October 16, 2020 - Olivia Updegrove

 

Love letter to camp... 
Week Four: Longing to Celebrate

This year many of our summer camping programs faced creative, spiritual and financial challenges. For many young people, camp is a significant part of their faith journey and relationships. Ministries Across Generations wanted to share importance of camp and support (financially and spiritually) the places where many people feel God's presence most.

Dear ALL Who Love Camp,

Like many of you, camp has had a deep profound influence on my life. At the same time, like many institutions, there are many things that need to change if camp is going to be a viable ministry in the future. Camp needs to be more culturally inclusive, accepting, and still biblically rooted. It needs to not just be a weeklong experience, but a way to create more profound relationships with one another and God, Jesus, and the Spirit that guides through life. 

These changes, however, are going to be even more difficult for programs that are struggling financially due to COVID-19, and already struggling financial realities when trying to compete in a society that values other types of activities more than church camp. 

Yet – church camp comes in more varieties than many people realize. There are winter camps, family camps, horseback riding camps, sailing camps, grandparent camps, people with disabilities camps, young adult camps, mission camps, creation care camps, and, yes, even “sex” camp (see previous post). These stand alongside the traditional camps.

If there was ever a crucial time to reach out and financially help the camp that changed you, THIS is that time. If there was ever a time to make sure that the next generation experiences the profound relationships that camp provides, NOW is the time to send that child, join that staff, or encourage others to engage in camp.

If there is a camp that MATTERED to you in your life, NOW is the time to make sure it can continue to matter. Take a moment to remember the people, the places, and the true presence of God that you experienced in a place. For many young people, camp is the first place they experience the holy and sacred.

Go to your region’s website and donate to the camp that gave you hope in the past, has potential to ground you in the present, and gives the gift of God’s love to the future.

Graduate of Camp Wakon-da-Ho, 1997

Olivia

Scripture Week Four: (From InsideOut, This is Our Prayer)

Philippians 1:3–11

Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy.  This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it.  God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work that God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail. God himself knows how much I want to see you. He knows that I care for you in the same way that Christ Jesus does.

I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

SOMETHING FUN