It’s been three long years since we had a CMO project; our last one was in 2019. The two subsequent years brought cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and these were followed by a third cancellation in 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s now 2023, and we have a decision to make: to CMO or not to CMO?
True, the war is not over — by all accounts there is no end in sight. But we believe that central and western Ukraine are reasonably safe. Russia’s offensive operations have largely bogged down in the east and south, and their troops and artillery are nowhere near Ukraine’s western regions such as L’viv or the Carpathians.
Therefore, after prayerfully considering various options, we have decided to move forward with plans for CMO 2023.
📅 Project Dates
Lord willing, CMO 2023 will begin on August 8, 2023 and end on August 30, 2023.
🙋🏻♀️What about ladies?
Last year, before Russia invaded Ukraine, we announced our intent to open CMO participation to young ladies. While that is still our general desire, we’ve decided not to take that step in 2023. If Ukraine continues to stabilize, we hope to welcome ladies to CMO in 2024.
📑 The Info Pack, Application, etc.
We do not yet have our usual collection of documents ready for release. Given the unusual circumstances surrounding this year’s project, we decided to start with an online pre-registration form. (More on that in a moment.) Meanwhile, if you’re new to CMO or just a need a refresher, we encourage you to download and read the 2020 versions of the following:
There will certainly be changes to these, most notably travel and health considerations relative to the war. But on the whole, CMO is still CMO. Most of what you’ll read about ministry ops, camping gear, food and medical considerations, and so forth, will remain largely unchanged for 2023.
Please do not fill out or submit any of the above documents to us. Versions for the 2023 project will be added soon!
🥾 Next Steps
If you are interested in participating in CMO 2023, please fill out our pre-registration form as soon as possible. Click the button below to get started.
✅ Conclusion
This post is our latest in a string of project announcements couched in caveats and disclaimers. With that in mind, I’ll close with same conclusion I wrote for the CMO 2022 announcement:
We live in an era of questions and uncertainty. We can hide in a hole and try to “stay safe”, or we can stand up and do our best to serve God. Prudence is needed, but fear is to be avoided. We think CMO has a good chance of getting off the ground, and we’re working hard to make that a reality. Young men… we hope you’ll join us!