Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am thrilled to invite you and the youth from your church to join me at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Youth Event (MARYE)! This summer’s youth event will take place at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA on July 21st—25th. Almost 400 youth and adult advisers from across the 6 conference area that makes up the Middle Atlantic region of the United Church of Christ will gather for 5 days of high-energy fellowship, Spirit-filled worship, and thought-provoking speakers and workshop leaders.

The theme for this year’s MARYE is, “Take the Journey…Follow the Holy Brick Road.” Like the characters on the Wizard of Oz, we are on a journey of discovery. Our journey is an unfolding story of how we become followers of Christ. Just as Dorothy and her companions searched for and discovered things about themselves along the way (remember how the Lion wanted courage, the Tin Man, a heart, and the Scarecrow, a brain) we too will discover some wonderful things about ourselves on this Holy Journey. How might God be planning to use you? What talents do you already have that can be used to help others discover Christ’s love and grace? God calls all of us on the Holy Journey that is life, and I hope that you will be able to make the MARYE a stop on your journey.

There are certain logistics that will need to be worked out in the upcoming months. We hope to have a delegation of youth and adults from our conference travel together to Selinsgrove. Transportation costs and arrangements are not finalized, but we hope to offer a bus or vans that will service various points throughout the conference. The registration fee for the MARYE is $275.00 for early bird registration, before February 28th, and $300.00 thereafter. If you are interested in registering for the MARYE or want to learn more about the event you may contact me by telephone, (814) 445-4534, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You may also go directly to the MARYE website, www.marye-ucc.org. I hope to have a facebook group for Penn West participants up and running in the next few weeks. Adults who are interested in chaperoning should contact the Conference office.

You may be wondering how to pay for the MARYE. The youth and members at St. Paul’s have made it a priority to raise the funds to send our participants to MARYE. I hope that your church will make a similar commitment to your youth. Rev. Alan McLarty and I have asked the Associations of the Penn West Conference to consider contributing some money to a fund that would help to send our youth to the MARYE. If you need financial assistance, please contact Rev. McLarty or me.

On a personal note, on behalf of the youth and adults who will be attending MARYE, please keep us in your prayers. Youth events like MARYE often play a vital role in a participant’s faith formation.

Blessings,

Rev. J. Matthew Deal
Pastor, St. Paul’s UCC, Somerset