I was at a work meeting the other day, when one of my colleagues said:

“In the past few years, the Gathering has had fewer participants, but more scheduled activities.”

Fewer people, but more activities. Hearing that sentence gave me pause. It seemed to summarize some things that I have known, or intuited, about the Gathering since I started to work for FGC.

The Gathering is a beautiful event that nurtures so many people. But it has grown complicated. The Gathering includes plenty of features that someone needs to create, organize, or attend.

And that’s not very sustainable. In the coming months, as you read Vitality, you may hear about some changes coming to the FGC Gathering. My hope is that these changes will help the Gathering feel less overwhelming and more restful. Sometimes doing less is doing more. 

The 2026 Gathering in Burlington, VT will be one day shorter than in years past. FGC will be paring down some programs, such as field trips. There will be no coordinated field trips at the 2026 Gathering.

(No field trips? How will we live? I know, I know. You can still coordinate a visit somewhere special, but the days of having an FGC bus take you there are over. The days paying for bus rental, filling a bus with diesel, and finding chaperones are over, too. In some ways, this is a long-awaited return to the Simplicity testimony.)

Starting in 2026, workshops at the Gathering will run for four days, not five. This is because the Gathering itself will be shorter. Tuesday is for arrival and opening worship. Wednesday through Saturday will be workshops and other programs, and Sunday will be closing worship.

There will not be Pre-Gathering Retreats this summer. If you’re like me, and you have attended a Pre-Gathering Retreat, you know that they had some special moments. But Pre-Gathering Retreats required lots of staff time. FGC Staff need to arrive several days earlier to run them. In some cases, staff would be away from their families for two weeks.

So FGC is scaling back!

I don’t know about you, but I love the feeling of spaciousness and openness in my day. What happens for you when you have an open, flexible afternoon? How does it feel to run into someone you love, and to have time to linger and talk with them?

I am excited to see what a simplified Gathering looks like. 

Johanna Jackson

Communications Coordinator