Montreat Reflections

RPC Youth spent a week in the mountains at Montreat Youth Conference July 8-15, 2023. Montreat Youth Conference Prompts: Share a Montreat memory

What is something that you are taking away related to the conference theme, “In•Joy”?

Olivia Meux

I will always remember playing pickleball almost every day and in•joying every moment of it!

I will take away that we all have a spark of joy in us and that joy is not a destination or station but a journey.

Robert Shipp

I will remember the great conversation we had in back home group.

My main takeaway is that joy is complex and that no two people will experience joy the same way.

Bode Moore

The talent show was my favorite memory.

A takeaway is that joy is different than happiness in the way that happiness is a single act and joy is a state of being.

Anne Craig Charnley

My favorite memory from Montreat was the back home group and amazing connections we got to form back at home.

I learned that joy is God and God is joy. they are interchangeable and everyone needs it to survive.

Jude McDonald

All the amazing pickleball memories. Joy is easier in a group/community.

Catherine Hunt

Megan Halkovitch

A good memory from Montreat was jumping into the creek in my dress after candlelight. Joy can be complicated and that’s okay. Also it’s healthier to eat Twinkie’s with friends than eating broccoli alone.

Bryce Heeg

One memory I have from Montreat is playing sports with friends especially spikeball and pickleball which was very fun and brought us together. One take away I have from the theme in•joy is that joy is that we can do things to boost our own joy and others to make the world a better and more joyful place.

Evelyn Brown

Getting to grow really close to my small group. My joy is powerful.

I will always remember the hike with my small group when we went through the trees and rocks and found an area where we wrote our affirmation letters to each other with laughter and nature. Thin places allow us to experience God’s grace in a way that opens us to new possibilities.

Davis Meux

Playing pickleball everyday. God’s joy is in you.

Noah McDonald

I will remember extinguishing my candle around the lake during the candlelight ceremony. The opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy, and the opposite of joy is not sorrow, it is despair.