July 10, 2007

National church conference to draw thousands

The national student conference, sponsored by the Presbyterian Church and Cumberland Presbyterian Churches, will feature a variety of worship and recreational activities that reflect the theme "Hope is in our Midst."

Gina Yeager-Buckley, the Presbyterian Church's conference coordinator and associate for youth ministry, said the church has sponsored a conference at Purdue every three years since 1983, and the staff is eager to return.

"Our adult leaders delight in showing their young people the wonderful sights and sounds of this amazing campus," Yeager-Buckley said. "They return eager to share stories of the fountain and the Hall of Music."

Yeager-Buckley said Purdue Continuing Education and Conferences staff don't hesitate to accommodate the Presbyterian Church's unique requests.

"They are creative, professional and, most importantly to us, they are in sync with the details of producing a mega conference but still maintaining a tight sense of community," Yeager-Buckley said. "Our staff want to offer an experience to Presbyterian Youth that they won't have anywhere else in the world. So, in addition to the thousands of youth watching a 'drive-in movie' on the lawn of Slayter Hill, you also will see our participants building sheds for Habitat for Humanity and creating 6,000 school kits for disaster victims."

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is an association of approximately 11,100 churches throughout North America.

Writer: Marydell Forbes, (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

Sources: Gina Yeager-Buckley, (502) 569-5497, gyeager@ctr.pcusa.org

Nona Schaler, senior conference coordinator, (765) 494-2756, njschaler@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: A complete itinerary for the conference is available by contacting Marydell Forbes, Purdue News Service, at (765) 496-7704, mforbes@purdue.edu

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