Open Letter From Icaghowan

The Icaghowan Planning Committee is independent or sponsored by one or more congregations in Prairie Star District. It is affiliated with but not administered by Prairie Star District.

Updates from the Icaghowan Planning Committee

Update September 2007

Nick Allen, the person who spoke at the Annual Conference 2007, reports on how the funds ($1,000) donated for Icaghowan by attendees at the Annual Conference are being used:

1. We (the Icaghowan Planning Committee) are pleased to announce that Mark Ritchie, the Minnesota Secretary of State, will be delivering a keynote address at Icaghowan 2007. Some of the money will go to his speaking fee. As we schedule workshops for the weekend, other speaking fees may arise.

2. Scholarships will be made available to those who need them. Moving the location of the con from rural Wisconsin to First Universalist Church in Minneapolis has cut the price in half, and we hope to be able to support anyone else who needs assistance with the registration fee.

3. The usual logistical and structural needs: food, printed resources, and mailings in particular.

Update May 2007

We wanted to write an update to the district to, first of all, thank you for the generous donations that were gathered to save our con at the PSD Annual Meeting, and second, to let you know what is happening with the money that was raised. We received donations from individual PSD members totaling $1,000. We were shocked and overwhelmed to have this kind of support. We have questioned all year whether we would be able to hold Icaghowan because we couldn’t afford the deposit of a camp or the gamble of booking for a certain number and then being responsible regardless of if we have that many participants register.

The struggle that conferences like Icaghowan and Boone face is that they are competing with cons throughout the year in the district that are held at large congregations, which have no overhead costs. Camp Icaghowan charges $66 per person for the weekend. For the past three years, we have lost $. Last year we booked for 100 and were able to drop that number to 90. We had 71 registered participants, but still had to pay for 90 at $63.50 per person. We only charged our participants $70.

Our committee thinks the best option to gain financial stability is to hold Icaghowan at a larger congregation. This would allow us to build up our reserve, communicate our concerns to the district, and then look into better long-term options for Icaghowan. First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, MN has generously stepped forward to host Icaghowan 2007 and we have accepted this offer. We will be looking at moving back to a camp setting for 2008.

What cons like Icaghowan need from the district in order to survive:

1. A commitment from every congregation to recognize these as a valuable learning, spiritual and social event for its young people.
2. Congregations to support cons through promotion to youth – getting them registration forms, etc.
3. Further support cons by being involved in them, such as understanding the PSD YAC Seal of Approval, attending as a sponsor etc.
4. Congregations to recognize that cons held at camps are going to be expensive and this may limit participation, so offer a certain % of half scholarships in ratio of the youth group.

Women’s retreats cost $100+ for one night’s lodging. Other congregational and district events are equally as expensive. PSD congregations need to support our youth’s religious growth as strongly as we support other congregational and district events. We all can work together to keep cons alive. Thanks again for your generosity.

Sincerely,
Your Icaghowan 2007 Planning Committee

For further information about Icaghowan, contact Heidi Sandmeier at 952-937-6090.

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