Beltsville Church 'Worships in the Mountains' at Annual Retreat

Story by Ricardo Bacchus / Photos by Ean Nugent and Ricardo Bacchus

Once a year, on the second Sabbath of September, Beltsville church’s Ammendale and Tech Road campuses, located in the Potomac Conference territory, spend a day at the Mt. Aetna Retreat Center in Hagerstown, Md.

This past Sabbath, church members, friends and family united for its 12th annual “Worship in the Mountains” retreat. More than 200 people filled the retreat center’s open-air amphitheater, as musicians and singers worshipped in nature.

Jamaican native Del Lewis, a Tech Road member since 2017, says, “This is the fifth time I’ve attended. This time, the music reminded me of back home.”

After the songs of praise, Edwin Vargas, lead pastor, preached, noting that the day was special because it was rooted in God’s beautiful “first book”—nature. 

Lunch was followed by a creative fellowship. Participants joined together in “family groups,” each tasked with drawing a sign to show unity. Then, the next challenge awaited: to build the tallest free-standing balloon tower—a testament to collaboration. 

Led by Renea Smallwood, a photography enthusiast and the church’s administrative assistant, the photography group captured nature's beauty on camera. With digital cameras and phones in hand, Smallwood guided 8-year-old Paige Hynes (pictured) and 14 others to see the world through a lens, providing the attendees with an incentive: some of the photos captured during the photography session would be used in Beltsville’s October sermon series, “Refocused Faith: Seeing What God Sees.”

Meanwhile, Marianne Hope, the leader of the art group, invited participants to paint the sky—either the brilliance of day or the calm of night—before drawing the silhouette of a lone tree. “It was very calming and peaceful. Sometimes people can get caught up with trying to make a ‘perfect picture,’ but that’s not what it’s about. There are no mistakes in art, only new opportunities,” she explains.

Vargas says, “What stood out to me the most [at the retreat] was seeing people from different ethnicities, generations and walks of life come together in such a meaningful way. … The fellowship created a sense of family. It was also a wonderful opportunity for unchurched friends and family to experience the best of what our church has to offer: authentic worship, a warm community and spiritual encouragement in the midst of God’s creation. For me, it was a powerful reminder of how God works through community to draw us closer to Him and to one another.”

Lewis agrees, “We were in one accord. Most times in church I hang out with people I know. Here I was able to meet new people.”

Deanna probably said it best: “It almost felt like a mini camp meeting!”

To learn more about the upcoming sermon series or to explore the church’s Connect Groups, where some of the activities from this special event will continue in the weeks to come, visit beltsvillesda.org.