Emmanuel

The human endeavor in the history of creation has long been one confused and made up of moments in the lives of those inhabitants of this earth.
Throughout history we have struggled with the concept of our existence and here and there we get a glimpse of what it all means. As 24 teens and their adult counterparts traveled on an advent journey to Blueridge Summit in the second week of Advent, the mystery began to be less mysterious. We looked back through the Word in search of Jesus' geneology, his earthly ancestors. We discovered the symbols that we look to for a common awareness of the significance of those who came before us. We then gathered the props and costumes to help give it some flavor and whammo, there they are, our own human Jesse Tree compilation!
We had Moses, we had Isaac, we had Abraham, Jacob, Mary and Joseph, and Adam and Eve... All represented.... even Methuselah hahaha at 969 years old.
It was a great weekend, filled with a faith sharing experience and community living, and cooking and eating and a huge Jeopardy match that exposed just how much our retreatants picked up...

So after all this has been said and revealed in the photos, know that the real message of this retreat was that we are Blessed to have Emmanuel, God With US... in Jesus Christ our Savior whose birth we celebrate. We have the blessing of Him telling us plain and simple that we are to love each other... just as he loved us.... and when we wonder who "each" is, we know that it is all of us. All of our brothers and sisters.... especially those who have so little.... here and there and everywhere. Not just in our family, yet so very specifically in our family. Not just our friends, but our enemies as well... Not just those who love us so dearly... but those who sneer at us. Those who would say that it is all irrelevant, and to just be tolerant of each other.... Jesus said it is more important than that. We must love one another as He loved us. So as we glance at these pics and wonder how cool are they, let us also remember those who have gone before us, and those who are to come. But very importantly those who are in our midst right now. We are all called to see the Christ child in all those around us.