Dear Synod of Lincoln Trails Staff,
This letter is part of a series of letters I’m writing to individuals, groups, and organizations that have had a positive effect on the person I am today. I’m writing one letter each day for 25 days and each note will be posted to my blog at http://bmoles.blogspot.com.
For 12 years of my life, from ages 11 to 22, I was fortunate enough to attend the Synod of Lincoln Trails annual Synod School at Hanover College. Each year, my family would make the three hour journey to Synod School with excitement racing through each of us. Even as a young adult, driving through the main gates into the campus of Hanover was thrilling.
Going into our first Synod School, I can remember my mom having to pressure us into going. Having trouble remembering the name, I even called it “Suicide Camp,” because I did not want to spend a week of the summer both without air conditioning and my friends. But once those first days of Synod School started, I never wanted to be anywhere else.
One of the most impactful moments of my life occurred at Synod School. I had reacted poorly to a prank that the girls had pulled on the boys (typical Synod School occurrence…) and my reaction had ruined the mood of what should have been a fun evening of games. At some point in the evening, my younger sister, of all people, took me aside and explained to me that my actions had rubbed off on the entire group, that I was looked up to as a leader in this group and could not react in the manner that I had. I will never forget that conversation and I will certainly never forget the lesson learned that evening.
Synod School taught me to be a leader and, most importantly, it taught me how to be a friend. Synod School brought me closer to God; it helped me learn how to better communicate my beliefs and opinions to a world that might not always agree. Words can not express how thankful I am to have experienced those twelve amazing weeks. They might only be a fraction of a percent of the weeks I spend on this earth, but they are the weeks that mattered. Thank you, and thank God, for giving me the opportunity to experience Synod School.
For the past five years, I have served as a volunteer youth advisor at the churches I have attended (Central Pres., Terre Haute, IN & Second Pres., Nashville, TN). I have led and planned weekly youth fellowship, taken groups on mission trips, and to Montreat Youth Conference and Presbyterian Youth Trienniums. Without my Synod School experience, I’m not sure I would be capable of performing the work I do with these youth, and certainly not as well as I do. Thank you for helping me find something I am truly passionate about.
I communicate with several Synod School alumni on a regular basis. I can not speak for them all, but I see the extraordinary work they are doing in this world and cannot help but know Synod School has played a role in each of their lives like it has in mine. Thank you, many times over, to the Synod, the Synod staff, and the Synod School planning team did over many years to not only help me in my life, but to help the lives of countless others around this planet.
Truly appreciative,
Brian J. Moles
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The Synod of Lincoln Trails (a Presbyterian Church (USA) regional body covering Illinois, Indiana, and a small part of Kentucky) Synod School was an annual family church camp that me and my family attended for twelve years. The event was discontinued in 2006 because of financial reasons. I'm not sure I have ever fought for something harder than I did when me and my friends attempted to save Synod School in 2006.
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