Single adults of all ages can share experiences and gather ideas for “creating communities of ones" at the Solo Flight conference Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at Kanuga Conferences, Inc. in Hendersonville, NC.

Co-sponsored with Solo Flight, a national Episcopal singles ministry, this 18th annual gathering draws all ages of single adults, whether never married, divorced or widowed.

 

From the beginning, a Solo Flight goal has been to draw together singles interested in the development of a community of people who share experiences and values, said Kay Collier McLaughlin, Solo Flight founder and coordinator. This year’s conference will share ideas of how to go about building such communities, both individually and in parishes, she said.

 

Brother Daniel Ludwik, OHC, from the Order of the Holy Cross at the Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery in Grahamstown, South Africa, will keynote. A native of Namibia, he joined the monastery in 2005. A survivor of the South African Border War and the recent civil war in the Republic of Congo, he credits those experiences with helping lead him to monastic life.

 

The conference includes presentations, workshops, evening fun and daily worship, plus an artist-in-residence program that honors creative solitude. This year's artists are Jennifer Mizenko, a professor of dance at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, and Cathy McGlasson, who teaches violin, viola and piano for Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia in Kingsport, Tenn.

 

The Rev. Dr. Jan Dunnavant, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Nicholasville, Ky., and the Rev. Dr. David Perkins, vicar of All Souls Episcopal Church in Mechanicsville, Va., will serve as conference chaplains. The Rev. J. Bruce Stewart from the Center for Liturgy and the Arts in Annandale, Va., returns as musician. Benjamin Bynum, executive director of Reading Camp for the diocese of Lexington, Ky., will serve as the young adult host.

 

Each Episcopal bishop is asked annually to fund the participation of four categories of single adults to attend the Solo Flight conference: young adults (post-formal education through early 30s), never married, divorced and widowed. Participants who are interested in financial aid are encouraged to contact their bishop for assistance.

 

Affiliated with the Episcopal Church since 1928, Kanuga is a 1,400-acre camp and conference center in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Hendersonville, N.C. For rates and registration, visit www.kanuga.org or call 828-692-9136.