By Chad Hershberger

You may have read my blog post about my experiences at last year’s Winterfest Youth Event in Lancaster. It was a fantastic event, and I was excited to participate again this year. One of the things I liked last year was that I went solely as a participant. I did not have any responsibilities (except getting up in front of the large group to talk about camp, which comes very naturally to me!). I liked that I could just be and take in all that Winterfest is about.

So, as I prepared for this year, I wanted to do that again. When an email came out the week before the event asking for volunteers to lead the small group table talks, I did not respond. I did not participate in those last year and I wanted the flexibility to sit out of those again. Probably not the best thinking for me, but that’s what I had in mind.

When we got to registration, imagine my surprise when I found out they had assigned me to a table talk group. I had been “voluntold.” I was disappointed but now felt responsible. I was a little more eager when I found out they assigned me to a group of young adults. They’ve been trying to get more college students to attend the event and had enough there this year to have two tables for discussion.

We met as a small group first on Friday night. I learned a little about the eight young adults, where they were from, what they were studying, and what schools they went to. We had guided discussion questions that followed up on our “Fingerprints” theme. That first night everyone was a little quiet as we learned more about one another and tried to process this new experience.

We met again twice more on Saturday. The discussions were livelier. They had more to say and more reflections, particularly on what they heard on the big stage. I liked hearing about how they felt their chosen course of study and profession would lead to living out their calling in life. I found their answers to be thoughtful. We some activities to do together and seemed to get into processing the theme in that way, too.

One of the elements of Winterfest is “Family Time” at the end of the day. It’s a chance to meet with your congregation youth to check-in and process the day. When we met with our contingent from Upper Susquehanna Synod, both nights my highlight was the table talk time. I really enjoyed discussing the weekend topics with this small group of young adults.

Sunday, we wrapped up our time together and had one last table discussion. I was sad to see our time end. I wished them all well, and I hope that someday I can hear about all their adult accomplishments. Their futures are very bright! In fact, one of them is even going to be a staff member here at camp this summer!

You never know when you will get a big surprise in your life. I didn’t expect to enjoy doing the table talks but it turned out to be one of my favorites of the weekend. I hope you will consider coming to Winterfest next year if you are a youth or young adult. Or, if you know a youth or young adult, encourage them to join us in Lancaster the first weekend of January 2026.

If you are interested in participating, send us an email at cml@campmountluther.org!