2025 Feast of Tabernacles: Walnut Creek, Ohio

After serving as a satellite site in recent years, Walnut Creek, Ohio was designated as an official United States Feast location for 2025. Nestled in the heart of Amish country, the Feast of Tabernacles and Eighth Day were celebrated at Timbercrest Campground, a scenic setting surrounded by vibrant autumn foliage and the peaceful charm of the Ohio countryside.

Services took place in a spacious meeting tent equipped with heated floor tiles and standing propane heaters—perfect for keeping everyone warm during the crisp fall mornings. Attendance reached a high of 239, nearly 100 more than previous years. Some Feast attendees camped on-site in tents or RVs, while others stayed in nearby hotels or rental homes.

Just outside the main tent, a long rectangular fire pit served as a central gathering spot where people cooked, sang and enjoyed fellowship together. As a fitting backdrop to this lively space stood a beautifully crafted Sukkot, built and decorated by the young adults with leaves gathered from the surrounding woods.

This year’s theme was “Feasting with Purpose: Creating a Better Future Now.” Each day of the Feast highlighted a specific “better” concept, displayed on a whiteboard at the back of the hall. Attendees were invited to contribute their thoughts on how we can begin living out these “better” things today, even as we look forward to their ultimate fulfillment—better sacrifices, better promises, a better covenant, better hope, and a better resurrection. Throughout the Feast, several key ideas emerged on how to live out this theme: embracing God’s provision and relying on Him, cultivating joy and gratitude, pursuing spiritual growth and transformation, and learning to serve and build community.

Although most of the Feast was blessed with beautiful weather, the first few days brought heavy rain. The downpour collected so much water on the meeting tent’s canvas that it stretched beyond safe limits—requiring fire trucks to come and pump it out!

Despite the soggy start, the site’s welcoming atmosphere and strong sense of community continued to attract newcomers, including those new to UCG or to keeping the Feast days. To help everyone fully enjoy the experience, several group meals were shared, and a refrigerated truck—affectionately called the “Deuteronomy Storehouse,” inspired by Deuteronomy 14—was stocked with communal food that anyone could take and cook around the campfire.

A special highlight came when about 70 visitors from a nearby Feast-keeping group, made up of individuals from Amish and Mennonite backgrounds, joined for a cookout potluck followed by a Q&A session with a panel of UCG elders. 

It was truly a Feast filled with fellowship, food, and fun—featuring a (hay-free) hayride, talent show, karaoke, teen and young adult Bible studies, campfire gatherings, hymn singing, family day activities, fishing, crafting and more. The messages were inspiring, the music uplifting, and the connections made were both meaningful and memorable.