Pictured, from lower left back row: Alan Rogstad (Pacific Northwest), Jason Boggs (Western NC), Jessica Gamaché (UMCRM Association), Arthur Spriggs (SC), Chris Schlieckert (Baltimore-Washington), Kevin Witt (Susquehanna, PA), David Berkey (MI), Bob Kahle (Great Plains), Apryl Miller (Eastern PA) ; from lower left, front row: Nancy Lane (IL Great Rivers), Todd Bartlett (OR-ID), Sharon Pajak (Desert Southwest), Dail Ballard (NC), Ann Marie Carley (West OH), Mary Thompson (Holston), Brooke Bradey (NY), Gary Lawson (TN-Western KY), Corey Jones (FL), Keith Shew (Dakotas-MN), and special  guests Lee Padgett (retired), Kevin Johnson (UMC Discipleship Ministries) at the Scarritt Bennett Center, Nashville, TN, November 2024

The 2024 Summit was a well-timed gift, hosted last week at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, TN. This was my second time attending the Summit as a Conference Chairperson and I have come to experience these gatherings as welcome places of mutual learning and support. This year’s Summit offered a diverse slate of presentations and activities from participants and ministry partners. One of the highlights of the Summit format for me is the peer-led TED Talk style presentations. This year’s talks included a ‘poetic ode’ to the often-misunderstood UMC Trust Clause, an overview of one participant's experience in leading through a strategic planning process, as well as a presentation and discussion about renewal leave and its benefits to leaders and their ministries.

We also had the opportunity to hear from several ministry partners. Lee Padgett presented on a strategic conversation that he had with Bishops at a recent gathering. His conversations focused on the relationship of Camp and Retreat Ministries with the wider vision of the United Methodist Church. We were tasked with listening for “aha” moments and discovered places of alignment and opportunities for sharing information in our own contexts about how Camp and Retreat Ministries are actively participating in the mission of the United Methodist Church.

One of our final gatherings welcomed partners from Discipleship Ministries. Panelists presented on their work and helped to foster a renewed sense of mutuality in relationship to the work of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries. The learning content of this year’s Summit highlighted the value of our connection and the relationships fostered by this gathering help to make it tangible.

The building and nurturing of relationships is the primary outcome for me in this moment. The relationships fostered during my first Summit experience (in 2023) proved to be an invaluable gift to my own ministry. These relationships provided a great deal of support and a wealth of knowledge to call upon in key moments throughout the year. As I emerge from this year’s Summit, I again feel a sense of support from the time spent together and look forward to continuing to grow in and through these relationships and

the gift of UMCRM.

Rev. Jason Boggs is a provisional elder in the Western North Carolina Conference of the UMC and chairs the Council on Camp and Retreat Ministry. He has served for many years in various camp staff and volunteer roles, in youth ministries, and currently pastors a thriving charge.

*photo credits: Dail Ballard