National Youth Event: July 10-13, 2012

The National Youth Event (NYE) of the United Church of Christ (held every four years) provides an opportunity for over 3000 youth (ages 13 to 18) to gather for worship, workshops, faith, fun, and fellowship. It is planned by the collaborative efforts of national staff and an NYE Planning Committee comprised of a diverse group of UCC youth and young adults. NYE will be held this year at Purdue University, and a group is forming of youth and adult leaders from the Central Pacific Conference who will all be traveling together. The cost is $425 plus airfare. Some scholarships will be made available. Contact Pastor Melanie if you are interested.

Peace Village Interfaith Day Camp - June 25-29, 2012

Held here at First Congregational, Peace Village, is an interfaith day camp that teaches the way of peace through the arts, spiritual practices led by religious leaders from many faith traditions, yoga, nonviolent conflict resolution, movement, media literacy, nutrition, service, earth stewardship and more. Children ages seven and older who have completed first grade through seventh grade, of all or no faith tradition, are welcomed to Peace Village. Youth who have completed 8th grade are welcome to apply to be group leaders who accompany and guide campers through the day. It takes a village to make Peace Village, many hands and hearts of all ages join to make this experience joyful and transformative.

If you have questions, contact Pastor Melanie Oommen at 541-345-8741 or melanieo@fcceugene.org.

Summer Fun Camp: July 22-26, 2012

This is First Congregational's longest running program for youth. Summer Fun Camp is a program funded by our church for homeless and low-income youth in Lane County and is held at Camp Adams in Molalla, Oregon. It is a wonderful opportunity for the campers to experience a stress-free week of fun and games at the same time the high school youth get the opportunity to take on a leadership role.

High school youth organize and lead the experience which includes crafts, games, swimming, crawdad fishing, and hiking...all the things that make summer camp renewing and fun. In the process, transformative relationships of compassion and joy are nourished.

For more information, contact Pastor Melanie Oommen, 541-345-8741.

Youth Summer Camps at Camp Adams

Camp Adams, our Conference camp located just east of Molalla, Oregon is a great opportunity to make new friends and enjoy swimming, singing, and an all around wonderful experience. Check out the Camp Adams web site at www.campadams.org for registration packets and camper information.

The dates for 2012 summer camp are as follows: Completed 2nd and 3rd Grades Completed 4th and 5th Grades, Completed 6th, 7th & 8th Grades, Completed 9th – 12th Grades, Young Adult Camp (ages 18-25), Work Camp ( Ages 18 and older, or 12 and up accompanied by an adult)

Reminder: The date of our All-Church Camp Weekend at Camp Adams is August 24-26, 2012!