CONWAY, Ark. (April 8, 2009) – Forty-one Hendrix College United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF) Leadership Scholars traveled to Fort Smith for their annual Spring Retreat March 21-22.
The students spent Saturday night at St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith where they worshiped and attended vespers with the nuns. The group also participated in a program on spiritual discipline, led by Sister Hilary Decker.
As part of their Spring Retreat, the students broke into 10 groups and spoke during the Sunday morning services of 10 Fort Smith area churches. At the worship services they discussed Hendrix Religious Life, and assisted with the services by leading prayers, participating in drama, sharing special music and testimonies, leading children’s sermons, and assisting with liturgy and communion.
Participating Fort Smith area churches included: Woodlins United Methodist Church, Faith United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church, Goddard United Methodist Church, Grace United Methodist Church, Journey United Methodist Church, Mission United Methodist Church, Saint Paul United Methodist Church, Wesley United Methodist Church, and Greenwood United Methodist Church in Greenwood.
Hendrix senior UMYF scholar Leslie Till enjoyed the retreat, noting that as her last it was bittersweet. “It will be very hard to leave Hendrix at the end of this year, and the UMY program has meant so much to me all these years,” she said. “It's like a piece of home that I always had here.”
Rev. David Orr, senior pastor at Fort Smith United Methodist Church, said the students “were present, upbeat, personable, and remarkable. They represented themselves, Jesus Christ, and Hendrix College in a most impressive way.”
UMYF Leadership Scholars include: Kaley and Zachary Waldrip of Batesville; Emily Harris of Benton; Drew Ritchey of Camden; Hannah Norman of Conway; Amy Ulmer of El Dorado; Patty Hill and Hannah Jackson of Fort Smith; Will Green of Fulton; Kat Marsh of Hensley; Gabe Breshears, Christine Faubel, and John Meredith of Little Rock; Rachel Kincannon and Stephanie Trevino of Maumelle; Cayce Guy of Monticello; Emily Jones of North Little Rock; Jake Mitchael and Sarah Rhoads of Rogers; Colin Bagby of Russellville; Chase Green of Searcy; Rebecca Flynn of Sherwood; Kristi Vo of Van Buren; Conner McCutchen of Wynne; Leslie Till of Champaign, Ill.; Alana Buie of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Hannah Allee of Manchester, Mo.; Nathan Jeffries of St. Rockport, Mo.; Emily Lenard of Saint Louis; Winn Haynes of Warrensburg, Mo.; Philip Brooks of Memphis; Whitney Lovell of Franklin, Tenn.; Hannah Brown, Eva Englert and Xochitl Garcia of Dallas; Paul Richards of Houston; Joshua Hooper-Shaffer of San Antonio; Rebecca Boone of Sulphur Springs, Texas; ; Luke Schaffner of Richardson, Texas; and Collin Sitler of Pearland, Texas.
UMYF Leadership Scholars are Hendrix students who have provided significant leadership in local church, district, and conference youth ministries of the United Methodist Church, and who demonstrate outstanding potential for Christian leadership on the Hendrix campus.
All scholars participate in two retreats each year. The fall retreat is an orientation for all students and the spring retreat gives students leadership opportunities in local churches. Students also meet monthly for religious discussions, spiritual growth and fellowship.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.