Two weeks ago North Star held their second annual conference in
Provo, UT. Unlike last year, I wasn't heavily involved in the
planning or the execution of the conference. But I did help out as a
volunteer, which enabled me to give back in a small way, while still
having enough time to attend many of the sessions and interact with
people at the conference.
The theme of this year's North Star Conference was “Let Your Light
Shine Forth.” Everyone that volunteered or played a role in the
organization of the conference was given a blue t-shirt to wear with
the conference theme on it. Wearing the t-shirt was a good reminder
of the theme, as it clearly showed that we were involved in
supporting the conference.
Even though my role as a volunteer was intended to be more
logistical, I had the opportunity to be a greeter for a while as
well. Anyone that knows me well knows that I struggle with social
anxiety. So standing in the lobby greeting people and asking if they
were attending the conference was definitely outside of my comfort
zone. But it also turned out to be a good experience for me as well,
as I'm sure some of those attending for the first time were a lot
more anxious than me.
The conference started out Thursday evening with an informal dinner,
social and service activity. The social was very well attended. In
fact, my only real complaint about it was that there were more people
there than could comfortably fit in the room they used for it. And
although I found the social to be a bit too crowded for me to get to
know new people, I did get the chance to interact with a lot of
friends, some of whom I had not seen in some time.
The conference proper began Friday morning. I did not attend the
opening session, as that was when one of my volunteer shifts was
scheduled. I did, however, get the opportunity to attend all the rest
of the sessions and events of the day.
In the morning I attended a session about allowing our experiences to
help us and others develop a deeper spiritual connection. I sat with
some friends during lunch. After lunch was a general session with
gospel writer James Ferrell speaking. I got to be a session chair
(meaning I introduced the speakers and conducted the session) for the
first of the afternoon sessions, which was on ways to get involved in
serving in North Star and the Voices of Hope project. And for the
last session of the day, I attended a session about learning how to
manage perfectionism. And the day closed with a social mixer (and I
was pleased with myself that I stayed for the whole thing, and didn't
spend most of my time hiding in a corner).
On Saturday morning, the first general session featured Chad Hymas,
who shared about how the adversity he experienced from becoming a
quadriplegic improved his life and his connection with God. For the
morning breakout session, I attended a session presented by Josh Weed
and his father about understanding a child or sibling that
experiences same-sex attraction. I sat with a different group of
people at lunch and got to know a few new people.
For the first of the afternoon sessions, I attended a more
interactive workshop about overcoming the negative effects of body
shame. And for the session after that I listened to experiences from
a couple of men that shared why it was worth it for them to stay in
the gospel. The closing session featured Mariama Kallon, who was a
convert to the church from Africa, and shared of her experiences with
losing most of her family in a civil war in her native country, and
how her trials brought her to Christ. After she spoke, there was an
awards ceremony, and the incoming President of North Star was
announced to be Greg Harris, who has done a wonderful job of being a
conference chair for both of the first two North Star Conferences,
and has served as a vice president of North Star.
Even though most of the topics at the conference were not new to me,
many of them were still a great review. And overall, I think I got
more out of the fellowship and giving service than anything else. I
had the chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, met some people
in person that I had only known online before, met a number of new
people, and better got to know some people that I didn't know very
well before the conference.
In the past, I have been afraid of letting others know about me. I
have shared before that I have feared what those on either extreme
would think of me if they knew of my attractions and how I choose to
live my life. I am grateful now to be living more authentically and
out of the shadows. The conference theme was a good reminder for me
to continue to let my light shine.
I am glad I got to be involved in this year's conference, and I look
forward to the conference next year.
