Fraternity Youth | NYC 2022

Photo challenge: take a picture of the entire Fraternity group with something that says "Colorado State" (well done!). Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall. It's hard to believe that the trip is almost over! National Youth Conference ended on Thursday morning with closing worship by Jeremy Ashworth, the pastor of Circle of Peace Church of the Brethren in Arizona. He talked about when Jesus tells the disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat, comparing their empty nets to our emptiness. He said that we need to go two places: in our neighborhood and outside of our neighborhood sharing the love of Jesus. During the closing worship service, one person from each congregation that brought a rock to NYC was invited to come up to the worship center, select a different rock to take home, and continue to pray for that congregation. Fraternity got the rock from Mill Creek Church of the Brethren in Port Republic, Virginia — about ten miles east of Bridgewater Colle

National Youth Conference may be coming to an end, but we still have LOTS of photos and updates to share. Diving right in, here's what the group had to say about Wednesday, the final full day of NYC. Photo challenge: take a picture spelling out "NYC" in Moby with some new friends (extra bonus points for including "2022"). Photo courtesy of Kennedy Wall. Wednesday morning's speaker was Osheta Moore. She spoke about the parable of the sheep and the goats, emphasizing that sheep have a "flocking" nature. They need community and they see one another. Osheta challenged the youth to be like sheep — to see those around them and show kindness. Photos courtesy of Glenn Riegel via the National Youth Conference photo website , McKinley Wall The choir sang for the final time during the morning worship service. It was a pretty challenging song, but delivered a powerful message. Melissa expressed that it was great to share the choir experience at NYC wi

Show of hands: how many members of the Fraternity congregation celebrated Tie-Dye Tuesday this week? Melissa, Kennedy, and McKinley with several new Virlina District friends. Photo courtesy of the Virlina Youth Facebook page. Not to worry — there's always next Tuesday. Tuesday at National Youth Conference wasn't only filled with bright, colorful tie-dye; it was also packed with incredible speakers, workshops, service projects, and more! Photos courtesy of Glenn Riegel via the National Youth Conference photo website , McKinley Wall Naomi Kraenbring spoke on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) during the morning worship. Here's a fun fact: Naomi used to attend Melissa's home congregation in Pennsylvania! McKinley and Melissa sang in the choir again on Tuesday morning. Photo courtesy of Glenn Riegel via the National Youth Conference photo website Photo courtesy of Chris Brumbaugh-Cayford via the National Youth Conference photo website Following small groups and lunch,

Hello again from Fort Collins, Colorado! It's hard to believe we've already reached the halfway point of National Youth Conference. There's still lots to experience, so read ahead to hear all about what our youth did on Monday. Photo courtesy of Chris Brumbaugh-Cayford via the National Youth Conference photo website Our youth started off their day with morning worship led by the winners of the NYC Speech Contest: Kara Bidgood Enders (Pennsylvania), Hannah Smith (Maryland), and Anna Schweitzer (Indiana). Each of the girls shared a personal story alongside a story from the Gospels: the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), Jesus and the disciples on the boat during a storm (Mark 4), and Jesus healing a blind man (John 9). Photos courtesy of McKinley Wall, Glenn Riegel via the National Youth Conference photo website The Fraternity group had signed up for a hike on Monday afternoon, but Kennedy and Lydia ended up being the only ones to go (more on that later — it all worked out!).