Giving Thanks! Historic Outdoor Ministries Connection Great Gathering at Lake Junaluska

November 10-14, 2019, an ecumenical group of mainline denominational camp and retreat associations held the Outdoor Ministries Connection Great Gathering at Lake Junaluska, located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The gathering was the first of its kind.

The theme of the conference was RelationSHIFT – expanding our understanding of relationship as God’s people. 536 people attended the conference, representing seven denomination associations and four other denominations and 335 camp and retreat centers across the US and Canada. Participating denomination associations included Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers, Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, Presbyterian Church Camp & Conference Association, Outdoor Ministry Association of the United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, and United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries. The idea for the conference was born at a joint Board meeting among the associations four years ago, and the planning team began preparation in earnest in the fall of 2016.

Conference Co-Chairs Nathan Pile (Executive Director, Sequanota Lutheran Conference Center and Camp, PA) and Elise Bates Russell (Executive Director, Johnsonburg Camp and Retreat Center, NJ (Presbyterian)) began with teambuilding and forming relationships between the various representatives from each denomination on the team. “Creating common ground and asking ‘what can we do better together?’ was a driving goal for this event,” shares Elise and Nathan. “We wanted top notch speakers, workshops, and opportunities for networking so that regional connections could strengthen our ministries across the continent.”

Conference keynotes, preachers, and leaders included author and nonprofit consultant Joan Garry, author and noted speaker/preacher the Rev Barbara Brown Taylor, author and activist Shane Claiborne, author and teambuilding consultant Jim Cain, and dean of Duke University Chapel and associate professor of Homiletics Rev Dr Luke Powery. Music was led by musician and singer-songwriter Ken Medema. Artist, pastor, retreat leader, and creative entrepreneur Lisle Gwynn Garrity served as artist in residence for the four-day historical gathering. 76 exhibitors joined the conference, and there were 80 educational workshops on topics that ranged from risk management to creative programming, from nonprofit management to spiritual development. Conference participants were also able to enjoy the area on one afternoon of the conference with field trips in Haywood County and Asheville.

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Lauri SoJourner, executive director Lake Logan Conference Center in Canton, who served on the planning team for the Great Gathering, said, “The process of pulling this event together was life-changing. We learned, laughed, cried, danced, prayed, worshiped, sang, thought, shifted, and grew together through the whole process and especially through the week of the conference. Each denomination has its own history and practices, but it is clear that we all want to follow in the way of Jesus and spread love through camp and retreat ministry. It is clear that we follow Jesus best when we do it together.”