Lantern Fellowship is an adult retreat offered to the women of the UCC Ohio Conference.  It is a time when women, ranging in age from 25 to 80+ years, come together to enjoy good food, warm and friendly hospitality, and the peaceful, quiet beauty of wooded hills and trails where the spirit can find renewal.  

The affirming and uplifting company of other women is quite inspiring.  Lantern women have gathered away from home and church responsibilities for a time of community, worship, spiritual renewal and learning since 1928.  

Spring and Fall sessions are held each year.  The group meets at the Ohio Conference's Pilgrim Hills Camp and Conference Center near Brinkhaven, Ohio.

Those who have attended Lantern in the past continue to speak of the great impact the event has had on them.  They talk of the difficulty of explaining to others just what the experience has meant to them.

Members say...

It’s very hard to explain what Lantern is.  It’s more than a women’s retreat. It’s a ‘spiritualness’ that you receive.  Whatever you’re looking for, you can probably find it there.

Being surrounded by nature is very much a part of the Lantern experience. The beauty of Pilgrim Hills lifts our hearts and spirits.

I love nature and the walk in the woods for my quiet time. I feel closer to God when I'm there.

Since 1971, a spring weekend has been added at the request of working women...

For women who work or who have children, the spring is easier to attend because it’s held Friday through Sunday. The fall meeting is on Monday-Wednesday, so it draws a smaller, and a little older, crowd.

The older women in the fall are very dynamic and grounded in faith. There’s something about being surrounded by the ‘wiseness’ of older women. It’s a great feeling.

The opportunity to grow in faith is very important to Lantern women...

The women come wanting to learn.  There is such a desire for the women to grow in God’s grace and in the knowledge of what God has to give us.

Lantern is intended to be a renewing of your spirit.

Lantern Fellowship is looking for new members...

We want Lantern to grow.  The group is making efforts to try to make everyone feel comfortable. We want to approach women and say ‘Come and spend the weekend with us. You can sing and you can be loved and hear what God has to say.'

Lantern is open to anybody and everybody. We want people to learn that Lantern is a wonderful, spiritual weekend where you can grow, learn about God, see scripture in new ways, and take what you learn home with you.
   

The gathering was inspired by stories told by a retired missionary returning from a trip to Asia in 1924. She was deeply impressed by Christian women in China who gathered to live, plan and pray together in religious and educational retreats.

After her return, the Ohio women of the Conference Board of Missions of the Congregational Christian Churches decided to try a similar meeting. Organizers Marion Fiske and Lydia Davis convened a women’s retreat on a cold, blustery day in September 1928. Fifteen women met at Lantern Lodge, a cottage on Lake Erie near Huron. Sunshine warmed the study groups wrapped in sweaters and blankets on the cottage porch.

"Living together was a rather hilarious reality," wrote Martha Lebold, one of the organizers of today’s Lantern. "They had crowded dining quarters, four-and-six-to-a-room bedrooms and very thin partitions."

The women decided to call their group a "fellowship" rather than a "retreat" because the word implies going backward. The other part of their name is presumably taken from Lantern Lodge, the location of their first meeting.

Annual fall Lantern meetings continued during the 1930s and 1940s, at Oberlin Inn and then Oberlin College. In September 1957, Helen Huntington Smith took over leadership of the group, which met for the first time at the UCC’s Pilgrim Hills Camp.

Callie Budd oversaw the Lantern organization for the next 35 years. "She was the woman who did it all for about 30 years," said Roxanne Michel, one of today’s Lantern organizers. "When Callie passed away, she was sorely missed."

The Lantern participants created the Callie Budd Scholarship Fund in her honor. A portion of each worship offering is added to the fund to assist those who may not have enough money to attend Lantern," said Michel.