This past week I traded in camp food and bunk beds for continental breakfast and a hotel suite in the ever-lovely Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the array of new opportunities I have had within the Disciples of Christ at camps this summer I got the chance to attend my first General Assembly. Well, the first General Assembly that I was old enough to remember attending.
General Assembly was explained to me in a variety of ways, ranging from a convention to a five-day Disciples party. However, the image I prefer is a family reunion, or rather a series of family reunions. I met with former ministers, current ministers, staff, counselors, and campers from this summer in addition to a multitude of surrogate family members I have collected throughout my life. However, the family I spent the most time with was my quirky little intern family.
The three Peace Interns from this summer along with our fearless leader got the chance to catch up, share stories, and teach each other a few new camp songs. We were also able to meet many members of the extended Peace Intern family from the past forty years of the internship. Experiencing this web of connections and learning about all of the different paths the Peace Internship has led people down was inspiring and refreshing.