'We Are Able' is among new workcamps scheduled for 2009.

The 2009 schedule of summer workcamps has been announced by the Church of the Brethren's Youth and Young Adult Office. The workcamp theme for the year is "Bound Together, Finely Woven" (2 Corinthians 8:12-15). In 2009, 29 workcamps will be offered in 25 diverse locations in the United States and several international locations.

Each workcamp offers a week-long service opportunity for junior high youth, senior high youth, young adults, or an intergenerational group. Held in the months of June, July, and August, the workcamps provide experiences that unite service, spiritual growth, and Brethren heritage.

Four of the 2009 workcamps are highlighted by staff as offering new or unique opportunities:

• A workcamp titled "We Are Able" for senior high youth and young adults at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on July 6-10 is a new concept in the workcamp ministry. Recognizing that all people have gifts to share, the workcamp will enable youth and young adults with intellectual disabilities to serve side-by-side with a service-partner youth or young adult.
  
  
• A young adult workcamp in Northern Ireland will be held June 6-14, offering the opportunity to travel to an area of extreme beauty, but also extreme conflict. Participants will learn about conflict and reconciliation while working at Kilcranny House in Coleraine.
  
  
• An intergenerational workcamp titled "Passing on the Peace Witness" at the Brethren Service Center on Aug. 2-7 is co-sponsored by On Earth Peace and is offered to people of all ages. Multiple generations will serve together, exploring the legacy and importance of the peace witness in the Church of the Brethren. Families are invited.
  
  
• A workcamp for senior high youth on the issue of racism is held in Germantown, Pa., on July 27-Aug. 2, co-sponsored by On Earth Peace. Church of the Brethren leaders recently issued a letter calling for continued study and self-examination on the issue of racism. This workcamp will offer that opportunity as participants serve together in an urban setting.

Junior high workcamps will be held at 10 other sites, among them the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., and the John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va. (see feature story below reflecting on this summer's workcamp at the John Kline Homestead; go to www.brethren.org and click on "Photo Journal" to find a photographic tour of the homestead). Many other senior high workcamps will be offered next summer, at 15 sites including at Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding projects on the Gulf coast.

"Just as each thread is important in a tapestry, each person is important in a workcamp," said an announcement from the workcamp staff. "This summer we will work side by side, giving and receiving; revealing a God already present in the world. Come discover the importance of each thread of the tapestry, bound together and finely woven as the community of all God's children."

Workcamp registration begins online at 8 p.m. central time on Jan. 5, 2009. Go to www.brethrenworkcamps.org for more information. For a brochure with a complete listing of the 2009 workcamp sites and dates contact Jeanne Davies, Meghan Horne, Bekah Houff, or Emily LaPrade in the workcamp office at cobworkcamps_gb@brethren.org or 800-323-8039.

Meghan Horne is one of the coordinators for the workcamp program, through Brethren Volunteer Service.

Source: 11/5/2008 Newsline