Pilgrimage is the UMC North Carolina Conference annual youth conference in Fayetteville, NC. I’ve been going since 2000 with a several-year hiatus and a semi-disastrous return last year.
Last year’s sleeping conditions were “not condusive to”, the showering conditions were “non-existant”, and the music was actually somewhat a solution to the first problem. I was a little more realistic, hopeful, and generally prepared this time around. And overall, from a standpoint of looking at a conference as a success or not, this one was fantastic.
I did some strange things, like consistently getting in the back of the line for food, obsessively counting my ten charges, and drinking at meals in a manner that did not necessitate refills. It was Saturday afternoon before I realized this is the first leadership-type activity of this sort that I’ve done since Quito Quest this summer, and was therefore unsurprised at my disappointment in the (lack of) length of the Pilgrimage leaders’ survey. Habits die pretty hard.
I discovered several things over the weekend though. The first is that I cannot spell “coliseum” or “disappointment” (spell check came up when I just typed both of those). Another is that the Everything skit still brings me to tears. And finally was a more realistic view of both the vulnerabilities and the strengths of ten teenagers, Kelli, and myself.
Something I’ve been struggling with lately (as I told the D group tonight) is my ratio of giving to getting in worship. Another general struggle is not knowing how to deal with some of the stuff that my brother’s age group is going through because the Band Mafia and the BROs were apparently so sheltered in high school. But that third realization came from seeing God move this weekend beneath the surface-level emotions and interactions of our group.
Some things just need an honest conversation. But sometimes you just need your Merkel Cells stimulated. A middle-schooler with a wide-eyed question brought my to my knees where a Bishop failed to inspire any emotion this weekend. I know I’m going to be chaperoning Pilgrimage for years to come.
