Empowering youth to connect with Christ and each other
Welcome home to Kanuga.
June 18-23, 2023
All-inclusive rates range from $446-$595. Financial assistance and payment plans are available during the registration process. Our goal is to ensure that Youth Week is accessible to every applicant.
Youth Week is the summer event for KEY Conferences (Kanuga Empowered Youth). As one of the longest-running events for youth ministry in the United States, Youth Week brings together youth and adults who work with youth from around the country for a week of fun, friendship and prayer. This Kanuga tradition embodies the vibrancy of the national Episcopal Church and encourages participants to seek authentic connections with Christ and one another. Those who attend are empowered to build community through small group discussions, conference-wide gatherings, music, prayer, and play.
and how we can build an intentional and inclusive community within that enlightened
place. The world that surrounds us is not always a loving and kind place. Our goal is to
empower young people to create a welcoming space during Youth Week and to
go home with a desire to create real change in their communities, while being an
example of shining God’s love to all. Making change and building something new can
be an overwhelming and scary process. Each day during youth week we will use the
following questions to build up to the community that will eventually spread outside
the walls of Balthis, past the Kanuga sign, and out into our great big world.
Day 1: How do we find that light within ourselves and others?
Day 2: How do we strengthen that light as we grow in life?
Day 3: How do we support that light during challenging times in our lives?
Day 4: How do we bring that light that we cultivated here out to the world?
All youth welcome!
JYP: Junior Young People, Grades 7–9
SYP: Senior Young People, Grades 10–12 + recent high school graduates
Andrew Tobias, SYP Coordinator
Andrew has been a lifelong Youth Week attendee. First experiencing Kanuga as a young child playing at the Baker Building, while his mother was attending Adults Who Work With Youth to attending JYP and SYP and serving on staff for both Winterlight and SYP ever since he was able, Andrew has a deep love for Kanuga and the mission of Youth Week. Andrew feels blessed to serve as SYP co-coordinator with a long-time friend, Tabi. Even though they do not have a blood relation, they feel like siblings. To be given the opportunity to create the same loving, welcoming, and fun environment he received as a KEY Conference participant is Andrew’s greatest honor. The feeling of radical hospitality, inclusion, faith, sincerity, and of course, the silliness that Youth Week fosters is carried with him every day. Andrew’s education is in Interior Architecture and Design but currently works as a Workplace Strategy Manager for a large company in Jacksonville, FL. Tabitha Tobiassen, SYP Coordinator
It’s been 20 years since Tabi was welcomed in to the Kanuga and KEY Conference community. Overjoyed to be paired with co-coordinator and Kanuga Best Friend Andrew Tobias, Tabi is looking forward to building on the community she has had the pleasure of being apart of for so long. Currently the Director of Children and Youth Ministries ya St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA and a long time staffer for KEY Conferences Tabi is looking forward to making this SYP another for the record books. Her true passion is engaging with youth and helping them see how incredible each and every one of them are. Before she was taking youth from her EYC to beautiful Hendersonville she was sharing the Kanuga magic by inviting her brother and sisters in to the community. Serving this community in this way is Tabi’s biggest blessing. She could never give back to this community everything it has given her but is honored to be able to share everything it has taught her with future generation of youth. It is our goal to welcome all youth who wish to attend the conference, therefore financial assistance and payment plans are available during registration. While standard assistance is 20%, further assistance may be offered on an as-needed basis.
Youth participants will be assigned to an age-appropriate historic cottage with adult chaperones. Kanuga provides bedding and towels; please bring an extra towel for lake swimming.
Meals are included in the program fee. We serve three meals a day, buffet-style in our dining room. Please let us know of any food allergies when completing your online registration.
- Breakfast: 7:30-9 a.m.
- Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Supper: 5:30-7 p.m.
For the health and safety of all within Kanuga’s beloved community, please do not join us if you are COVID positive or exhibiting cold or flu symptoms or have a fever. We strongly recommend that all guests wear face coverings when indoors, especially those at high risk or who are not up to date on vaccinations, or for 5 days after recovering from illness. Perform good hand hygiene by washing hands and/or using hand sanitizer especially before eating or drinking or after using the restroom.
In our shop, located next to the Main Lodge, you’ll find soft drinks, wine and beer, snacks, books, apparel, and necessities.
During your stay, we hope you can make time to explore Kanuga’s hiking trails, wooded walks, and lakes. The indoor gym includes workout and weight rooms, as well as a basketball court.
There are myriad worship and contemplation spaces at Kanuga in which all are welcome, including the indoor Chapel of The Transfiguration and the Labyrinth and St. Francis Chapel outdoors.
If you are attending an event at Kanuga and would like to share your photos with our online community, please tag us: #kanuga @kanugaepiscopal. Drone photography is not permitted by guests.
Check-in: 4 p.m.
Check-out: 10 a.m.
Certified service animals are welcome at Kanuga in certain lodging areas.
To communicate with us directly, please reach out: conferences@kanuga.org