By Rev. Kimberly Orr
Lakeside Chautauqua’s Director of Religious Life
The Religious Life Pillar at Lakeside this summer invites us to walk together along an integrated spiritual pathway – one that weaves worship, prayer, study, hospitality and shared spiritual practices into a coherent way of life shaped by the Spirit.
Rooted in a desire to cultivate a community formed by prayerful attentiveness, responsible engagement with scripture, and gracious welcome, this season reflects the biblical promise that God is still at work among us, “to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Rather than offering a collection of disconnected programs, Religious Life at Lakeside invites participants into a liturgical rhythm, a way of walking together with intention that shapes hearts, minds and our communal life.
The pathway begins each Sunday in worship. Gather at water’s edge for the 8:30 a.m. Lakefront Eucharistic Service, the 9 a.m. Lakeside United Methodist Church Service and 10:30 a.m. Hoover Community Worship Service, grounding the week in praise, proclamation and sacrament.
A new Holy Communion Mini-Service at 11:45 a.m., following Hoover Worship, creates additional space for those who wish to receive the sacrament later in the morning.
Sunday evenings continue the journey with Sunset Praise, as we lift our voices together and mark the closing of the day in song and prayer.
Prayer anchors our common life throughout the week. Morning Prayer, Centering Prayer, Tuesday and Taizé Vespers and the “Soulitude” Prayer Walk invites us to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46: 10), cultivating attentiveness to God’s presence in both silence and movement.
Alongside these practices, serious yet accessible engagement with scripture remains central to the summer. The new Deep Dive Bible Study and Lunch & Learn seminars offer academically grounded exploration of biblical texts within their historical, cultural and theological contexts, reflecting the call to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
This commitment deepens during Interfaith Week (June 7-11) and Scholastic Scripture Week (June 14-18), when diverse voices engage early Jewish and Christian texts with both rigor and generosity, reminding us that “the Spirit blows where it chooses (John 3:8).
Intentional spaces for young adults – such as the new Pie Service (community service paired with pizza) and Board Game Night – affirm that belonging itself is a spiritual practice, echoing Paul’s vision that “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but… members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
The pathway culminates in communal anchors such as the National Historic Camp Meeting and American Hymn Festival (July 25-30), where theology is sung as well as spoken, and in weeks that integrate faith with the visual arts.
Throughout the season, Religious Life at Lakeside invites all who enter the community to walk together in hope, discerning how God is already making “all things new” (Revelation 21:5) among us.
