In When Rev. Marilyn Panco, or ‘MP’, as her congregation calls her, first arrived at Ferncliff for a CREDO conference, a weeklong retreat focused on ministers’ wholeness and well-being, she didn’t yet know how deeply the space would speak to her, or that she’d be back again the following year with a youth group in tow. But something about the landscape, the quiet, and the conversations at the Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) stirred her imagination. “I poked my head in the DAC,” she recalled, “and I talked to a staff member, Kenny, for maybe half an hour… I walked around inside, looking at everything… and then seeing that there was a house that we could stay in together, it would be a little different kind of mission trip for our youth.”
MP’s youth had been on plenty of service trips to Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Mississippi but she wanted something more this time. “I wanted them to see the support of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the DAC, what they do… and have them connect with that kind of support rather than on-the-ground raking leaves.” With that in mind, she brought nine youth and four adults from Saint Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin, Missouri to Ferncliff for a week of mission and reflection—and they came home changed.
Each day, the group worked on assembling kits, sanding benches, cleaning spaces, and sharing meals in Ferncliff’s Retreat House. The hands-on work mattered, but the deeper gift was how it formed them. “Everyone needs to grow in some fashion,” MP explained. “God speaks to them, or they grow up a little bit… Those two things are so important to me.”
Throughout the week, youth and adults alike were encouraged to reflect on what MP calls their “God moments.” As she explained, “They get through the week, they watch for God moments… and then they get to say their God moments during the worship service.” One teen shared how being surrounded by nature helped calm their anxiety about college. Another, new to fishing, caught the biggest bass of the evening on his last cast. One adult reconnected with a lesson from a high school shop teacher while sanding benches—realizing it was time to slow down in his life and be more patient with his family.
For MP, the impact of the trip confirmed what she already knew from her time at CREDO: that camp is holy ground, and living together 24/7 in service shapes people in ways a day trip never could. “You don’t understand what happens on a mission trip until you go on one,” she said. “You can have both—supporting from afar and showing up in person—but there’s just something about being there.”
And perhaps the most profound moments aren’t in the work itself, but in the love it reveals. “One of my kids wrote in a card, ‘Thank you for being such a great associate pastor, and thank you for being nice and kind to me,’” MP said. “It strikes me to think… what are they going through, that my little bits of words and stuff make an impact?”
Now serving as pastor of Burton Congregational Church in Ohio, MP carries that belief with her into this next season of ministry. Though her address has changed, her commitment to creating sacred, formative experiences for young people remains the same.
“These things are important for kids,” she said. “If they go on one trip and one person is kind to them when they don’t have kindness in their life… it might give them a little bit of hope.”
That’s the power of giving back—not just to the people we serve, but to the people we become when we serve together. At Ferncliff, moments of work turn into moments of transformation. And for MP and her youth, it’s clear: the trip wasn’t just about helping others, it was also about discovering something deeper in themselves.
Stories like MP’s remind us that Ferncliff isn’t just a place, it’s a ministry where service becomes transformation. Every day, youth here discover what it means to grow in faith, friendship, and purpose through hands-on mission and care for others.
When you become a Friend of Ferncliff, your monthly gift makes these moments possible all year long. You help young people see that serving others can change them, too—and that kindness, community, and creation care are all part of God’s good work.