New schedule, new place
Get ready for changes in Resurrection & Divine Rhythm
By Annette Bender
Holston Conference is taking its popular winter retreats for young people to the next level by changing the schedule for Resurrection and moving Divine Rhythm to a new location.
Resurrection, the Gatlinburg youth event scheduled for the weekends of Jan. 16-18 and Jan. 23-25, 2004, has potential to increase attendance from 10,000 to 26,000 by doubling sessions over two weekends.
Meanwhile, Divine Rhythm, the young adult event scheduled for Jan. 2325, is cutting costs and preparing for the future by moving two blocks away from Mills Auditorium to the IMAX theatre on Airport Road.
Both events feature speakers and musical groups who appeal to participants' ages, conference leaders say.
Two bands will lead junior-high and senior-high students for each weekend of Resurrection. On the first weekend, Steve Fee will make his Resurrection debut. Chris Tomlin returns to Gatlinburg for the second year to play for Resurrection's second weekend. Former Furman University football player Adrian Despres will speak at both Resurrection weekends.
Serving as music and worship leader for the 18-and-above participants of Divine Rhythm, Wayne Kerr returns for the fourth year. The Rev. Arnetta Beverly former New York bank teller and North Carolina deputy sheriff, currently a district superintendent in the Western North Carolina Conference will speak at Divine Rhythm.
After years of drawing more than 10,000 youth and counselors to Resurrection and turning away hundreds of would-be participants the event's organizers are restructuring the schedule this year to accommodate more young people.
For example, the "Session A" group would attend Friday night's program from 7 to 9 p.m. The "Session B" group will attend from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Similar back-to-back scheduling for two different groups would occur throughout both weekends.
In years past, organizers had to limit each weekend to 5,000 participants. With the new schedule, as many as 13,000 could be accommodated per weekend, according to Karen Zaeh, conference ministry assistant.
Organizers aren't expecting 26,000 this year until the new structure catches on. "But we're definitely going over 10,000," says Zaeh. "Registrations have been coming in fast and furious over the last two weeks."
On Oct. 29, about 7,600 had already registered, with a registration deadline of Dec. 1. Early registrants include about 25 groups from outside the denomination and conference, whereas in the past, only a handful of non-Holston participants could be accommodated. Besides groups from other denominations, United Methodist youth groups from Georgia, West Virginia and North Carolina have registered, Zaeh said.
"Resurrection is still a Holston Conference event, of course, but we're trying to be connectional and invite other groups in, too," said Dan Gray, Holston youth coordinator. "What's exciting about Resurrection is that you get a glimpse of the Body of Christ that's not within the four walls."
Gatlinburg Convention Center staff have tested double-session traffic-flow patterns and other procedures with large groups and are confident that Resurrection will go smoothly with the new structure, Gray added.
Organizers assumed that Holston groups traveling the longest distances would prefer later sessions, but there hasn't been significant preferences for certain sessions or weekends, Zaeh said. Currently, the first weekend's "Session A" is slightly fuller than other sessions.
While Resurrection stretches its legs in Gatlinburg Convention Center, Divine Rhythm is jogging two blocks away from Mills Auditorium to Gatlinburg Conference Center where the former IMAX theatre is located. The move allows organizers to cut costs, but also to relocate before Mills Auditorium begins a two-year renovation, according to Eric Glass, design team member. For its first three years, Divine Rhythm was located next door to Resurrection.
"We were looking for a new home," Glass said.
Holding the retreat in a theatre setting will "change the look" of Divine Rhythm, Glass said, but the popular features will return. "We'll still have a children's program, blood drive and Cafe Rhythm."
During each of its three years, attendance at Divine Rhythm has steadily increased. Organizers are looking forward to building on last year's attendance of 562, especially with the appeal of speaker Arnetta Beverly and worship leader Wayne Kerr.
"People like Arnetta because of the diversity and energy she brings from her different careers," he said. "We're bringing Wayne Kerr back because that's what so many participants said they wanted in last year's evaluation forms."
For information about Resurrection, call the conference youth office at (423) 928-2156 or go to www.holstonyouth.com. For information about Divine Rhythm, call the connectional ministries office at (865) 690-4080 or go to www.divinerhythm.com.
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