Mennonite Weekly Review

PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Service Adventure’s first unit is celebrating a birthday and a legacy of service and leadership development.

From left, Rachael (Yoder) Jarvis, Alyson Troyer and Lori Lehman at the 20th anniversary gathering for Service Adventure unit participants, leaders and church members in Philippi, W.Va. The three women were participants in Philippi in the 1998-99 unit. — Photo by Susan Nisly/MMN

Current and past participants, leaders and church members gathered June 27-28 in Philippi, one of Service Adventure’s three charter locations, to celebrate 20 years of volunteer service in the community.

Over the two decades, 552 participants have served alongside host congregations in communities throughout the United States with Service Adventure, a program of Mennonite Mission Network.

At the June event, families gathered for a picnic, bonfire and a remembrance service at Philippi Mennonite Church.

Karen Skidmore, a member of the Philippi congregation and a previous member of the local Service Adventure support committee, has taken pictures of each of the 20 units to serve in Philippi. On Sunday morning, these pictures were mounted on two framed posters hung side-by-side in the worship area of the meetinghouse.

“All of the unit members, at least photographically, were present with us at that service,” Skidmore said. “Rather than a sermon, we just opened the floor for people to exchange stories, and it was delightful.”

Many Service Adventure participants and leaders have gone on to participate in additional service terms or in leadership within the church.

“Part of what makes Service Adventure so unique is that you have young adult participants but you also have unit leaders. And these younger and older people are truly learning from one another as they live together in community,” said Susan Nisly, Service Adventure director. “Giving participants and leaders tools for living in community translates down the road into helping them realize their own gifts and passions.”

Service Adventure invites young adults to spend a year exploring simple living in intentional community. It has also provided formative experiences for 197 unit leaders.

“We remember Service Adventure fondly,” said Linda Huber Mininger, who, with her husband, Richard, served as the first unit leaders in Philippi. “It changed the direction of my own career, and shaped the way that we thought about church and community.”