Primetimers

An Educational and Mission Service Experience for Older Adults
A Program of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church 

Primetimers experiences offer older adults opportunities for educational forums, cross-cultural exposure, faith-filled reflection, and greater exposure to the work of The United Methodist Church and the church universal.

Primetimers 2012 Is Here!

After a successful schedule of Primetimer events in 2011, the new schedule for 2012 is now available. The brochure below can be downloaded and includes information about each of the six events. It is also available for mailing to those without email access. In addition, the application can be filled in and submitted online or it may be printed and sent by mail. Information concerning the deposit is included along with deadlines and minimum participation required. We are grateful to those who agree to serve as leaders and shepherds of these events.

Download the 2012 Individual Registration Form
(for instructions, refer to page 14 of the Primetimers Book below)
Download the 2012 Primetimers Book

A Kaleidoscope of Vermont Color
by Jeanie Blankenbaker

(September 23 to October 1, 2011)

Question: What do Sugar on Snow, Moo Doo, and Robert Frost's cabin in the woods have in common?
 
Answer: They are but a small fraction of new cultural experiences, information, and things uncommon in the home states of Primetimers attending the Vermont event.

Arriving in Burlington, Vermont, from all five United Methodist jurisdictions, 14 Primetimers (PTs) quickly hit the road, loading into vans each morning. Traveling within the beautiful Champlain Valley and Green Mountains, the PTs experienced a full kaleidoscope of Vermont colors, sites, and brilliant speakers versed in their respective fields.

An afternoon of volunteer service took the PTs to Covenant Hills Christian Camp, located on a gorgeous 139-acre wooded-mountain site. They repaired and strengthened cabin decks, leveled one cabin, and did prep-work for floor painting and other painting tasks.

To mention the many experiences of the week is all but impossible here. When asked, "What are your most memorable events?" Primetimers lifted these, in no particular order:

•    the volunteer service day at the camp
•    Burr Morse and his maple sugar farm stories
•    the Shelburne Museum
•    all the persons our hosts knew and we heard, especially:

* Vermont Senator Claire Ayer (health care advocate)
* Dr. John Elder (Robert Frost scholar)
* Skip Flanders (Waterbury's President of Selectmen and member of Wesley UMC)
* Bob Foster (Dairy Farm owner and producer of Moo Doo and electricity)
* Stuart Hall (snowflake photographer)
* Michelle Jenness (Director, Vermont Immigration and Asylum Advocates)
* Cheryl Connor (Co-convener of Addison County Farm Worker Coalition).

The PTs enjoyed:

•    the private visit inside the cabin of Robert Frost
•    Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory
•    Rokeby Museum and its Underground Railroad
•    worshipping at Shelburne UMC
•    the Lake Champlain cruise
•    the sample table at Cabot Cheese Factory
•    the picnic on top of Mt. Philo
•    Vermont's incredible views
•    the Vermont State House tour
•    participating in Bill McKibben's 350.org grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis
•    the Middlebury College tour and the international students we met
•    the observation of Vermonters working together to solve their problems.

It was truly a kaleidoscope event of experiences and colors. One Primetimer summed it up by saying we were "taken with Vermont"!

Caption: Entering Robert Frost's cabin in the Vermont woods.

Jeanie Blankenbaker served as assistant general secretary for Mission Volunteers of Global Ministries prior to retirement.