Star Gathering 1 Family

Welcome Home: an Invitation to Wholeness, Wonder, and Whimsy

Through worship and practice, we will explore new ways to foster our own wholeness. We will wonder at the beauty around us and how to cultivate wonder in our daily lives. All along we will engage in the whimsy innate to Star Island. Come to Star Island this summer for rest and join us at Star Island Family Gathering 1, where we offer you a full week of worship, crafts, activities, and recreation.  Whoever you are, whatever tradition(s) have shaped the way you relate to being and doing in the world, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome to come rest and rejoice with the SG1 community. Be refreshed with inspiring worship and be delighted by activities that inspire Wholeness, Wonder, and Whimsy. Children are invited to attend morning chapel each day at 9 am. Children’s programming takes place from 9:30 to noon each day. Children up to age 14 meet in various groups around the island for a morning of fun!

Oun Minister of the week, Rev. Alexis Fuller-Wright (she/her), is the Pastor of Salem UCC in Doylestown, PA. She has joyfully served congregations in New Jersey, Iowa, Maine, California, and Pennsylvania, as well as a designated term as the Associate Conference Minister of the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ. In 2014 Alexis was selected to participate in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, a decade-long program sponsored by the Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ that works with young clergy committed to parish ministry. Alexis represents a new generation of leadership within the United Church of Christ (UCC) who have been called by the Spirit to bring new life and energy into the church. She frequently consults with congregations on topics related to church revitalization. Alexis received her Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA and her certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Phoenix Center of Spiritual Direction. She is married to Liz, a science writer for Princeton University, and they spend their non-working hours chasing after their two young children, Nora and Will.

Our Program Coordinator, Rev. Dr. Tim TenClay (he/him), is the pastor of Community Reformed Church of Manhasset (Long, Island, NY). He sometimes describes himself as a “Husband, Father, Pastor, Baker, Knitter, Labyrinth Facilitator, Pizza Maker, Bicycle-r, and all-around Love-to-Learn-New-Things-er.”  He is a perpetual learner and an enthusiastic teacher who believes in a world that values question-asking over answer-giving and where the beauty of eternity can be known, at least in part, here and now. He is deeply committed to recognizing the divine image in all people and is particularly intent on facilitating times and spaces where those whom society and religion often exclude as “other” are able to find grace, hospitality, and belonging. Since his ordination in 2000, Tim has served congregations in Michigan, New York, Naples (Italy) and Sicily (Trapani, Marsala, and Palermo) along with his wife (JJ, who is the Refugee Ministries Coordinator for the Reformed Church in America) and their two daughters: Sophia (an aspiring stage manager) and Petra (who plans on being a veterinarian for large marine animals). Tim holds a BA in music and world religions from Central College (Pella, IA), an M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary (Holland, MI), and a DMin in worship and spirituality from Northern Theological Theological Seminary (Lombard, IL). He is a certified hypnotist, sound healer, HeartMath Trainer and Resilient Heart (trauma sensitive) provider, and Advanced Certified Labyrinth Facilitator.

Contact the Registrar on the Registration page with any conference-specific questions.