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Sustainable Pathways

“Tending the Common Ground through Resource Stewardship, Creation Care, and Diversity”

September 9-12, 2018

Hampton, Georgia

It’s not too late! Greetings colleagues, there’s still time to take part in this most important training and discussion on Resource Stewardship, Creation Care, and Diversity. Please join us in Hampton, Georgia, at the Calvin Center (just 28 miles from the Atlanta airport!) We will dig deep to:

• Identify the best strategies for achieving better resource efficiency in our camps and buildings. We will also examine our facilities as holistic systems, look at how this can inform how we approach future improvements, and consider how this tangibly demonstrates our faith and stewardship for Creation.

• Explore a different dimension of diversity and inclusion with creativity, humor, insight, and a fresh perspective. With the goal of learning ways to create camp and retreat environments that are more inclusive and welcoming, we will look at how stereotypes and assumptions contribute to intentional and unintentional bias, misunderstandings, and discrimination.
  

Leading the charge on these topics will be Niambi Jaha-Echols, a Cultural Agility Strategist from Charlotte, North Carolina; Shane Totten, an architect working at the Southface Energy Institute; and Rev. Kate McGregor Mosely, Executive Director at Georgia Interfaith Power & Light. UMCRM's own Kevin Witt and Arthur Spriggs will close out the event by sharing successful programs and strategies that others are currently using around the country to expand ethnic community and leadership in camping, helping you develop a plan to take back to your center.

Don’t miss this great lineup. Take a clean break from summer, and take advantage of some great cheap airfares to Atlanta. Hope to see you soon!

Here's the brochure with all the details. 

Here's the link to register. 

Blessings,

Arthur

Arthur Spriggs is the Executive Director for South Carolina Conference Camps & Retreats. He's an At-Large member of the UMCRM Association Board of Directors, and in that role he also serves on the coordinating committee for the Sustainable Pathways partnership. 

Biggest Summer Ever! Tips From A Marketing Pro

My name is Paige and I am the Director of Marketing & Communications for SC Camps & Retreat Ministries. I work full time handling anything that falls into the category of marketing or communications and I absolutely love it! It has definitely taken some time to get into ‘my groove’ and learn what works best for me and for Asbury Hills. We are so incredibly blessed to be in a season of growth, allowing us to experience our largest summer to date. We have watched our registration numbers soar past what we could have imagined! There have been quite a few things that have worked really well for Asbury Hills and then a few things that didn’t work so well. I want to share with you some tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way that may help bring your ministry to new levels, too.

What has worked for us:

–Figure out where the majority of your campers are finding out about your ministry
We have a question on our registration form that asks parents to tell us where they heard about Asbury Hills. The options are camp fair, from a friend, my church, Parent magazine, social media, and website. Now, this is not a required section, so of the 1253 campers we had this summer, only about 35% actually responded to the question. (This may be because we have a lot of returning campers, so they may not see the relevance of the question.) While that does skew the numbers, the results make a lot of sense. According to our data, 60% of our campers hear about Asbury Hills from a friend, 33% hear about Asbury Hills in their church and the rest is either from a camp fair, Parent magazine ads, social media or our website. Once I get an idea of where the majority of our campers come from, I get to planning how to better market to those places and then the places where we aren’t showing quite as high of a referral rate.

—Put more (time, effort, money, etc.) into where you get the majority of your campers
Clearly we get a ton of campers from friends of campers. I do a few things to fuel this, including mailings, social media posts, and e-newsletter blasts. For example, when I mail out our summer brochure, I send 2 brochures and a little postcard in an envelope to each camper. Not only do our campers get excited about new brochures, they also get excited about sharing those brochures, which is why we send one for them and one for a friend. The postcard with the 2 brochures explains that.

We are lucky to have a super supportive United Methodist Conference here in South Carolina. Aside from friends, churches are where a lot of our campers hear about Asbury Hills. In late fall/early winter I put together a ‘recruiting team’ of previous-year staffers who had a good rapport with campers. I train and send them out to churches to speak/share about Asbury Hills.

—Figure out ways to fuel the places you don’t get as many campers from
I am constantly working to grow our social media reach because I am fully aware that our social media platforms are tools to retain our campers.  We have started attending more camp fairs (I send those recruiting team folks to these) to increase our presence.

—Plan plan plan!
I have a plan for everything! Social media plan, marketing plan, blog post plan, newsletter plan—you name it, I probably have a plan for it. Having a plan keeps me on track and holds me accountable to follow through. There are so many ways to develop your plans, so take time to figure out what works best for you. Creating a plan for yourself allows you to see in front of you want needs to be done. 

What NOT to do:

—Don't have a social media plan
We have a pretty good following on social media and like I mentioned before, social media is a good platform to retain campers/families. My first full year in this position, I just posted on social media whenever I had something to post. This made our presence inconsistent and very hit or miss with interactions. Now, I have a detailed and up to date social media plan that I stick to like glue! There is a lot I could say on this subject alone but just know it took a good year to figure out what works best for me, Asbury Hills, and our followers. 

—Let your website become outdated
Our website has evolved over the years and my knowledge on it has evolved, too. I realized very quickly that not keeping it up to date and regularly checking the links can hinder even just a few registrations. We all know EVERY registration counts! Example: keeping a banner about Open House up after the event has passed or page links not working properly.

—Don't track your links and analytics 
Before I realized that social media platforms and Google provide you with analytics if you just set it up, I was shooting in the dark with our posts and updates. Now I comb through all of our analytics on all social media platforms to see exactly who looks at our posts, how old they are, when they look at it, and if they interact or not. There are also quite a few programs you can use to track clickable links. One of my favorite pastimes is looking at those analytics! 

—Forget the stories

In the camping business, we don’t necessarily sell product; we sell experiences and stories! Other people’s stories and experiences are what get families to register their children for camp. They want their kid to experience what the others do. The moment I switched my brain from ‘sell registrations’ to ‘sell Asbury Hills stories’, I started to get a better hold on our ministry and mission.

Adapting to growth

In the introduction I mentioned that our ministry has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Last year we had 1122 campers and that was one of the biggest summers we have ever had.  This summer we had 1253! Along with this amazing increase have been some challenges that pushed us to adapt. Here are a few things that we needed to do a bit differently:

Train our seasonal staff to be flexible

Staff have to be flexible enough as it is, but with more campers than we expected, folks had to really step out of their comfort zone and support each other. We call it ‘good growing pains’!

Time management

With more campers than expected, we had to be more organized and pull together as a team to use our time well.

Pour into EVERYONE; promote self-care

We can’t minister and serve our campers if we aren’t spiritually fed and taking care of ourselves. This is something we tell our seasonal staff a whole lot: take care of yourself!

Determine actual max capacities

With the influx of registrations, our full time staff had to determine what our ‘sweet spot was’ with camper numbers and ratios. How many is too many campers, that the mission and ministry could be impacted negatively? Do we have enough staff to keep our ratios in check? Do we have additional staff on standby should we need more? The answer was “yes” to those last two because our Summer Camp Director, Sarah, planned for it. We set our goal at 1150 campers, so when we started tracking that we were going to surpass that, Sarah started implementing plans to ensure our ministry wasn’t hindered.

Hopes and plans for seasons to come

I have already worked on getting a social media plan set for the next year, along with a marketing plan tracking into 2020. As a full time staff, we plan our summer themes about a year in advance, giving me ample time to put together print materials, marketing plans, etc. My hope is to stay ahead in our marketing by maintaining my social media and marketing plans, reading as much as I can on marketing trends, and constantly staying in communication with our full time staff on their needs.. 

Maybe you don’t have a full time ‘Paige’ focused on your camp’s marketing and communications. Here are some options that don’t require a lot of resources:

—Start with learning your audience. Who are you trying to reach and why?

You can learn your audience by evaluating who calls your office asking questions, seeing who follows and interacts with your camp on social media, getting to know the type of campers your camp attracts and learning your staff (full time and seasonal). In my experience, I can reach campers on Instagram and Twitter while reaching their parents on Facebook. When you go to create a webpage or update your current one, you’ll want to keep it user- friendly to whomever you are trying to reach/whoever will be using it most.

—Create a presence on Instagram and Facebook. Already have it? Keep it consistent.

Do you have a summer staffer eager to help; maybe someone studying marketing or communications? Have them set up social media accounts. These are FREE platforms that college aged summer staffers are well versed in. With the insights/analytics tool on business accounts in both of these platforms, you can see exactly who is looking at/interacting with posts, when they are looking at them, and where they are from. It can get tricky allowing a summer staffer to run those social media accounts, so be sure to document and implement guidelines and expectations.

—Create interesting content for your platforms.

Take lots of photos and post them! (Always be sure you have a parent’s permission, of course.) You don’t need a fancy camera or photographer for social media—Instagram and Facebook are made to work well with smartphones.  People like to see happy campers doing fun things. Walk around during activities and get a few good shots to post! I’d suggest starting with ‘Happy Monday’ or ‘Yay for Friday’ posts.

— Encourage your staff to gather stories.

Ask staff (and volunteers) to write down their favorite stories from the summer. Maybe even bribe them with an item from the camp store in exchange for a marketing-worthy story. (We do this and it works great!) Just by asking for the story, you save yourself time because you didn’t have to come up with the content. You also got your staff involved and there is nothing campers want more than to hear from/about their counselors. Use those stories for when you are speaking to groups about your ministry, creating a blog post, posting a photo on Instagram, encouraging your staff or just sharing your camp in general!

—Send thank you notes.

Who doesn’t love happy mail?! Any chance I get, I send a thank you note—handwritten, of course.  Did you have volunteers at camp? Thank them. Did you visit a church to share about your camp? Thank them. Did you meet new families at a camp fair? Thank them for their time. Thank you notes go a long way and the word spreads about your hospitality. Plus, you now have that address to add to any other mailings you want to send (with the proper permission, of course).

—Welcome campers or retreat groups.

New registration? Send them a welcome postcard. Get some printed ahead of time to mail out as the registrations come in. This will not only get those campers or retreat groups excited about camp but will help them feel welcomed. When people feel welcomed or valued, they want to stick around. You may get lucky and they may show their friends!

—Subscribe to other camp newsletters.

Even if you don’t send a newsletter out to your camp family, subscribe to your favorite camp newsletters. This gives you an inside look at what is working for other camps, how they are reaching their camp family and will hopefully give you some ideas to utilize at your own camp.

—Don't be afraid to ask for help—I sure did!

This camping community is FULL of folks who have been there, done that and are ready to share.

When it comes down to it, you have to focus on building your camp family, keeping your existing camp family connected, and continuing to add members to your camp family. My biggest prayer is that the Lord will grant me the knowledge and courage to maximize our ministry resources while growing God’s kingdom. I hope I’ve inspired you to go out and build your camp family, pour into and nourish your camp family, and always be ready to add more!

Paige Railey is the Marketing Director for South Carolina Camps & Retreat Ministries, serving Asbury Hills Camp & Retreat Center and Camp Providence Day Camp. She grew up going to summer camp and spent college summers working on summer staff, and she can’t imagine her life without the impact of camp. Outside of camp, you’ll find Paige painting, drawing or photographing a wedding.

All photo credits to Spencer Willoughby, Asbury Hills.

How did you come to be involved with camp ministry?

Funny you should ask that question, since I came about being involved in an interesting way. When I graduated from college, there was yet another depression in the economy, so I needed to think about what I wanted to do. I decided I needed to go somewhere where I would be paid to think about my future. I ended up in the Army Reserves. I went there like Private Benjamin without a clue as to what it would take to be in this man’s army! Anyway, long story short, while in basic training, we went to boot camp where we camped out and played army. It was there that I discovered that I could love camping if I had better equipment and better circumstances going on outside of my tent. Moving forward a few years, I became acquainted with United Methodist Camp Ministry while volunteering at my church offices, Genesis UMC in Milpitas, California. At that time, Junius Dotson (now General Secretary of Discipleship Ministries) was my minister. He had started a high school camp named Camp David. As he and the staff were planning for camp, I asked if I could volunteer, he said yes, and the rest is history! My first UMC camp experience was at Lodestar, a camp in the California-Nevada Annual Conference. I absolutely loved my camp experiences from the very start and I have been involved with camp ever since, almost 20 years later!

Where have you served? Also, tell us about what else you do?

After being a camp counselor for about 10 years, what I call "boots on the ground," I had the pleasure of being kicked upstairs to the Cal-Neva board. I have served on the board for about 10 years. Being a member of the board has allowed me to contribute to camp in different ways, but I often miss my boots-on-the-ground experiences. I must admit, though, I am not sure that I could handle those Leap of Faith and other high ropes elements the way I used to! As a result of being active with the Cal-Neva board, I was blessed to be invited to become a member of the United Methodist Church and Retreat Ministry.

While serving on the UMCRM Association Board, I have continued to meet wonderful people who are involved in camp and who regularly confirm my motto that “Camp People are Great”! When I joined the board of UMCRM I noticed that I have a lot to learn. I gave myself a break because I also realized that I was probably the only person on the board who does not work with the United Methodist Church or camp. In my day job I am an attorney/mediator for the State of California. So it’s no wonder I lack the camp/retreat ministry expertise that my fellow board members have. When UMCRM offered the Immersion Experience this January, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the first Immersion Class, hoping to gain even more knowledge in a deeper and quicker manner. It was a great, great opportunity to meet more wonderful camp people but also to be immersed in the United Methodist way of camp. If you have the opportunity to take this class, I highly recommend it. [ed. note: the UMCRM Immersion Experience will be offered again in January 2020!] If you ask me what else I do, anyone who knows me knows that the great loves of my life are camp, my family, volunteering with my sorority, and hanging out at the lake with my husband and friends.

What are the greatest blessings of camp for you?

One of the greatest blessings of camp for me is being a part of the joy that I see camp bringing to the kids who come. For instance, in my first year of being a camp counselor, I met a young lady who was in need of attention. I was there to give it to her, and I know I helped change her path. As a result, my own life was changed. When it is right, it is so right. I see kids “get it” there at camp; I see camp profoundly affect their lives and the lives of all who they touch. But to be honest, the greatest blessing of camp for me is what it does for me. I always feel closest to God at camp. Some of my favorite places in the world are at camps, Lodestar being number one for obvious reasons.

How would you like to see the UMCRM Association respond to our ministry's greatest challenge(s)?

OMG, I would like to see our camps become more ethnically diverse. If you are reading this article, you know how great camp is. I want the greatness of camp to be shared with a large number of ethnically diverse kids. Being African American myself, I definitely want more African American kids to have these wonderful camp experiences. I am optimistic; so optimistic that I think we could solve half the world’s problems at camp! Let’s keep this thing going!

What would you like the UMCRM community to know about you?

In the movie Field of Dreams, the visionary child promised, “if you build it, they will come.” I keep hearing that message when I think about what God wants me to do and how God might use all my years in camp. If I could create the camp that I wanted to create, the camp that I think God wants me to create, that camp would be predominantly African American. For some reason, at least in Northern California, not that many African Americans go to camps. But I believe that if I build it, they will come, and it will be great! I have had the honor to experience a predominantly African American camp that was the most awesome camp that I have ever witnessed. Mine may not be as awesome as Kids Across America (whose mission it is to build Christian leaders,) a highly-funded ministry beautifully located on the water in Branson, Missouri. But if I can achieve this dream, I will have accomplished one of the greatest missions in my life. I want to see many more of God’s children becoming disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world through camp. These new disciples need to be diverse. I am scared, but I know I can make this vision a reality.

Thanks, Sharon, for your service with the UMCRM Association and beyond, and for taking the time to help us all get to know you better. We hope you will realize your camp dream, and we hope some of us can be a part of making it come true.

Those of us involved with United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries have amazing stories to tell! Stories of unity, of hope, of transformation. We help unite kids, teens, and adults from all walks of life. We help them unite in encountering the risen Christ. We use intentional experiences to help them unite together in building bridges from where they are to where they can be. We inspire them to unite in transforming the world. We live out what it means to be #UnitedInCamping!

You're invited to join with the UMCRM community this summer in collaboratively sharing our stories through the visual medium of photography. It’s as simple as posting at least one photo each week—from June to August—that best reflects the given word for that particular week. You can post on whichever social media platform(s) you prefer, we just ask that you use the hashtag: #UnitedInCamping. If you post to Instagram or Facebook, be sure to tag @UMCRM in your photos. You might also consider inviting your campers, guests, and staff to participate (just make sure that all appropriate permissions are acquired and that individuals know your camp's social media guidelines in advance).

Inspiration for the weekly themes comes from the 7 Foundations of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries. We hope this helps all of us think more intentionally about our shared core values in the daily chaos of summer. We also hope this helps the people of our denomination and the world better understand the vital role Camp and Retreat Ministries plays in the current and future “Big C” Church!

June 3 — Creation

June 10 — Disciples

June 17 — Transformation

June 24 — Sacred

July 1 — Nurture

July 8 — Faith

July 15 — Care

July 22 — Appreciation

July 29 — Partner

August 5 — Hospitality

August 12 — Community

August 19 — Leader

August 26 — Inspire

We look forward to seeing your stories this summer!

 – Matt Williams (Sky Lake, Upper New York), Collin Grooms (Lake Lucerne, WI), and the UMCRM Board of Directors

By now most have you have received or seen promotional information for the United Methodist National Youth Event, Youth 2019.  Past events have taken place in the latter part of June, so most groups found it “doable” to attend the youth event and their regular session of summer camp.  However, in 2019, the event will take place in July, right smack dab in the middle of camp! As a person in ministry with young people in BOTH youth ministry and camping ministry, I’m committed to both, and would like to help leaders consider your options. I believe in and value the camp experience for each and every young person, and as well, I know the power of this national event on the faith formation of young people. To be in that place with THOUSANDS of other United Methodist youth in worship and service and fellowship is second to none. So WHAT IS A CAMP PERSON TO DO?  

I suggest you make Youth 2019 part of your summer camp program! In my home conference we have some very small youth groups that did not have the numbers or resources to attend as a youth group. So our conference offered the event as a week of camp so individuals could sign up and attend. Consider the following ways to support BOTH important ministries for our young people:

• Offer the Youth Event as a week of camp.  Here’s how our ministry did it: We did not run our regular senior high program during the week of the National Youth Event.  I sought funding for two chaperones through Camping and Young People’s Ministries at our Conference and had individuals sign up through the camp registration system. The price included the event and coordinated transportation. I also collected forms needed for both the event and my chaperones, registered the group, and arranged for the extra day activity (last time it was in Florida on a Disney property).

• Offer it as a part of a camp experience.  Have a group attend the event with some of your staff, then return to camp for a few days to debrief and apply their experience from the event to their life of faith through a few days of reflection and further processing at your site.

• Schedule senior high camp during a different week (NOT the week of the event), so if their youth group is attending they don’t feel that they have to choose between camp and the event.

Bottom line, there will be those who will choose one experience over the other because of time or money or both.  There will be those who will choose the event because it only happens every four years or they aren’t a “camp person.”  I will say, the year I ran Youth 2015 as a week of camp, it gave me the opportunity to have a connection with young people with whom I had not connected before. A few of them even tried out camp the next year as a way to reconnect with the youth they had met at the national event.  I feel it is our responsibility not to be in “competition,” but to embrace and support the many ministries outside of the local church that help in creating disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Learn more about Youth 2019 : http://youth2019.com/

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Kelly Peterson-Cruse is a former Camp Director/Owner and served for 10 years as Director of Camping and Young People's Ministries in the Cal-Nevada Conference. She

has just accepted a new position relating to Camp/Retreat Ministries at UMC Discipleship Ministries, along with her part-time role with Young Peoples' Ministries for the Western Jurisdiction of the UMC. Her ministry is fueled by good coffee, the energy of young people, and the love of Jesus.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself surrounded by 300 of your colleagues, friends, and camp family...

...joining your hearts and voices in worship under the music leadership of Chuck Bell. Be filled with the spirit through the words of Reverend Junius Dotson and the lively teaching of Reverend Melissa Cooper.

Breathe a few deep breaths as you consider the connections you make at tables and the connections you’ll make “@ the Table”. Forging new relationships and reestablishing old relationships—be filled with the hope that friends in ministry bring. These connections “@ the Table” will be strengthened by a variety of keynotes and workshops—brought to you by professionals in camp and retreat ministry, Beth & Travis Allison. You, too, are invited to share “@ the Table” as a workshop leader (Apply now!).

Smile and feel the joy of soon-to-arrive campers and of the opportunity to create new communities as we offer places where children, youth, and adults feel the celebration of being fully loved and fully included. That same work and time is being placed into creating this space for you “@ the Table” this coming winter. You have a place, and we hope you’ll join us “@ the Table.”

Registration will open in late summer. In the meantime, make sure the Gathering is on your calendar (January 28-February 1, 2019!) and in your 2018 budget.

Are you trying to strengthen your board?

The answer should be “yes!”, an ongoing goal of every director and existing board member. We always need to be on the lookout for who is needed and can bring resources to our work by serving on the board. But sometimes we go about it in ineffective ways. We think we need a lawyer or business people or people who have wealthy friends, before we take stock of what skills are already inherent in the current board membership, and what skills are needed to help us accomplish the goals for this ministry in the next several years.

Focus on actions needed when developing a board membership matrix!

Rather than recruit someone "with connections to city hall," ask a prospect if he would be willing and able to set up a meeting twice a year with those responsible for building and zoning regulations that might affect your next building plans. Instead of recruiting someone because she's wealthy, ask her whether she would be willing to organize three other board members into a group that would try to raise $50,000 per year as a group. Instead of framing your need for persons of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, recruit members of communities you actually want to and can serve. Together identify leaders who provide the people connections and possibly the training needed, so that more diverse populations actually participate in your ministries.

By focusing on what people will do rather than what people are, we accomplish three goals:

• We broaden our field of sight as we recruit for the board. Rather than just looking for someone in marketing, we think more widely and include bloggers, writers, community organizers, and others who know how to communicate a message.

• We don't end up recruiting someone with the right demographics or professional background or financial means but who can't or won't do what we have mistakenly assumed they could or would. When we recruit people for what they will do, we get people who can and do what is needed, because we've asked them if they can and will. And someone who has joined a board to help with something they’re passionate about and able to do, is someone who will want to get started on that at his or her very first board meeting.

• We ground board recruitment in the needs of this organization at this time in its development, rather than on a generic set of skills or attributes out of a textbook. By doing so, we focus our recruitment on the critical path of our unique organization and its strategic, pressing needs.

So throw out that template board composition matrix. Instead, ask these questions:

What are the three most important things for our board to accomplish in the next 1-4 years?
Do we have the right people on the board to make those things happen?

Rev. Lisa Jean Hoefner serves part-time as Director of Lake Tahoe UMC Retreat Center in King’s Beach, CA and pastor of the Dinner Church housed at the Center. She also chairs the UMCRM Association’s Development Committee, is UMCRM's unofficial expert on the History of United Methodist Camping, and plays in the Tahoe Toccata Symphony. Lisa Jean retired as Executive Director of Camp/Retreat Ministries for the Oregon-Idaho Conference in 2015. Her career has spanned nearly four decades serving local churches and camp/retreat ministries. Lisa Jean also holds a D.Min. in Camp/Retreat Ministry and a certificate in Nonprofit Management.

Have you ever wondered what Dr. Seuss’s stout character the Lorax and the United Methodist Church might have in common? Well honestly, I would be surprised if you had. But indulge me for a moment by considering the possibilities. Once you begin recalling the whimsical illustrations yet raw themes of Dr. Seuss’s colorful environmental tale, it might not be too hard to scrape up an answer: both entities realize the sincere importance of creation care and declare it in ways they deem most effective. (The Lorax had a habit of “shouting and puffing” to get his point across—surely we don’t know any good Methodists like that!)

One of The United Methodist Church’s clear avenues of sharing the importance of creation care is through camp and retreat ministries. In fact, one of the Seven Foundations of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries is to specifically Teach Creation Care and Appreciation. While I can’t stake any claims that the Lorax was a practicing Methodist, I can say with certainty that he shared some of the same values. One section of the Social Principles (found in The 2016 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church) reads:

All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. (Read the whole text here)

Readers of this UMCRM blog are likely to already regard Creation with a certain sacredness. It is likely you have experienced the presence of God while sitting on an old log around an outdoor campfire, heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit as you strolled through the still woods. You have probably gaped in awe of our Creator as you gazed at a magnificent mountain or as you lay beneath the vast spattering of stars across a soundless night sky, silently beckoning your heart to worship. I’m sure you can sympathize with the Psalmist as he exclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

As we ponder the wisdom and magnificence of our Creator, take a moment to consider your connection with nature a step further—do you only appreciate it, or do you care for it? Do you only consume it, or do you give back to it? Do the actions of your daily life benefit it or harm it?

In my work at Outdoor Science Camp, one of the primary themes we try to impart to students is the practice of stewardship of the creation. We encourage them to pick up trash, remove invasive plant species from local ecosystems, protect and conserve watersheds, and weigh their food waste at each meal. We do these things not only because God has given us the responsibility to steward the precious, life-giving resources to which we so readily have access, but also to teach that consuming anything in excess can be harmful. The more resources one consumer uses, the fewer another has. You’ve heard it said, “Live simply so others may simply live.” How might the way we live day-to-day perhaps impact a neighbor down the street or another across the ocean?

A favorite game we play at Outdoor Science Camp to demonstrate consumption and balance in an ecosystem is called Oh Deer. Students are divided into two groups, some as deer and others as resources, which include food, water, and shelter. The group collectively decides “symbols” to represent each resource. (Making waves with one’s hands to represent water, for example.) The resources and deer are placed in separate lines facing one another. The deer each choose one of the three resources they would like to “find” during a particular round and tell the facilitator which they will be looking for. When the round begins, each stationary resource puts up the symbol to represent which resource he is providing for that round, and each deer tries to tag the resource she told the facilitator she is hoping to find. If she tags the resource before another deer does, she lives another round and the resource becomes a deer as well, causing the deer population to increase; conversely, if she doesn’t tag the resource she needs, she becomes a resource herself and the deer population decreases. During the game, we graph each round to illustrate that when an ecosystem contains more consumers than resources, the deer population is, over time, affected, thus demonstrating the need for balance in an ecosystem. I always like to take discussion of this game a step further by relating it back to the concept of stewardship. A phrase I find myself frequently using is: “Anything we consume in excess can be harmful.” When the strongest, fastest, wealthiest, most privileged consumers use resources more quickly than the resources can support or be distributed to the whole, some consumers don’t survive. I know that for me, it’s easy to feel far-removed from those lives receiving the “picked through” or “left-over” resources or those being detrimentally affected by our consumption, but that does not mean it’s not happening, and it certainly doesn’t mean we should be allowed to avert our eyes.

I challenge you to prayerfully take a few moments for an introspective look at how you consume. A few questions you might ask yourself are: What do I consume on a regular basis? Which items are a necessity, and which just a luxury? Where is [object of consumption] sourced? Is there a particular area in my life that I can simplify, thus decreasing my consumption? Do some of the things I consume place a greater burden on God’s Creation; and how might I minimize the environmental and human footprint of my daily choices?

I believe that as the church, we are to be at the leading edge of creation care, not only because we have been entrusted an incredible creation by a more magnificent Creator, but because our consumption of the earth and its resources affects other people, children made in the image of the Creator himself. So what do we do? What might be a next step? In the words of Dr. Seuss, spoken through the Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” It is our duty and blessing, as followers of a good Creator, to help things “get better,” participating in the redemption of the whole Creation that God has promised. We honor the Creator when we live lightly and help those who camp, learn, and retreat with us also to grow in their care for creation.

As you observe Earth Day this weekend in whatever ways you celebrate, I invite you and those you teach and lead to consider your own day-to-day consumption of resources, perhaps trying a new way to simplify. Let us encourage one another in the joy of simplicity and hold each other accountable to the discipline of it. Of this, I think the Lorax would be proud. In this practice, we honor God’s commandments and our United Methodist values. I believe our Creator might just be smiling as well.

Genée Morrison and her husband Zane live in Santa Cruz, CA, where they both enjoy teaching at Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School. Although this is their second year in CA, they have deep roots in Kentucky, where they spent many summers at Aldersgate UM Camp and Retreat Center, the place their passion for camp ministry was fostered. In her free time Genée enjoys hiking, climbing at the rock gym, and experimenting in the kitchen. Her most recent experiments include chocolate kidney bean dip and garbanzo bean curry. Genée also serves on the UMCRM Association Board of Directors.

Of course we are all thankful for donations of all kinds. Recently our site has been blessed by many #SurprisePackage deliveries. A year ago, my staff and I started a Wish List through Amazon. As we thought of things we needed, could use but not a necessity right now, or simply thought would be fun, we added them to our Wish List. Over the last year we gathered a wide variety of items. You can view our current Wish List here. We have dog toys for programming, office supplies, kitchen supplies, a wet floor sign that looks like a banana peel, mountain board parts, and so much more. Every now and then we go in and check to see if there's a high need for something that we'll just go ahead and purchase ourselves. Last year when we started the Wish List a few people contributed and sent us a gift. This year it has taken off! It seems that every other day we receive a new package of blessings from someone. Sometimes they include a note and we're able to use the Amazon QR code to send them a thank-you. Other times we have no idea who sent it. Either way, we take a picture of whatever arrived and post it on our Instagram and Facebook to share our excitement. This past week we received 16 hammocks, 12 tiki torches, 2 mops, batteries, a keyboard, name tags, and a paper cutter! Our camp supporters are amazing. If your camp doesn't have a Wish List, I highly advise you start one soon to give your supporters an easy, new way to contribute to your ministry.

Here are Amazon's instructions to create a List:

1. Go to any Amazon page. Hover over "Account & Lists" and select Create A List from the drop-down. 
2. Click Create your list. Your list will be available and you can change its name by hovering over the list name and clicking the Edit list name link.
   
3. Select Edit list profile from the List Actions filter at the top of your list to update your default shipping address, personal description and preferences.
   
4. Note: Gift givers will only see the name, city and state of the shipping address you select unless the List is marked as for an organization.
5. You can designate whether your list is for an organization and you'll have the option to provide the URL of the organization’s website.
6. Click Save and browse for an item.
   
7. Click Add to List under the Buy box on the right-hand side of any item's product detail page.
8. You can make updates to your List any time.
9. Choose your List sharing settings -- you can make it public or limit access to only those with the link. You can share the link to your Wish List on your website, via email, on social media... 

Derek Bergman is a lifelong United Methodist from Elkhorn Nebraska, just outside of Omaha. He served at Camp Fontanelle (NE) as the Assistant Site Director from 2008 until he and his family joined the family at Lake Okoboji (IA) in February of 2017. Derek enjoys all areas of camp life and especially enjoys seeing all the various ways children of all ages are able to connect with God. He's awash in blessings this week with the donation to camp of a Tiny House, not to mention all those wonderful #SurprisePackages!

Global Ministries EarthKeepers:

A Free Training Opportunity to Enhance Creation Care in Your Camp and Retreat Ministry

By Rev. Jenny Phillips, Global Ministries Creation Care Program Manager

Atlanta, GA ● May 17-20, 2018

Detroit, MI ● Sept 27-30, 2018

Salt Lake City, UT ● Nov 1-4, 2018

 

I first felt my call to ministry at Camp Indianola on the shores of Puget Sound near Seattle, WA. My experiences as a camper, camp leader, camp administrator, and camp fundraiser taught me the deep connections between care for creation, stewardship of resources, and discipleship. Now I’m part of the Global Ministries EarthKeepers program, where I’m working to build those connections for people throughout the church. EarthKeepers is a terrific opportunity for both new and seasoned volunteers and professionals to focus on environmental stewardship in their camp and retreat settings.

 

EarthKeepers equips United Methodist laity and clergy to develop or deepen environmental initiatives in their churches and communities, and it connects them with a broader community of United Methodists who are active in creation care. Training topics will include eco-theology, intersectionality, strategies for social change, and United Methodist resources. Participants will leave the training with a plan to develop a project that addresses a need in their ministry setting or community. Projects of current EarthKeepers include solar campaigns, community gardens, curriculum and program development, and building efficiency projects.

The Atlanta training will include a component on green buildings. We will meet with Shane Totten, Director of Research + Innovation at Southface, a non-profit organization that promotes green building. Shane has experience working with camp and retreat leaders and has practical know-how for saving money and improving energy and water efficiency at camp and retreat sites.

The Detroit training will include a component on sustainable community development. We will meet with leaders at Cass Community Social Services, an agency that provides food, housing, health services and job programs in green industries. Cass is a great organization to learn from if you’re looking for ways to meaningfully expand your ministry with limited resources.

The Salt Lake City training will include a component on climate change as it relates to disaster mitigation, relief and recovery. We will meet with Brian Diggs, Associate Director of the UMCOR West Depot, and will visit and volunteer at the Depot. Many of our camp and retreat centers are experiencing the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe weather events. At this training, you’ll develop skills for talking about the connections between climate, weather and disaster.

Lodging, meals and training are paid for by Global Ministries; participants are responsible for their travel to/from the training. Application due for the Atlanta training by April 26, for the Detroit training by Sept 6, and for the Salt Lake City training by October 11. Apply today!

Click for more information about the training, cost, commitment and more

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at jphillips@umcmission.org if you have questions, would like to brainstorm project ideas, or want to discuss creation care aspects of your ministry. Many thanks for your good work!