MAY 1-3, 2025 | Swansboro | North Carolina

SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 1

Join us at the Iconic Swansboro Town Hall for a Welcome Luau! 

Wear your Hawaiian shirt and start to unwind!

Get your retreat packet while sipping a Mock Mai Tai and meeting new friends!  Dance to Hawaiian Music and get ready for the annual DAD JOKES TOURNAMENT.  (prize for the best party outfit as well!)

Important:  Sign up here for one of the Recreation options, including our new features, the RENEW SCAVENGER HUNT , and the RENEW CHOIR.


LOCATION DETAILS:
 The Swansboro Community Room is in the Town Hall, just a short walk from the Swansboro Harbor. Plenty of parking right at the building. 601 W Corbett Ave, Swansboro, NC

Friday, May 2

  1. Managing Birth Parent Relationships with Grace and Wisdom: Theresa Marcroft, Kimberly Scott, Aundrea Sterling 
  2. What Teens Need: Helpful Tips for Navigating Adoption Loss Together:   Susan Tebos and adoptee panel  
  3. Navigating the Foster Care System with Grace and Hope: Gaile Osborne
  4. Instilling Racial Identity in Multicultural Families: Tony Mitchell and Panel
  5. Overcoming Trauma from Raising Children from Hard Places: Karla Marie Williams 

Women’s Strengthening Session:  Pastor Joyce Dalrymple, Sanctuary

Men’s Strengthening Session: Pastor Jeff Marburger, Fellowship Hall

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Choose your Friday Afternoon Recreation Adventure Below! 

Take in one of our fun and relaxing recreation adventures. From exploring historic downtown, to a ferry ride across the waterway, we have something for everyone! Check out your options below!  

Or, just nap! 

Free Haircuts from Restored Styles Mobile Salon

Take a five-minute drive to your parking where the dunes await!  A scenic 15-minute ferry ride will carry you out to Bear Island, a stunning nature preserve waiting for you.  Enjoy this barrier island, walk along the dune-lined beach, fly a kite and collect shells.  Your hosts Shann and Sarah will meet you and coordinate your trip.

Some of the best kayaking in the East is right here in Swansboro where the ocean meets the White Oak River.  Meet your guide Kelly at Pogies Kayaks where you will have a 2 hour kayak outing.  Paddle across to the many small islands and explore untouched beaches and wildlife.

Mike and Christian are ready to help you beat your best score at this entertainment center loaded with fun.  Find your inner child in an afternoon of sport: bowl a few games, conquer the pinball machine, ride the go-carts or play mini-golf. 

Join Laurie for a peaceful and relaxing movement experience.  This stretching and yoga session is for all levels of fitness.  Laurie says: “Enjoy gentle movement which allows space to take in the full expression of Christ’s love for us all! This class will nourish your mind, body and soul!”  After this, take a nature walk using our guide of local trails.

Explore Front Street along the Swansboro waterfront and find fun clues to win the Scavenger Hunt Grand Prize! Take in all the quaint historic buildings filled with boutiques and collectibles.  Stop for a repast at The Boro and browse the gorgeous homewares at Salt Marsh Cottage.  

Do you love to sing?  Have you always wanted to serve in a choir?  Join Music Director and Choir Leader Genia Holder-Cozart for this joy filled experience! The choir will be practicing songs that are well-known and easy to learn!  Don’t be shy!  This is your chance to lift your voice and sing!  The choir will perform three songs during the closing session on Saturday afternoon. 

FRIDAY NIGHT

Many know Mark Schultz as the platinum-selling, award-winning artist whose career has spanned two decades with thirteen #1 hits. 

He’s garnered accolades like Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Album of the Year and has appeared on ABC’s 20/20, Extreme Home Makeover, and CNN’s Morning Edition. But Mark would say that all of that pales in comparison to the honor of getting to share his own story of adoption with an audience. Mark was adopted when he was two weeks old and raised by loving parents. And, though he’s never met her, he’s grateful to his birth mother for giving him life. “She’ll always be a hero to me,” he says with a smile and tears in his eyes.

Mark’s hit single, “Everything to Me,” a song about his life and gratitude to his birth mother, was the centerpiece for Bethany Christian Services ministry to expectant mothers. “I wanted to write a song for birth mothers, so that they could hear how grateful I am to my own birth mom and how she made the choice to give me life.” Mark has a passion for benefit concerts because it’s a chance to tell his story and to give back to the very organizations that helped save his life. 

Mark and his wife Kate, who had two boys, Ryan and Gus, adopted their daughter, Maia Mae. “It’s amazing for me to be on this side of adoption,” says Schultz. “This love that I have for my daughter is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. She and I have a very special bond.” Schultz and his daughter share the same initials, MMS. Most recently Mark and Kate adopted Ebby Lou who was adopted from the same adoption center that Mark was adopted from.  “And one day when both girls get a little older, I’ll be able to share my adoption story with them, too.”

Saturday, MAY 3

 

  1. Raising Children in the Steps of Jesus Through Prayer and Discipleship: Teri Froman
  2. Helping Your Child Tell their Story: Chrina Henson, Trent Taylor
  3. Keeping Your Marriage Strong When Trials Arise: Tony and Venita Mitchell, Jodi and Jerry Tucker
  4. Overcoming Trauma from Raising Children from Hard Places: Karla Marie Williams (repeat session)
  5. Delighting in God in Times of Uncertainty, Sorrow and Joy: Leeann Hale 
  1. Managing Birth Parent Relationships with Grace and Wisdom: Theresa Marcroft, Kimberly Scott, Aundrea Sterling (repeat session)
  2. What Teens Need: Helpful tips for Overcoming Adoption Loss Together:  Susan Tebos and adoptee panel (repeat session)
  3. Navigating the Foster Care System with Grace and Hope: Gaile Osborne (repeat session)
  4. Instilling Racial Identity in Foster Care and Adoption: Tony Mitchell, Panel  (repeat session)
  5. Living on Mission with Your Kids: Keith and Tonya Fortier

May 1-3, 2025

SWANSBORO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

SWANSBORO, North Carolina

See you at the beach!

MAY 1-3, 2024 | SWANSBORO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH | SWANSBORO, North Carolina