{"id":36997,"date":"2024-08-29T16:15:14","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?p=36050"},"modified":"2024-11-26T15:21:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T21:21:33","slug":"first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/","title":{"rendered":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Merrowvista welcomed 20 eager participants to its first <a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/merrowvista-spark-retreat\/\">Spark<\/a>, a three-day retreat for adults, Aug. 23 to 25. AYF Director of Adult Programs Holley Young said it was a joy to see so many people reconnect with a place that meant so much to them as children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were Spark participants who had not been back to Merrowvista in decades, and to see their reconnection with a sacred place from their youth was very meaningful,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause Spark at Merrowvista was \u2018small\u2019 in numbers, it created an opportunity for the community to form, connect, and truly bond as the weekend progressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36060 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MV-Spark10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1920px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1920\/1440;\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/spark\/\">Spark began in 2022 at Miniwanca<\/a> after hearing from several former summer camp participants who wanted to continue their paths of growth and self-discovery as adults. The program grew rapidly in its first two years, and the AYF decided to expand the program to Merrowvista.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Spark, we strive to allow adults to play, learn, and lean into the AYF four folds and balanced living activities that hundreds of youth experience during the summer,\u201d Young said. \u201cIn this way, all AYF programs are encouraging youth of all ages to unleash our best selves!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36054 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MV-Spark4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1712\" height=\"1920\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1712px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1712\/1920;\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Young was excited to tap Matt Loper, a longtime Merrowvista community member and former AYF full-time staff member, to co-facilitate this program. \u201cWe were both immensely moved by the openness and vulnerability that our community demonstrated, and the intense bonds that were created in such a short amount of time,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n<p>Merrowvista Spark participants spent time in community and small touchstone groups, sharing and reflecting on their time together. Young said one highlight of the weekend was keynote speaker Katy Belden LeGrand, whose presentation \u201cSeeing Others and Being Deeply Seen\u201d resonated with participants.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36055 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MV-Spark5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1920px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1920\/1440;\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The community also spent time enjoying the vast beauty of Merrowvista\u2019s stunning acreage in the mountains. \u201cHiking to The Ledge, talking around the campfire, and taking a plunge in Dan Hole Pond is a testimonial to the reality that practicing the mental, physical, social, and reverent elements can positively impact our lives,\u201d Young said. \u201cWe left renewed and empowered to send our sparks out into the wider world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Young said Merrowvista Spark will return in the future, and she looks forward to reconnecting with this powerful community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merrowvista welcomed 20 eager participants to its first Spark, a three-day retreat for adults, Aug. 23 to 25. AYF Director of Adult Programs Holley Young said it was a joy to see so many people reconnect with a place that meant so much to them as children. \u201cThere were Spark participants who had not been back to Merrowvista in decades, &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[126,70,307],"class_list":["post-36997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-merrowvista","tag-adult-programs","tag-merrowvista","tag-merrowvista-spark"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Merrowvista welcomed 20 eager participants to its first Spark, a three-day retreat for adults, Aug. 23 to 25. AYF Director of Adult Programs Holley Young said it was a joy to see so many people reconnect with a place that meant so much to them as children. \u201cThere were Spark participants who had not been back to Merrowvista in decades, ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Youth Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Catherine Klene\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Catherine Klene\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Catherine Klene\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed76aecb494e23494e2fb12eebc3126e\"},\"headline\":\"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\"},\"wordCount\":380,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png\",\"keywords\":[\"adult programs\",\"Merrowvista\",\"merrowvista spark\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Merrowvista\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\",\"name\":\"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\",\"name\":\"American Youth Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Youth Foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":744,\"caption\":\"American Youth Foundation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed76aecb494e23494e2fb12eebc3126e\",\"name\":\"Catherine Klene\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/740d758e572a396bc11b9bbc9a7af8f4c55ff4d9891f9b82449ac49163e2b05b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/740d758e572a396bc11b9bbc9a7af8f4c55ff4d9891f9b82449ac49163e2b05b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Catherine Klene\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/author\/catherine\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation","og_description":"Merrowvista welcomed 20 eager participants to its first Spark, a three-day retreat for adults, Aug. 23 to 25. AYF Director of Adult Programs Holley Young said it was a joy to see so many people reconnect with a place that meant so much to them as children. \u201cThere were Spark participants who had not been back to Merrowvista in decades, ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/","og_site_name":"American Youth Foundation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/","article_published_time":"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Catherine Klene","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Catherine Klene","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/"},"author":{"name":"Catherine Klene","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed76aecb494e23494e2fb12eebc3126e"},"headline":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community","datePublished":"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/"},"wordCount":380,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png","keywords":["adult programs","Merrowvista","merrowvista spark"],"articleSection":["Merrowvista"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/","name":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community - American Youth Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png","datePublished":"2024-08-29T16:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-26T21:21:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Circle-BKG-Logo.png","width":800,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/first-merrowvista-spark-enkindles-a-new-community\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Merrowvista Spark enkindles a new community"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/","name":"American Youth Foundation","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#organization","name":"American Youth Foundation","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AYF-Transparent-Logo.png","width":800,"height":744,"caption":"American Youth Foundation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/americanyouthfoundation\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed76aecb494e23494e2fb12eebc3126e","name":"Catherine Klene","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/740d758e572a396bc11b9bbc9a7af8f4c55ff4d9891f9b82449ac49163e2b05b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/740d758e572a396bc11b9bbc9a7af8f4c55ff4d9891f9b82449ac49163e2b05b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Catherine Klene"},"url":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/author\/catherine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}