My almost teen daughter Kate just returned from a week away at summer camp. She has been to this particular camp – Mingus Mountain – at least once a year since she was 10 weeks old, with the exception of the summer lost to pandemic (thanks, Covid!). I have taken her, or encouraged her to attend, camps that I was a part of; but for the last several years, going to camp has been high on her list of things she has to do, and the past two years she’s attended camps I wasn’t involved with.
When she started to tell me about her experience, she didn’t tell me about the curriculum chosen, the lessons taught, or the content of the week. I know and trust that there were solid foundations for such, but those aren’t what makes camp a highlight for her. Nor was it the zip line or high ropes’ “leap of faith” – which she tried for the first time this year! – that held her attention and came gushing out. And as much as she loves getting out of sweltering desert heat for a week in the cool pine trees, that wasn’t what she had to tell me about.
“I met so many new friends,” she excitedly volunteered, and went on to describe interactions with other campers, with her counselor, and with staff and volunteers on site. She expressed joy for new friendships, empathy for the sequestered sick counselor, appreciation for the patient nurse, and admiration for all her camp leaders who created space for and invited her to take part in new things. Repeatedly, she mentioned someone and asked “do you know them?” As an introvert who would sooner curl up alone with a book, it was tiring for me just listening to the amount of personal interactions she took part in over the week. She, on the other hand, was beaming, energetic, joy-filled.
Camp friends, I am sure that not everything has gone exactly the way you would like this summer. And yet, there will be thousands of children and teens like my own who come home with joy in their hearts and praise on their lips because of the space you create for relationship building. Self-esteem will grow, faith in God will be nurtured, hearts will know healing, and the world will be transformed for the better, one camper at a time, because of you and your work.
This parent, who is only hearing about camp second-hand, is appreciative to you and all that you are doing. While I anticipate they are never easy, may your summers be meaningful; may they be rich with God’s blessing; and may you end the days with gratitude knowing you have been a means of God’s grace working in the world.
Rev. Ron Bartlow is a former Camp & Retreat Ministries exec in the Desert Southwest Conference. He currently serves as Senior Pastor at St. Paul's UMC in Tucson, Arizona and chairs the UMCRM Association Board of Directors. He is only getting a vicarious camp experience this summer through his seasoned camper children.
