but she definitely rocks.
• Roaring fires.
• Long chats with Bill in the van.
• Coffee with Scott.
• The wonderful flow of new ideas in the SCYL Officer meeting.
  
• The new worlds that you created in Bill's session.
• Watching the Coma Couch festivities.

Most of all, I remember the creative energy, endless enthusiasm and contagious laughter of you, the teens. Our theme was "Does God Matter?" For me, the answer wasn't discovered through deep intellectual thought or contemplation. I found the importance of God by observing the care, respect and love that you teens showed for one another.

Now, what do you remember? I look forward to reading comments about your Almont Winter Retreat memories.

2007 Almont Winter Retreat

By Sola, SCYL President

The past winter retreat in Almont was really amazing (like every Almont retreat). This year, Michigan even graced us with some snow, which was very exciting for me, the only Floridian of the group:) The theme was about why God is important and Rev. Jun-Chol Lee and Rev. Jenn Tafel along with Bill Baxter spoke with us about life and faith. Rev. Jun-Chol explained to us the history of religion (briefly, mind you) and about different ways of connecting with God and Rev. Jenn told us about how God's love and wisdom comes into us and how we use it. Bill had us create our own world with its own beliefs, which we then shared with the group. Bill also talked with us about faith crisis, which was one of the sessions that really struck home with me. Aside from the sessions, we pursued our usual Almont haunts- going for walks, hanging out at the skating rink, and most importantly, attacking the Coma Couch. The winter retreat was really great, and I hope more teens can come in the future.

Almont Winter Retreat Skate Party

The Almont Winter Retreat is always a blast. This year we've got the skate pizza party video to prove it! Hope you didn't miss this awesome 2007 year end retreat. If you did, don't skip next year, which will be bigger and better than ever. I just wish I could skate like Janice and Scott. So smoooooooth.

Welcome!

Welcome to the SCYL blog! This is for you, teens and friends of the Swedenborgian Church. You are all considered Leaguers. On this blog, I'll try to post news, information, stories, pictures and interesting tidbits on and about the SCYL. I will try to write at least one post a week. The League Chaplain, Rev. David Fekete will post a monthly spiritual insight or story. The rest is up to you! I'd love to have material from you, the teens, on this blog. It should be yours, more than mine! If you have a story, a picture, a poem, news about your life or church, or anything else of interest, just email it to me. This is your blog. I'll keep posting, but it will only be as good as you make it. I can't wait to see all the wonderful stuff you send in and to see how this blog evolves and grows. Let's make it great!

What Can I Find Here?

The most important thing you will find on this blog, are blogs (or stories). Perhaps some of you have a blog going yourself. A blog is simply an online diary or journal. So this SCYL blog is just a running record (in reverse chronological order) of the activities, interests and stories related to our church youth league and it's teen members. Since this is a SCYL blog, the content should not only consist of me writing about the teens in the SCYL, it should also be teens writing about teens (in other words you writing about you and your friends!). If you have a story, a picture, a poem, news about your life or church, or anything else of interest, just email it to me. This is your blog. I'll keep posting, but it will only be as fun, entertaining and useful as you make it. If any one of you is really into blogging, we can look at adding you as an author. Until then, just send stuff to me in an email, and I'll see that it gets posted asap.

On the left, you will also see some information. At the top is a slide show with pictures from retreats over the past year. It currently cycles thru about 50 pictures. I can add more pictures to this. If you have a picture you would like to include, just email it to me and I'll add it. If you see a picture on there that you would rather not see, please feel free to let me know and I'll take it off. No questions, no problem. One of the more useful sections of this blog is the "upcoming events" area. I'll try to keep it up to date so you always know what is coming up. If you see something you are interested in going to, send me an email and we'll try to make it happen. If your address changes or if you would like to receive papermail, simply find the "keep in touch" area and send me an email with your address. At the bottom of the left column you will find a few links that you may want to check out. One link takes you to a SCYL website that we have on the Swedenborg church online community. The middle link will take you to the Swedenborgian denomination site which provides you with information on what we believe, who Swedenborg is and also an extensive list of Swedenborgian books you can browse online. The last link directs you to the Swedenborgian Online Community home page, in case you want to join in on a chat or find other friends and resources about our online church community. If you think of anything else you would like to have on this blog, please let me know.

Thanks for reading. Keep the material coming my way and check in often to see what's new. Lastly, please let me know what you are most interested in reading about and seeing. I'll do my best to keep posting (at least once a week) but I need your input to know if what you are looking at is interesting and informative and fun for you!

About the SCYL

The SCYL is the youth organization of the Swedenborgian Church of North America (also known as the Church of the New Jerusalem). Our programs and activities are open to teenagers of all faiths and beliefs. We strive to offer teens a caring, love-centered, spiritual community that is open and accepting. The SCYL offers retreats, outings, overnights, youth worship, camp activities, Convention programs, service projects trips and other special events throughout the United States and Canada. Our youth programs offer life skills and spiritual sessions based on the principles of the Swedenborgian church. We strive for a safe, secure and inclusive environment to share relevant and meaningful ideas. We discuss challenges and openly engage issues that teens face today. We work, play and learn together as a community.