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Responses from The Pursuit campers vividly express the impact of their experience:

Did you experience (whether prior to, or during your Pursuit Camp) a call to ministry? 

If yes, do you have a better understanding of how to respond to that call since attending a Pursuit Camp? 

Do you have a deeper understanding of the Christian faith after attending a Pursuit Camp?

Do you feel more equipped to share the gospel in a scriptural way after attending a Pursuit Camp?

  … a resounding “Yes!”

Tell us about your experience as part of The Pursuit and share with us some of what you learned.

“I experienced God in ways that I never have before.”

“I learned that it's okay to not be a perfect leader; God will get you through any task when you ask.”

“Pursuit Camp helped me acknowledge a calling that I had previously been ignoring, and has helped me open up to others, and be more willing to talk about my walk with Christ.”

“Through the love of others and the love of God I discovered my passion for helping others, and how great it is to glorify Christ in every moment of the day.”

How have you, or how do you plan to apply what you learned during your Pursuit Camp?

“Since camp, I have taken on a leadership role in my youth group, and I work with the younger kids in an attempt to let their voices be heard.”

“I have accepted the position of secretary on my local soil conservation board and have invested myself more in starting a devotional group at school that meets every morning before school starts. I have also become a servant leader in my church youth group.”

“The one thing I want to do in life is to spread the word of God & the feeling of camp to other eager youth.” 

Explain what you think it looks like for a person to work "in ministry.”

“They put others above themselves and learn to live for God, even if that means giving up everything to follow Him. They don't necessarily have to be a missionary or minister, they can be a normal person. Ministry is sharing the gospel, no matter what position you are in.”

“Anyone can work in ministry simply by witnessing the unconditional love of Christ. By simply living your life through Christ you are in ministry.”

The Pursuit camps are accepting registrations for their second summer season at Loucon. Praise God for the lives already transformed, and for all those whom God will reach through this new generation of ministry leaders.

Troy first went to camp as a third grader, on the shores of Kentucky Lake at Lakeshore Camp and Retreat Center in Eva, Tennessee. He only missed one summer over the next 25 years. Troy worked as a volunteer and seasonal staff, counseling, leading activities, and directing Wilderness Camps before he was hired full-time as Lakeshore’s first Program Director.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you;

the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 

ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;

and the fish of the sea will declare to you. 

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?

New to an Exhibit Hall experience? Here are 7 hot tips on getting the most of your Exhibit Hall experience:

1. Get there early! Exhibitors love to see you and we sometimes don’t take full advantage of their available time.
2. Make a “scouting trip” – walk through once and make some notes about who you want to talk with.
   
3. Plan ahead – our exhibitors offer “show specials” available only during the event (or for a very limited time). Meet with your staff about your purchasing needs. Come prepared to buy to get the best deals and support our exhibitors (as they support our event and our organization).
   
4. Make appointments for longer discussions. Want to discuss multiple purchases or a larger project? Please make a plan with the exhibitor to meet at a less busy time so you both get the most out of your interactions.
   
5. Bring your business cards and be prepared to share them. This saves everyone time.
   
6. Register for door prizes – there’s sweet swag out there and you need to be in on that action!
   
7. Express gratitude. Our exhibitors keep the cost for our event down. Please thank them for attending, even if you don’t need to do business with them right now.
   

Last month annual conference staff leaders in camp and retreat ministry from around the country came together for three days of learning, sharing and peer fellowship. Conference executives gathered for this annual meeting at the peaceful Indianola Camp on the west side of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest Conference. 

 

The focused education piece included discussion of Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences by Robert Schnase.  Rev. Curtis Brown, Director of Faith Community Development for the Pacific Northwest Conference, facilitated the conversation looking at connections between camp and retreat ministry and congregational development. Curtis, a strong supporter of camp and retreat ministry, named that congregational development and camping come together through leadership development and that discipleship happens with multiple settings working together. Camp and retreat ministry must be involved in the collaborative ministries. It was shared that it is vital for camp and retreat ministries to have a way to track leadership development in its alumni (and staff alumni) – such as individuals emerging as clergy.  Suggestions of software tools to do this included Salesforce, KarmaCRM, and Little Green Light.

 

Curtis advocated for camp and retreat ministries to continue to build strong connections with ministries focusing on faith community development.  Are we equipping “Missional Strategists”? A strong benefit of camping is that it generates new volunteers and does not just “consume” volunteers. Curtis suggested that camp/retreat centers offer all church planters the opportunity to spend a free week at their site in personal spiritual retreat every year. This provides planters with much needed time away from their ministry communities for personal and spiritual renewal, and frequently develops loyalty and commitment to the camp/retreat center by that pastor, wherever s/he is appointed. 

Board members and staff from the UMCRM Association and Discipleship Ministries were on hand to share about recent initiatives and to collect feedback on priorities and strategic plans.

 

Discussion of current topics and strategies in United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministry happened in formal and informal conversations through the three-day meeting. There was also dedicated time for spiritual reflection and personal renewal. For the closing dinner the group took a ferry across the Sound to Seattle to enjoy a casual evening in the city.

 

Thank you to Darin Gemmer, Director, and Indianola staff for their warm hospitality and faithful service!

Laurie Day is Assistant Director of Mission & Ministry for the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference. One of  the many hats she wears is Camp & Retreat Ministry Executive. She is a native of Idaho, a graduate of the Iliff School of Theology, and a Camp Sawtooth alumna.

Today's Generation of Youth

Those who provide ministry for and with youth have spent much energy and study trying to understand this generation that we call the “Millennials.” The Millennials are the most-researched generation in history. We know what makes them tick. We know what draws them in and drives them forward. Many of our youth ministries, including camping, provide experiences and opportunities that hit the sweet spot of everything that a Millennial wants. So why is it that participation in youth ministries like camping has been in a steady decline over the past ten to fifteen years? 

One of the many big factors in this phenomenon is the fact that the Millennials who we have been working so hard to market to are no longer youth. The Millennial generation, aging from 20 to 37 years old, has reached adulthood and are becoming our adult staff and camper parents. The new demographic of Generation Z, ages 19 and under, are today’s youth. And there is a large difference between the attitudes, goals, and culture of Millennials and Generation Z. Check out this infographic by Sparks & Honey, from Marketo Blog, which highlights some features of this new generation and their views of the world.

Brought to you by Marketing Automation Software by Marketo

As camping leaders it is important to understand what drives, motivates, and inspires each generation because although an outsider may think that we serve mainly youth, we know that our constituents don't stop with the youth who participate in our programs. We also have to market to parents, partner with clergy, inspire volunteers, and connect with alumni. Some deeper generational understanding might just be the key to effectively reaching new people in ministry.

Jessica Gamaché currently serves the church through her position as Camping Coordinator in the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. She was inspired to share this infographic and reflections with the UMCRM community. We hope you'll share the articles, books, and resources that are inspiring and challenging you in your ministry, as well. Email any time to info@umcrm.org.

Editors’ note: We recently welcomed Trinity/HPSI as a Business Affiliate Member of the UMCRM Association. They currently serve 103 of our United Methodist camps & retreat centers, and would be glad to talk with you about how they might partner with your ministry, too. Plan to chat with Rod at their booth in our Exhibit Hall at the National Gathering, or contact Steve directly at the email listed below.

We at Trinity/HPSI are eager to highlight some of the ways you can save dollars to use in your ministry to reach people for our Lord. For those who are unfamiliar with our program, here is a brief explanation of why you might be over-paying for some of the goods you use most often, and how our organization works within that system so you stop getting the “short end of the stick.”

Our experience has shown that foodservice represents the greatest recurring purchase expenditure for most camps and conference centers, much greater than most other recurring purchase categories. Consequently, even though greater percentage savings may be found in other areas, foodservice usually offers the largest and most easily achieved savings opportunity, typically amounting to 10 to 20% off normal “street” pricing. We are pleased to have been able to help many United Methodist camps & retreat centers realize that level of savings or more.

A “street” account, historically the predominant structure with all broadline foodservice companies as well as most distributors in other industries, allows the sales representative to set pricing at his/her discretion anywhere above a defined base cost level that s/he can get the customer to order. We have often heard of representatives with less than full integrity who “low-balled” pricing initially to “get a foot in the door”, then let prices drift up over time as the customer became loyal and trusting and the representative thought s/he wouldn’t notice. In one extreme case our program brought a 35% savings opportunity for a camp.

A “program” account (also called a contract or multi-unit or national account), as in the Trinity/HPSI structure, usually has a couple of service level options, with one being just like a “street” account, except for the very significant benefit that the sales representative has no ability to increase or control prices. Instead, the specified pricing structure is applied by the foodservice distributor’s computer system to each program customer’s account.

Two main factors result in the substantial savings opportunity of a program vs. a street foodservice account. The first is “deviations”, or allowances that have been negotiated with many manufacturers based on the tremendous aggregate volume of the organizations (under HPSI, more than 14,000) included in the overall program. Deviations serve to lower the distributor’s ultimate net cost and reduce the invoice price. On a periodic basis the distributor claims and receives reimbursement from the manufacturers for the deviations that have been passed through to the program customers. Not all items have deviations; they are much more common on processed foods than on commodity items. Some deviations are modest, while others can be dramatic, such as those for liquid eggs, paper goods and trash liners.

The second factor is simply an attractive pre-negotiated margin schedule that is applied to the distributor’s actual purchase cost including freight to their warehouse. Additional factors contributing to the program savings opportunity can include delivery size and prompt payment incentives and rebates.

The cost of propane is often second to foodservice as a recurring expense for camps and conference centers and sometimes, especially in the northern United States, is even greater than the cost of foodservice. Propane prices vary widely. On rare occasions we have found camps that have pricing roughly in line with our national account pricing. At the other extreme, we have had reports of savings of $2.00 per gallon and more, and those savings can be achieved with a brief telephone call if your current propane supplier is one of our national account partners. If a transition from the current supplier needs to be made, the national account partners provide tanks with no rental charge, and in many cases there is no charge for delivering and setting up tanks.

Many other agreements are available for everything from paint, office supplies, mattresses, maintenance supplies, and sporting goods to credit/debit card processing services, first aid supplies, kitchen equipment and much more. Whatever the purchase category, however, we recommend that each camp/conference center consider each area individually and do whatever is best for your ministry. You may have a friend of your ministry who is sacrificing a reasonable profit margin to sell at a level that is better than national account pricing; or s/he may be selling to you at “street” prices, then donating $10,000 or $50,000 per year to your scholarship fund. Only you can solve that value equation and determine what is best for your ministry.

For help with any questions left unanswered or to request a complimentary analysis to identify your savings opportunities, please feel free to visit www.trinity-usa.net or to contact us at 615-672-0229 or steve.claypool@trinity-usa.net.

The Inside Scoop on InsideOut

Guest Post by Crys Zinkiewicz

As a fellow United Methodist and the Editor and Project Manager for the ecumenical curriculum InsideOut: Christian Resources for Outdoor Ministries, I thought you might like the inside scoop on its development and scope. 

Some of you will have been familiar with predecessor camping resources developed by the National Council of Churches. But a couple of years ago the time had come to make significant changes to our summer camp curriculum offerings. My former colleague from the Youth Resources Unit of The United Methodist Publishing House, Jenny Youngman, was tapped to lead the design team, which included United Methodists and representatives from several other mainline denominations, in creating a fresh approach. The result is the DVD-ROM- based InsideOut, published by Chalice Press.

The team planned a four-year sequence that ensures returning campers will explore the fullness of God, who they are created to be, and what they are called to do.

Youngman edited Year 1, All Things New: Look What God Is Doing, for the 2013 camping season. When she moved on to pursue other callings, I picked up the role of Editor and Project Manager. I had served in curriculum development at The United Methodist Publishing House for 31 years, so this assignment fit my skills and also reconnected me with my own church camp experiences, which were formative for my faith and life.  

As I jumped into working on 2014’s Year 2, Get Real: Finding Your True Self in Jesus, I found myself working in a rich ecumenical environment. The writers and reviewers (including some of you) were from various faith traditions: United Methodist, Episcopal, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Church of the Brethren. In 2014 we also introduced a way to use those great stories of Jesus in a day camp setting as well as residential camp.

Year 3 is based, logically, on the Holy Spirit. Tracey Brown, one of the returning writers from the previous year and a United Methodist Camp Director (Potosi Pines, in Nevada), confessed she was a bit intimidated with the theme. But the design team did an excellent job of choosing scriptures that put the focus on the action of the Holy Spirit in lives and how campers can live in God’s Spirit. Tracey later affirmed that, after working with the passages and activities, she is truly excited. Power Up! Living in the Spirit is ready now for you to look over as you plan for your 2015 camping season. We trust you too will see exciting possibilities.

When you explore the resource, which you can easily do with a free sampler from ChristianCampResources.com, you’ll see clearly Chalice Press’s commitment to serve the ministry of camping. The first year’s DVD-ROM provided 215 pages of material; Power Up! has over 350--including new sections, expanded training tools, and a more functional day camp resource! Chalice also helps to connect the camping community as additional resources to one another--even in the middle of camp--through social media.

Year 4, 2016, seems a long way off; but the new Editor, Rev. Erin Reed Cooper, has been at work with the new season's writers, building on the planning of the design team around the theme of the church and its mission in the world. Fearless Faith promises to be yet another great resource for a camp experience that changes campers from the inside out.

Here are a few things you can do to get ready for 2015:

Get your free Power Up! sampler.

Like our Facebook page  (www.facebook.com/InsideOutChurchCampResources).

Order the Power Up! DVD-ROM for your camp.

Learn more at ChristianCampResources.com.

Crys Zinkiewicz is a Christian educator with a long and varied career in the ministry of curriculum development. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she finds balance in continued editorial work and more opportunities to be outdoors enjoying God’s great creation.

Just a step away from the camp there is a hidden trail running way down into the woods. I like to take a walk there before important programs and events, or just at the end of a working day, when I feel like doing my devotionals. And oftentimes in a very special manner God reveals himself to me to the utmost. In spirit I call this place the ‘road to Emmaus.’

- Erina Efremova, Camp Crystal Director

How many of us could say similar things about the camps and retreat centers we serve? Providing opportunities for deeply moving encounters with God, with God’s people and with Creation is why we do what we do. It’s been my experience that after years and decades of these encounters, the physical space has a “spiritual residue,” becomes a “thin place” where God’s presence can be felt even by those who aren’t seeking it. The ministries we serve become sanctuaries for the people we serve in the fullest sense of the word.

So I was excited for my recent opportunity to visit Camp Crystal, which serves as sanctuary for the United Methodists of the Eurasia Conference. Members of the Eurasia conference, and United Methodist ministry partners from around the world, gathered in August to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of United Methodism in Russia. Our conference (North Georgia) has established a mission “bridge” with the Methodist seminary and churches in the Moscow area, and I was able to attend the celebration as a representative of that relationship.

Camp Crystal is located deep in the Russian state forest outside of Voronezh on the banks of the slow-moving Usmanka River. The land and buildings were once a camp for workers at a state-owned factory in nearby Voronezh. When it became available for sale in the 1990’s, donations gathered by Sunday school children of German United Methodist churches enabled its purchase by the Eurasia conference. The pride and hopes our Eurasian brothers and sisters have for their camp is as palpable as the sense of sanctuary it offers.

The camp has a capacity of 300. The main building has 120 beds on three floors with different layouts and amenities. The site also includes a variety of cottages. The dining center serves meals family-style and has a meeting room to accommodate large groups. Other breakout meeting spaces are available. Activities offered include volleyball, table tennis, swimming, and canoeing. Facilities are closed each winter.

Each summer Crystal offers a variety of camp programs. There is a youth camp whose purpose is to introduce campers to Christian discipleship; a camp for children with physical disabilities called “Camp Trinity”; an annual women’s conference, and “Tres Dias” faith renewal seminar. Volunteers from across the Conference support these programs with their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness.

Volunteers are important to any camp and retreat center, and the same is true at Crystal. The facilities appear to have been built in the 1950’s and, for the most part, have not yet had significant renovation. While we were there we met a team of 16 from the Baltimore-Washington Conference spending three weeks building facilities, relationships, and memories. Their conference has been sending work teams to the camp for years through a covenant agreement with the Black Soil District, which includes Crystal.

I found our Russian United Methodist brothers and sisters to be warm and welcoming, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Camp Crystal welcomes mission teams and visitors. I encourage you to get in touch with them through their page on the Eurasia Conference website: http://www.umc-eurasia.ru/en/cristalleng.

C. Russell Davis is the Associate Director of Connectional Ministries responsible for Camp and Retreat Ministries in the North Georgia Annual Conference.

“Have you scrubbed out the inside of the garbage cans?”

“No…should I have?”

“I don’t know. Probably. Yes. Yes we should.”

With a deep sigh, I pushed myself up off the dock and began walking from the waterfront to the dining hall. It was my first summer working at a camp. For the most part, it had been a great experience. The kids were great. The programs were fun. Having the chance to lead worship each night was both challenging and rewarding.

But this week was different. This week Nancy was coming.

Nancy Deaner was the Coordinator for Camp & Retreat Ministries, which was an impressive title to me as a 20 year-old, but more important was the reputation that seemed to precede her. All of us new staff struggled to grasp the gravity of the situation. It seemed similar to the first day of middle school, when the older kids tell you a long list of inflated horror stories about your teachers, to try to get you to worry.

The same appeared true here. The returning staff told us how immaculate camp must be and how we were not to speak to Nancy unless directly asked a question. Better yet, find a task that took you out of the equation and removed you from her general proximity. It would likely be better to double check the air pressure in all the basketballs than to say something that would get us all fired.

So as I scrubbed out the last garbage can, I was both exhausted and afraid of what was to come. Was this lady really going to come in here and fire everyone? I really need this job. I’m a college student. I suppose I could eat ramen a little more often to make ends meet but…

It was in the midst of this inner debate that I was interrupted by a returning staffer who told me through gritted teeth, “Nancy is here. And she wants to meet with all of us.”

Here it comes. The end. My camp counseling life flashed before my eyes as I walked down the hill to the benches arranged by the waterfront.

I nervously sat down with the rest of the staff and was confused by what I saw. Here was Nancy. With a smile on her face, she warmly asked us how the summer was going. After some sharing of the best moments of our summers, she thanked us for the work we were doing and encouraged us to continue to do the same for the remainder of the summer.

And that was it. She walked the camp for a few hours taking pictures of the beautiful areas of camp; not pressing to find the areas of fault every camp has. She was interested in seeing all that we were doing right, and was eager to see the smiles on the campers' faces.

Fast forward...a college degree, a marriage, and a kid later, I was now a Camp Manager. Once again I was set to work with Nancy Deaner, but this time she was my boss. Thankfully I now knew her heart for camp ministry. I had come to understand her desire to see these places become more than just tents and campfires, but thriving places apart where kids and adults could experience God’s love every day of every summer.

As I worked with Nancy for the next eight years, I began to respect and admire her dedication to this good work more and more. In retrospect, the moments I am most grateful for were not the seasons of abundance and excitement. Anyone can do well in those moments. I was thankful for Nancy most when times were difficult.

We have all had those moments. Something happens that shouldn’t. An accident that seems insurmountable in the moment. Or just a difficult decision that must be made to improve the long-term health of the ministry. I watched as Nancy faced them all with grace and level-headed reason. And in the cases when I was directly involved, I knew that no matter how panicked I was on my end of the telephone, Nancy would be calm and pragmatic on her end, and together we could we walk through the steps to rectify the situation. Were it not for her calming approach, I likely would have left this ministry many years ago.

And so when Nancy announced her retirement about a year ago, I was uneasy. What would happen the next time I needed to call her cell phone in the midst of a mess? What would happen when we gathered at a meeting and didn’t have her voice of reason? What would happen when she wasn’t there to steer this big ship and keep it from all the potential rocks lurking just below the surface?

As I thought about these questions more though, I realized the most important thing Nancy had done during her long time in Camp & Retreat Ministry. It wasn’t the kind smile she brought to camp in the midst of a stressful July. It wasn’t the countless unknown discussions she had as an advocate for the value of camp. It wasn’t even the willingness to try and make good of a difficult situation. The most valuable thing Nancy Deaner gave to me was a sense of ownership and confidence in ministry. As Nancy left at the end of this past June, I was not overwhelmed with the weight of her departure. Instead, I was confident in the knowledge that through the years she had not merely fixed problems, she had been educating and empowering me to fix them myself in the future.

Now that Nancy has been blessed with a well-deserved retirement, I hope she can bask in all the joys this new phase of life has to offer. But I also hope that when she looks back on her long career with the Wisconsin Annual Conference Camp & Retreat Ministry she can look back with that same warm smile I saw when I first met her so many years ago. Thanks for always being there and truly leading, Nancy. I’m thankful for all I learned under your leadership.

Nick Coenen has served as Camp Manager at Pine Lake United Methodist Camp in Westfield, Wisconsin since 2005. He met his wife Jamie at Pine Lake many years ago when she was a lifeguard and he was a volunteer counselor. They live the best life ever at camp with kids Leah, Micah, twins Sarah and Eli, and a new puppy.

I am writing as a retired United Methodist pastor with 47 years’ experience as a pastor and District Superintendent. Since retirement in 2000 I have spent my summers as a full-time volunteer chaplain and “Grandfather In Residence” at our United Methodist camp, Skye Farm Camp & Retreat Center, in Warrensburg, NY. It is out of this experience that I want to share some observations and ideas about The Lonesome Camper.

Skye Farm has a decentralized program emphasis with a series of small cabins, each having 5, 6, or 7 campers. These cabins are located in wooded areas. The wash houses, health lodge, dining hall and various large meeting areas have electricity but the cabins do not, so they are very dark at night. While we do have internet service on the property, we do not allow any electronic devices with the campers or counselors. All this is to say that the experience here is different from what most people live with at home.

In my 15 years here, I have seen very few homesick campers. I define “homesick campers” as those who are so traumatized by the separation that they cannot eat, sleep, concentrate, or participate in any of the communal life of the camp. The anxiety of their separation from home has become an actual medical condition, and they need to be returned to their home as soon as possible. On the other hand, I have seen hundreds of lonesome campers. This is not just a matter of semantics, to distinguish between homesick campers and lonesome campers. Lonesome campers are primarily responding to the pain of grief, and they may do so in a variety of ways. Some become belligerent, some cry, some “show off,” some become sullen. But all are finding ways to respond to the pain of grief.

By identifying them as responding to the pain of grief, we accept the fact that lonesome campers are not sick. They do not have to be healed. They are not unhealthy in any way. We do not have to change them or make sure they get over it, but rather help them to see that they are absolutely normal and healthy to deal with this painful experience of grief.

One of the common mistakes, in my opinion, is to try to “cheer them up” and make them feel better. “O just think, tomorrow we are going on a great hike, or having pancakes for breakfast, or some other exciting news.” We would not try that approach with adults in grief, and I think it is not productive to do it with campers in grief.

When I meet with lonesome campers I encourage them to talk about what they miss the most. I ask them about home, about who they live with. Who are the adults? Do they have any pets? If they can identify the one person they miss the most, then I remind them of how great it is to have such a wonderful Mom, or Dad, or Aunt Sue. What would they like to be saying to them right now if they were present? I remind them that I miss my Mom and I still “talk with her” as a way of helping my memory of her. We share a common story and I can truthfully say that I have some understanding of their feelings.

I try to remember that the camper is grieving and that the pain is present but not of constant intensity. I may remind the camper that at some time they may have fallen and scraped their knee. It hurt and they cried. Eventually they stopped crying, even though the knee still hurt. They have had experiences dealing with pain and getting on with life even with the pain still present. It is the natural way we do things.

I also try to be aware of the fact that a week away from home is a long time for young campers. On Sunday night, the first night here at camp, to talk about being away until Friday evening when parents come to pick them up, is like talking about an eternity. So we take it one segment at a time. Almost all campers have the experience of being away from home for 8 hours a day at school. It is a familiar experience and I try to build on that. “Let’s get through tonight.” I may provide a very low intensity light for the cabin to get rid of that strange darkness. Most campers won’t admit they are afraid of the dark, so I remind them that even I have a night light on at my house when I am not at camp. When morning comes, if we meet again, we will just work to stay until after lunch, etc.

At Skye Farm we do not have phones available for campers to call home. We have limited lines. I may tell a lonesome camper that I will call home and tell the family about how the camper is doing. If I say I will call home, then I do just that, and I will report back to the camper. That way I carry some greetings and also let the camper know that the folks at home are OK. That often is a worry on the minds of campers, especially in a broken home situation.

I have found that by working with lonesome campers as ones who are experiencing an absolutely normal emotion, the pain of grief, helping them remember times they have had other pains and worked through them, and “patching them through” with smaller segments of time, has helped bring them through the week in a positive fashion. Then on Friday at camper pick-up time I do my very best to speak to the parents/guardians with the camper present, and tell them all how proud I am of the way the camper worked his/her way through the experience and how helpful the parents were in this process.

From my personal viewpoint, dealing with a crying child in pain is very difficult and painful for me. What keeps me doing it is the thrill and joy of sharing “the victory” with the family at the end of the week. It is all part of a valuable ministry and I love it.

Art Hagy is an 83-year-old United Methodist pastor presently serving Center Brunswick UMC in Troy, NY. In 2012 he served a year as Interim Director at Skye Farm, and for the past 15 years has spent summers there as a full time summer volunteer chaplain and “Grandfather-in-Residence.”