Love is in the air at Chautauqua | | |
CADC Newsletter
Spring 2026
Chautauqua is abuzz as properties all over the grounds finish up renovations, landscaping, and repairs for the 2026 Season. Happily, we were able to wrap up the major work in our Headquarters House by early May in preparation for several off-season rentals and events. So, we are now fully ready for you, and we can’t wait to see you!
As of this writing, there are only a handful of rooms still available for this summer. However, if you decide at the last minute you want to visit Chautauqua and stay with us, please call us at (716) 581-3212. We occasionally have last-minute cancellations, so there could be a room waiting for you!
While it is a time of transition for the Institution, there is much to look forward to in this season’s programming as well as in the new leadership coming into place this year. You may have seen the announcement that Mark Coolidge Johnson will become the 19th President of Chautauqua Institution at the end of the summer. Interim President Kyle Keogh will continue in that role through the 2026 Summer Season. In the meantime, Dr. Robert Wilson-Black has begun his leadership as the new Director of Religion. A life-long Disciple, you’ll find a bit more about him below.
Remember that during the Summer Season as well as throughout the year, you can always tap into Chautauqua’s YouTube channel for inspiration and learning. The 2026 lectures will be available there as the season progresses, and you can find lectures from previous seasons as well. You will also find special programming created specifically for the YouTube subscription service. It’s an incredible resource, allowing you to visit Chautauqua virtually all year long!
| | |
CADC Administrator’s Report
Greetings from Chautauqua,
We are very excited about the upcoming Summer 2026 Chautauqua Season and hope you will be spending some of your vacation time with us. Although our houses are almost fully booked, cancellations do happen, so please call us at any point through the summer if you still need a room. Last-minute openings do happen, and we’ll be happy for you to be with us!
Our first group of volunteers was here for a week in early May to help prepare Headquarters House as well as Graybiel House for an early opening. Beds were made, furniture was returned to where it belonged after renovations, and the houses welcomed two weddings and a retreat for Roswell Cancer Center in the second half of the month.
Our next volunteer group, workers from Lexington, KY, arrived on June 7th to paint the Assembly room and take care of other maintenance work in final preparation for our summer guests. Our last pre-season volunteer group will be with us Week 0.
We are blessed to have so many wonderful volunteers and supporters of CADC. Thank you to all who have helped us pre-season this year.
More renovations have been completed in Headquarters House since last summer. New support beams are now in place, new flooring has been installed in some areas, the fire escape stairwell has been painted, and a new laundry room was installed. The Janes Avenue side of the house is fully decked out with new siding, and plans are in place for new siding to be installed on the alley side of the house in the autumn.
We are grateful for your continued support, both through your prayers and your financial gifts throughout the year.
Hoping to see you soon!
Diane Ballard, Administrator
| | |
Robert Wilson-Black Appointed as Chautauqua Director of Religion
Robert Wilson-Black, a Disciple and alumnus of the Disciple Divinity House at the University of Chicago, recently joined Chautauqua Institution as the new Director of Religion. With a deep personal connection to Chautauqua and a proven voice in religion, public life and institutional leadership over decades, he has served at the intersection of faith, higher education, public discourse and social change.
The CADC was pleased to provide housing for Dr. Wilson-Black as he transitioned into this new position during the spring. We welcome him to Chautauqua and look forward to his leadership on our grounds.
Read the full announcement of Dr. Wilson-Black’s appointment
| |
Disciples Day at Chautauqua August 2, 2026
Please join us on Sunday, August 2nd for Disciples Day at Chautauqua. Admission to the Institution is free on Sundays, so just stop at the gate for an entrance pass and come on in! You may also order your Sunday entrance pass ahead online. Parking is free in the Main Lot until 5 pm.
If you will join us, please email to let us know you are coming!
The schedule for the day:
9:30 am - Worship & Communion at Disciples House, 32 Clark Avenue
10:45 am - Worship in Amphitheater, Rev. Anna Carter Florence preaching
12:00 noon - Lunch served on the Gathering Deck at the Disciples Houses
1:30 pm - CADC Annual Meeting open to all—Includes reports on our mission, ministry and projects, and the election of Trustees
3:00 pm - Family Entertainment in the Amphitheater with Natalie Merchant
| | |
2026 Disciples House Chaplains and Hosts
We welcome our Disciples House Chaplains for 2026:
Week 1 Rev. Robyn Bles, Pastor, Wakonda Christian Church, Des Moines, IA
Week 2 Rev. Jean-Daniel Ó Donncada, Regional Minister Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Week 3 Rev. Micki McHugh, Pastor, Harrodsburg Christian Church, Harrodsburg, KY
Week 4 Rev. Erin James-Brown, Chaplain, Bethany College; Pastor, Bethany Memorial, Bethany, WV
Week 5 Rev. Chris Helton, Pastor, St. Peter United Christian Church, Seven Hills, OH
Week 6 Rev. Dr. Don Gillett, Regional Minister, Christian Church in Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Week 7 Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray, Coordinator, Disciples Peace Fellowship, Bloomington, IN
Week 8 Rev. Tim Bobbitt, Pastor, First Christian Church, Alexandria, VA
Week 9 Rev. James Brooks, Pastor, First Christian Church, Hagerstown, MD
Week 10 Tom Brownfield, Commissioned Minister for Social Justice, First Congregational Church, Columbus, OH
We also welcome new and returning hosts in our two houses this summer.
In Headquarters House:
Weeks 1 & 2 Linda Idoine and Jon Secaur (Kent, Ohio)
Week 3 Bill and Jane Johnson (Lexington, KY)
Week 4 Pam and Rhys Rickerson (Lexington, KY)
Weeks 5 & 6 Suzanne and Ernie Hartwig (Knox, PA)
Week 7 Bev and Terry Ries (Chagrin Falls, OH)
Week 8 David and Jennie Shirey (Lexington, KY)
Week 9 Paul Mefford and John Morris (Lexington, KY)
In Graybiel House:
Week 1 Tim Zilke and Carol McCrae (Dexter, MI)
Weeks 2 & 3 Gail Collister and Russ Chapin (Ashtabula, OH)
Week 4 Marsha Sams (Lexington, KY)
Week 5 Rosemary and Jeff Minnick (Lexington, KY)
Week 6 Paul and Merry Jones (Lexington, KY)
Week 7 Kelly and Joy Henderson (Lexington, KY)
Weeks 8 & 9 Greg and Natalie Wittman (Columbus, OH)
| |
|
Chautauqua Comes to Christmount October 19-23, 2026
Christmount is the national retreat center for The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Black Mountain, NC near Asheville. An annual one-week event was established ten years ago by the late Joanne VerBurg and Carole Tyler, long-time Chautauquans and members of the CADC family.
The Christmount program is modeled on the Chautauqua experience, including religion, education, arts, and recreation in a beautiful mountain setting during “leaf season”. Kaye Lindauer will be the keynote speaker. Our administrator, Diane Ballard, serves on the planning committee. Perhaps you can join us there! For more information and registration, see the Christmount website.
| |
Celebrating Tom and Kathy Brownfield
Week 9 Cook-Out, August 28th at 5:30 pm
Tom and Kathy Brownfield concluded their tenure as CADC Administrators in 2024. Yet Tom agreed to stay on through 2025 as the construction supervisor for our significant RENEW HQ renovation projects. We are incredibly grateful for their time as administrators and hosts as well as Tom’s additional service for the Headquarters House projects.
To thank Tom and Kathy officially, a cook-out celebration is scheduled for Friday, August 28th. You are very welcome to join us, even if you aren’t staying in our houses during Week 9.
Tom will also lead our Disciples House Communion service on Sunday, August 30th, the closing day of the 2026 Season.
| |
Celebrating Generosity: Chautauqua Disciples Make Hospitality Happen
Memorial Gifts
We are grateful for recent memorial gifts.
In memory of Claudia Higginbotham, gifts were given by Nathan Higginbotham, Rick and Linda Hull, and David and Betty Lollis.
In memory of Julie Mosely Parsons, a gift was given by Vickie Batzka.
It takes all of us together!
In our Chautauqua houses, room rental fees provide about 60% of the annual budget. Additional contributions make it possible to continue the updates and renovations on Headquarters House, and more. Your gifts help Disciples sustain our presence and ministry at Chautauqua and impact the church across North America. Thank you!
How you can make a financial contribution
· Give to the RENEW HQ capital campaign for current and future projects
· Contribute an undesignated gift to be used for Operating Expenses
How you can make a Legacy Gift
· Include CADC in your end-of-life plans
· Contribute to our Endowment Fund
· Name CADC as a beneficiary in an investment or insurance policy
For help with Legacy Gifts, please contact the Christian Church Foundation: mfiddmont@ccf.disciples.org
| | |
Holding in our hearts and prayers…
Barbara McCall and her family. Barbara served the CADC as a host in Graybiel House for many years and was greatly loved by our guests. She died on May 15, 2026.
Raymond G. Clausen, passed away at home on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
| | |
In closing….
Very soon now, many of us will be together here at Chautauqua! If you are not able to join us this summer, we will miss you. Whether you travel or stay close to home, we wish you a beautiful summer, and hopefully time with those you hold dear. May you find rest and renewal, joy in your hearts, and celebrate many blessings!
| | Chautauqua Hall of Philosophy | | | | |
