The 2022 CDC Annual Conference will be held July 18-21, 2022 at the Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Mercy Center sits on a beautiful 72-acre wooded campus in west St. Louis county, with plenty of space for prayer, reflection, and relaxation on your own and with deaconess sisters. The campus is home to a variety of walking paths and outdoor spaces in addition to comfortable single and double occupancy housing, a dining room with patio for enjoying hot meals prepared by onsite staff, indoor lounge spaces, and a stained-glass round chapel for daily services.
Conference will begin on Monday, July 18 with check-in at Mercy Center at 3:00 PM and end Thursday, July 21 after breakfast, morning chapel, and a closing bible study. Your registration includes housing and 3 hot meals Tuesday and Wednesday along with dinner on Monday and breakfast on Thursday.
The theme for our conference is “Christ to Your Neighbor.” Sarah Gaffney and the Spiritual Growth and Professional Development committee have been hard at work to organize enjoyable and edifying large group and breakout sessions to help us explore this topic throughout our stay. Speakers include Rev. Dr. Gerard Bolling, Rev. Dr. Glenn Fluegge, Deaconess Tiffany Manor, and Rev. Dr. Leopoldo Sanchez.
Something new this year will be the opportunity to sign up upon check in on the 18th for several rest and relaxation options that will take place during free times. These are being organized by the new CDC Rest Committee and will help to facilitate restfulness and fellowship.
As you make plans to head to St. Louis, know that there is plenty of parking available onsite for those who will drive. If you will be flying into St. Louis (Lambert International Airport), please send your itinerary, especially arrival time and departure time, to cdconferencelogistics@gmail.com so we can help arrange ground transportation to get you to and from Mercy Center.
Registration for this event is online. Paper registration is available upon request to cdconferencelogistics@gmail.com. Please read and complete the registration forms carefully. In addition to a place to register yourself for a single or double occupancy room, there will also be places to record such information as roommate preference, dietary restrictions, accessibility needs, and childcare needs, if you must register children. Children will be registered as guests under your personal registration (spouses will have to register separately).
Many thanks to The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod Office of National Mission (ONM) for their sponsorship of this event. Grant monies from ONM and other donors have made it possible to reduce costs of this conference and increase accessibility.
*The last day to register for this conference is May 18, 2022.*
Looking forward to seeing you all in St. Louis!
Karen Suter
CDC Conference Logistics Chair
cdconferencelogistics@gmail.com