Like so many of you, I have found myself glued to the updates from the Artemis II mission and the crew aboard the Integrity. There’s something magnetic about space. It's that curiosity and unknown that spark childlike wonder. I’ve felt like a kid again eagerly awaiting new pictures and updates: seeing the excitement of the crew as they orbited the moon, glimpsing a perspective of the universe we can't see from Earth, and venturing further than humans have gone before.
I’ve been struck this week by the crew’s presence in each moment. They look ahead on their journey, yet fully savor the “moonjoy” along the way. Space travel has a way of showing us what it’s like to encounter something vast and unfamiliar, to see differently, and to return changed.
We may not have zero-gravity fun or cool space suits, but isn’t this process exactly what we aim to provide at our camps? The chance to explore the unfamiliar, reshape our perspective, and return transformed.
When our team sat down to contemplate our theme and vision for our next National Gathering, we spent time trying to describe this. That shifting from where you are to where you want to go. We wondered if a conference can give you all of the answers to make that shift for you. Plot twist- it can't. But what CAN happen is time in community, contemplating what’s to come, celebrating where we’ve been and what we’ve been through, and stepping into something new. This something new isn't fully defined or mapped- we are on our journey to see what’s on the far side of our metaphorical moon, and we hope that in taking time to wonder and experience awe together, this shift starts to happen within us all.
You're invited to Uplift with us next January at Zephyr Point, to look across Lake Tahoe to the surrounding mountains and take it all in. Mountains themselves carry the story of transformation: triangular peaks shaped over time by forces above and below, revealing change in visible form. There’s a rhythm and pattern to it. A mountain’s triangular peak even resembles a delta—the symbol for change. How poetic is that? Standing in awe of the mountains, we are lifted spiritually and reminded that change is forward momentum, upward movement.
Plan to Uplift and explore the shape of change as our UMCRM community makes space for curiosity, to dream about what’s next, and to launch toward the unknown.
More to come,
Audrey
Audrey LeSage’s camp story began as a Glisson (North GA) camper, then summer staffer (2014-18) and Intern (2018-19) and has grown into a full-circle career in camp ministry. Audrey holds a Bachelor’s in Outdoor Recreation from Central Michigan University and a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. After a few years working with a disability services nonprofit in Atlanta, she returned to the Glisson year-round team in 2021 where she currently serves as Outpost & Sparrowwood Program Director. When she’s not at camp, Audrey can be found hiking the trails of North Georgia, playing trumpet in her community band, coaching adaptive swim team, or getting very invested in the current season of Survivor. Audrey is one of the nine illustrious Design Team volunteers who are planning the 2027 UMCRM National Gathering.
