For their meetings and events, religious groups can fall back on a few old faithful destinations. These places often reflect or reinforce their values and allow attendees the opportunity to delve deeper into their religious beliefs or their church’s history.
From large conventions to secluded family-friendly retreats, these five cities offer faith groups a host of opportunities to learn more about their faith or others’, tap into an area’s culture and history, or simply have fun exploring a new destination.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s history is steeped in the religious freedom that resulted from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment.” He established the Pennsylvania colony where he aimed to put into practice all his Quaker ideals, and Lancaster is the longtime home of America’s first and largest Amish settlement. Faith-based meeting groups will find not only a plethora of venues in which to host their events, but also plenty of spiritual and religious places to tour. The Sight & Sound Theatre in Ronks, just outside Lancaster, tells inspirational stories from biblical history. The Historic Ephrata Cloister complex in Ephrata is home to one of America’s earliest religious communities.
Groups can tour the museum and archives at the Lititz Moravian Church, which displays musical instruments, paintings and artifacts dating back to the establishment of Lititz as a church community in 1756. The Biblical Tabernacle Experience at the Mennonite Life Visitors Center outside Lancaster is a life-size replica of Moses’ tabernacle in the wilderness that brings the Bible to life in a 35-minute guided tour. “Living the Experience” at Bethel AME Church in Lancaster is an interactive reenactment of the Underground Railroad in Lancaster and its impact on free and enslaved Africans in the 1800s.
The Lancaster County Convention Center and adjoining Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square offer a combined 90,000 square feet of meeting space. Eden Resort & Suites and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton-Lancaster each feature more than 20,000 square feet of function space. Wyndham Lancaster Resort and Convention Center and Spooky Nook Sports complex each offer 100,000 square feet of event space.
Cork Factory Hotel and the Inn at Leola Village are perfect for smaller group events. After hours, groups can visit three main Amish interpretive attractions: Amish Village, Amish Experience or Amish Farm & House.
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin, situated along the Fox River and on the Bay of Green Bay, isn’t just known for its rabid Packers fans and Lambeau Field. It is also a great spot for groups that want to go out into nature.
Faith-based groups meeting in the city will want to visit The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, where an apparition of the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. Groups can organize a pilgrimage to the Champion Shrine, where they can dine and celebrate a mass.
St. Norbert College in nearby De Pere is a private Norbertine, Catholic and liberal arts college that hosts many religious groups for meetings, events or summer camps. The Michels Commons Ballroom can host groups of 250 for a catered event, and the Fort Howard Theatre in the 46-room Kress Inn can accommodate 354 guests.
Other attractions include the National Railroad Museum and Heritage Hill State Historical Park, a 54-acre property that hosts 26 original and reconstructed buildings representing the history and culture of northeastern Wisconsin. The Titletown district just west of Lambeau Field offers entertainment, lodging and restaurants.
Larger groups can host events at the 80,000-square-foot KI Convention Center in downtown, which is connected to the 241-room Hyatt Regency Green Bay and the 135-room Hampton Inn Green Bay Downtown. Hotel Northland is a 160-room boutique hotel in downtown with nearly 15,000 square feet of event space that can host groups of up to 230. The Alley is a speakeasy-style room on the lower level of the hotel and has a bar and bowling alley that can hold up to 150 for a reception.
The National Railroad Museum and Lambeau Field are great off-site venues. Groups can take tours of the famous Green Bay Packers stadium as part of their events.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
As a cultural destination, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is rich in history, art and music, making it an ideal city for faith-based groups.
Greenwood Rising Black Wall St. History Center is the top cultural attraction in the city, educating visitors about Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District, a place where Black entrepreneurs built a successful society for themselves outside of the racial oppression that excluded them from most of Tulsa society. It details the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, when a mob of white people descended on the district and killed more than 300 people and destroyed hundreds of Black-owned homes and businesses.
Tulsa is also home to the Bob Dylan Center, a preeminent archive and museum of all things Bob Dylan, as well as the Woody Guthrie Center, which celebrates the life and legacy of the famous folk musician and songwriter. The Church Studio is a former Methodist Episcopal church that Leon Russell purchased in 1972 to turn into Shelter Records. The facility became a creative workshop for musicians, songwriters, singers and engineers and produced famous artists such as Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder.
Arvest Convention Center offers 275,000 square feet of flexible event space, including a banquet hall for 9,291 attendees. The facility is 15 minutes from Tulsa International Airport and within walking distance of 2,000 hotel rooms and 70 restaurants. The BOK Center next door is an 18,000-seat arena that can host groups of up to 17,000 for a conference or banquet. Many church groups like to host events on the campus at Oral Roberts University, a private evangelical university named for the late Christian preacher.
The Oklahoma Aquarium is a fun place to visit and host an event. It has event spaces for up to 400 seated guests and offers several behind-the-scenes experiences. The Tulsa Zoo is a perfect spot for barbecues, picnics or a team-building retreat.
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey, was the first city founded in the state in 1665. The city is a melting pot of different religious traditions and cultures, which are evident in its diverse culinary scene and history. It also played host to prominent political figures during the Revolutionary War, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and Elias Boudinot, who served as president of the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1783.
There are more than 30 historical sites in Union County, many of them in Elizabeth, including Boxwood Hall State Historic Site, a historic house museum that was the home of Boudinot. Bonnell House is one of the oldest homes in New Jersey, built between 1670 and 1685, and Burr and Hamilton were pupils at Snyder Academy of Elizabethtown.
The Old First Cemetery outside First Presbyterian Church is where the city’s founders were buried. It has over 2,000 graves. There are also more than 300 freed and enslaved Africans buried there in unmarked graves. The community built a monument to them, which is worth a visit.
Meeting planners can host events of up to 225 attendees at the 189-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Newark Airport. Hilton Newark Airport has 378 guest rooms and more than 10,000 square feet of event space. The Grand Ballroom at Crowne Plaza Newark Airport can host groups of 250. The Grand Ballroom at Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel can accommodate up to 880 guests theater style.
Warinanco Park’s Sports Center offers packages for business and team-building events.
Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama
White sand beaches, turquoise water and outdoor adventure are the hallmarks of Alabama’s Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Faith groups meeting in the area have their pick of relaxing and fun attractions, including Gulf State Park, which has 28 miles of accessible trails for hiking, biking, birding and nature discovery.
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge protects critical coastal habitats and provides trails where visitors can observe migratory birds, native wildlife and undisturbed beaches. Groups can book dolphin and nature cruises to learn about the area’s coastal ecosystems or explore local art galleries, where visitors can participate in glassblowing demonstrations or take pottery classes.
The Wharf entertainment district features shopping, dining, a Ferris wheel, seasonal light shows and live events, and groups can enjoy a full day of activities on the Intracoastal Waterway. Other attractions include the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and the Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism & Sustainability, which offers guided nature experiences and educational programs focused on conservation. Fort Morgan State Historic Site is a well-preserved coastal fort on the Fort Morgan Peninsula along Mobile Bay that played major roles in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and both World Wars.
The Lodge at Gulf State Park offers 350 guest rooms overlooking the beach or park and 40,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space, including the Gulf Coast’s largest beach-view ballroom at 12,160 square feet. The 344-room Perdido Beach Resort has 44,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 9,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a grand ballroom that can host up to 1,000 guests.
The 257-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Gulf Shores Beach Resort has 21,116 square feet of event space, and the Learning Campus at Gulf State Park can host up to 200 people. Lodging includes a 64-bed bunkhouse designed for group stays.
