08512
July 16, 2008

Cincinnati youth help with Montreat storm clean-up

Group arrives a day early for Youth Conference to clear debris

by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service

MONTREAT, NC — A busload of senior high Presbyterians from two Cincinnati churches arrived a day before their Montreat Youth Conference week was to begin to help clean up storm damage at the historic Montreat Conference Center in the western North Carolina mountains here.

“We were pleased to have their help and their energy,” said Bob Tuttle, vice president and director for the Center for Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Montreat, of the group from Knox Presbyterian Church and Third Presbyterian Church in the Queen City.

Margaret Neale (second from right), a youth leader at Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, with senior highs from Knox and Second Presbyterian Churches, who arrived a day early for the Montreat Youth Conference to help with storm clean-up at the conference center. Montreat Conference Center photo

“It was such a great experience for our kids,” said David Annett of Knox Church, adding that the two congregations are mission partners and are already thinking about projects they might do when they return here in the summer of 2009.

“We cleaned sticks and trash out of the stream,” said Cincinnatean Margaret Neale, “and it made the stream flow so much better.  The kids worked in the park — Robert Lake Park — gathering sticks and debris from that big wind storm we had. It was work and they complained like all teenagers do, but they had fun, too!  You can see that in the pictures of the group working in the park and in the stream.”

The Knox youth have been coming to Montreat Youth Conferences since 1983, Neale said.  “They work hard all year raising money to get here. They invite youth from other churches to join them, give scholarships where needed, and spend a year raising their money to come.  They do musicals, dinners, put flamingos in people’s yards — for money of course — and then take them out of the yards — for more money — so they can get to Montreat.”

One young man, Neale said, “told me that Montreat is the one place where he feels serene.  He loves coming each year because it is a place where he can be by himself or with the group. He feels safe here in Montreat.”   

Knox Church, like many PC(USA) congregations,  has leaders now who grew up attending Montreat conferences.  “The whole congregation,” says Neale, “benefits from these young people coming to Montreat.  First, they always have a youth Sunday and they teach everyone the songs they learned that week.  And even more, these people become the deacons, elders, choir members and Sunday school teachers for the next generation.”

“It is always fun seeing the Knox Presbyterian group arrive in Montreat,” said Tuttle.  “We were especially happy to have them come a day early this year to help us clean up from the storm in May. Their help was most needed.  And, they have already said they will come a day early again next year, so I guess we didn’t work them too hard!”