A New Mission u

Big changes are being made for Mission u, a summer event co-sponsored by the Conference and the United Methodist Women that focuses on learning about mission, growing spiritually and doing hands-on mission work. For the 2015 Mission u, the venue will change from Grove City College to California University of Pennsylvania and the programs for adults and children will be offered over a long weekend, beginning Thursday evening, July 9.  (Youth Mission u will begin earlier in the week, on July 7, and run through the weekend.) 

It's an attempt to make it easier for employed adults to attend with their families and ensure that the programs are accessible for all.

"As we learned about The Church and People with Disabilities last summer, we realized that our Mission u events were not very accessible and that we were unintentionally excluding people," said Michael Airgood, pastor of Pine Run UMC, who is serving as dean for the 2015 Mission u. "Beyond our guests with limited mobility, we had many people who found it hard to sleep without air-conditioning in the summer heat. The Mission u team looked at options to address these needs, and after many hours spent in conversation and prayer, we made some major changes.

Airgood outlined the changes this way in a letter to those who had attended in past years:

• Dates: In the past we held a weekend school and a weekday school. For 2015, we want to put all of our efforts into creating one very high quality event for everyone to share in.  We want it to be a family event where grandparents, parents, youth, and children can learn and relax together.  Our youth Mission u will be July 7-12, and Mission u for children and adults will begin the evening of Thursday, July 9 and continue through the weekend. We hope that working people will have an easier time taking one day off from work than taking a full week’s vacation for this event. We also look forward to worshipping inter-generationally. 
• California University: We love Grove City College, and we looked into several options to stay, but realized that if we wanted to welcome everyone, we would need to look into a new location.  At California University each two-person room has its own bathroom.  Every dorm room and meeting space is air-conditioned.  Walking distance between buildings will be minimal and easily accessible for people of all abilities. 

"We hope that these changes will make Mission u more open, accessible, and engaging. Our team will continue to work hard to create the best event possible," he added. 

Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton will preach at the opening worship on Thursday evening, July 9.

Register online using the links at wpaumc.org/register, OR use the following direct links:
Adult Registration
(Adults bringing children in Kindergarten through Grade 5 should list them on their registration form.) 
Youth Mission u Registration
Youth Mission u 2015 brochure

Like Mission u on Facebook at facebook.com/Wpa UmcMissionu