Reflections on the 2008 Almont Winter Retreat

By Nina

Almont ’08 was utterly amazing! …pretty much the third best retreat type thing I’ve ever been to (after Convention ’08 and Memorial Day ’08). This retreat was much bigger all the others I’ve attended (29 teens!) And we still managed to fit practically everyone on the coma couch! I really loved having so many people there and still being able to really connect with the other teens, even in such a large group. It was truly fabulous. I also very much enjoyed this Almont’s topic- the seven deadly sins. I believe I learned numerous things during the sessions that I will be able to apply to situations I encounter throughout my life. I found the topics of sloth, which I have decided is the worst sin of all, and lust to be most interesting. I also realized during this retreat how much of a glutton I am! So basically, this year’s Almont was magnificent.

Presidents of the SCYL

In honor of this historic Inauguration Day where the United States ushers in a new President, we announce the start of a new monthly feature "Former Presidents of the League - Where are they now?". We are contacting former Presidents of the Youth League trying to get as many as possible to send a little paragraph about what they are up to now, what they did when they were League President and what impact the SCYL has had on them and their journey. Look for the first edition of this feature this January. Hail to the Chiefs!

P.S. Our new League President is Nina! More on her as well as the other 2009 elected Officers soon.

Pepsi vs Coke

I loved the battles at this year's Almont winter retreat. Sola pummeled Jake in this round. No contest.

Almont Winter Retreat 2008

The 2008 Almont Winter Retreat was indeed bigger and better than ever. 38 of us (29 teens) from 7 different states and 3 Canadian provinces descended on the Almont retreat center to live, learn and play in community. With Ultimate Frisbee, great food, deadly sins snakes and ladders, the up-all-night, music, meaningful and enlightening sessions, great friends, dorm mad libs, SCYL Officer elections, worship and of course the skate pizza party how could you not have a fantastic time. We'll hear and see lots more about this terrific event, but let's start with some short videos of the skate party.

Skating to Almont!

I wish save travels to all this holiday season, especially those of you traveling to Almont to attend the big retreat. Here's a picture that Bill drew after the skate pizza party at the 2007 Almont Winter Retreat. Unfortunately, Bill will not be attending this year. We will miss him dearly. I personally will miss the long chats with Bill in the van. We love you Bill!

Here Comes The Almont Winter Retreat!

Yikes!  The Almont Winter Retreat is only 5 days away.

It looks like it's going to be a nice big teen group.  Maybe the biggest in recent history!

We leave in the van from the east the morning of Dec 26.  I pray that we get decent driving weather.  I got a note from Don, the caretaker at Almont, and he told me that it has been snowing like crazy.  Should be a lot of fun playing outside.  Bring snowshoes and brightly colored Frisbees!

If you have any questions, please contact me.  I'll be checking my email right up to when we leave.  After that, you can reach me on my cell.

Hope I see you in a couple of days.  Have a very Merry Christmas!

What Does it Mean to Be A Swedenborgian? - Part 2

Here's Part 2 of a 2 part series for the December edition of the Chaplain's Corner
by Pastor Dave, SCYL Chaplain

In part 1 of this series I identified three ways in which a person can be considered a Swedenborgian (commitment to the Swedenborgian organization, commitment to Emanuel Swedenborg’s theology, and commitment to Swedenborgian principals). We continue with a discussion of Swedenborg’s vision of the New Church, and here the matter becomes a little more difficult to talk about. Swedenborg claims that a new era began in 1757, and that the theology he was inspired to write contained core truths of this new era. This new era is symbolized in the Bible by the woman clothed with the sun from Rev. 12. The son which the women delivered is the doctrines of the new era. The dragon which attacks her and her child signifies the difficulty in acceptance of the new era and its doctrines. We hear different ideas about the relation of the Swedenborgian organization to this new era which is dawning. Some say that we are it—in fact, that is what I was taught when I grew up in the church. Others say we are not it. My response is that we can be part of it, but that it is also happening all around us in the spiritual currents flowing throughout this world.

I think that we as individuals and also as a church organization need to remain open to what is going on around us. We need to let go of Swedenborg himself, to a certain degree. We need to let go of some of his language, and also some of his religious categories. In my mind, to be participants in the new era that is dawning, we need to be committed to truth wherever we find it. Let me offer a few examples of what I mean by letting go of Swedenborg himself. Among us words like will and understanding, or charity and faith are large theological terms that signify a whole complex of meaning. But when we hear psychologists talk about affective and cognitive aspects of the human mind, we are dealing with essentially the same ideas. In the book called The Course in Miracles there is a sophisticated doctrine about evil. As a friend told me, that work does not consider evil real. Evil only has power when we give it reality in our own consciousness. The book does not deny that we can allow evil to have power by assenting to it, but it only has power if we give it power. This is essentially what Swedenborg says. He states quite clearly that evil has no Being. Only good is real. Evil and falsity are perversions of good and truth. If popular contemporary sources are saying the same thing as Swedenborg, why not use his or her language? It is the truth in Swedenborg that matters to me, not his actual books. If we try to understand other doctrinal systems, and don’t approach them with suspicion and in an adversarial fashion, we may find that we are closer to the world all around us than we had thought.

But I don’t mean to say that we don’t need the Swedenborgian Church as an organization. There are doctrines that we can only find in Emanuel Swedenborg’s writings. And there are many, many ideas that I have found in Swedenborg that have shaped my life that I can’t find elsewhere. This church has a lot to offer the world. But I think we need to do it in language that the world will hear. And if this means using other terminology than Swedenborg’s own, then we need to use it. I think people would like most of what we stand for if we talk to them in language they can recognize and accept. We are a Christian church and a Biblical church. If we emphasize Jesus and the Bible, who will object? If we take the spirit and essential doctrines of Swedenborg and talk to others in language they are familiar with our contribution to the world will be much greater. We will be less in grown; and I believe we will grow.