“Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’

They told him, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets.’

He asked them, ‘And what about you? Who do you say that I am?'”
~Mark 8:27-29, CEB

Our CFC Discipleship Class spent the weekend at Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center in Sharon.  Silver Lake is a camp nestled in the rolling hills of Litchfield County and a ministry setting of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ (SNEUCC).  This was the first time many in our group experienced Silver Lake, and it was awesome to introduce new people to this remarkable place. 

You might wonder what we do while away on retreat at Silver Lake.  It’s hard to adequately summarize the experience.  These Confirmation Retreats (offered by the SNEUCC) provide time for youth from various churches to focus on forging new friendships and new understandings of their faith.  There is a faith formation component in addition to being away at camp together and having fun!  

The theme of the retreat was “Who do you say that I am?” and these SNEUCC Confirmation Retreats are run by trained facilitators.  We were blessed to have Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Caronna (Pastor of Deep River Congregational Church and a familiar face for our CFC Discipleship Class!) and Rev. Dr. Will Sencabaugh (Pastor of Second Congregational Church of Attleboro, MA) as our leaders.  We had various ways of engaging with this theme: “Who do you say that I am?”  We thought about aspects of our own identities, learned about the UCC, performed skits about Jesus’ life, participated in a form of praying in color, and even made a video that aired during closing worship. 

While on retreat, we have some designated “free time” and can spend that time exploring Silver Lake.  A group of us walked down to Mudge Pond so that those who had never been to Silver Lake before could see more of the camp.  Our whole group (along with the Terryville Congregational Church UCC Confirmation Class) participated in team building activities, including challenges on the low ropes course.  The picture above was taken at the Waterfall Chapel as we explored that part of Silver Lake together.  We played a seemingly endless game of Uno and ate snacks.  We sang campfire songs at the top of our lungs and enjoyed meals together, eating lots of bacon before heading back to our families in Colchester Sunday afternoon. 

The Discipleship program is an important ministry of our church (and has been for many years).  It is a commitment for our youth to be part of Discipleship and a commitment for our mentors to help lead the class.  I am grateful to co-lead Discipleship with Nicole.  And I am grateful for Ted and Steve serving as our class mentors this year and for another wonderful class of our youth (Rae, Karah, Charlie, Kolby, and Ben) who are a joy to journey beside. 

Love,
Pastor Lauren

Thursday Thoughts 2/15/24