Here is an unabridged letter of appreciation received from a returning camper in the Intermediate II Camp at Camp Geddie.
Dear Camp Geddie,
This has been my forth year coming to camp and its been the best year ever! I'm the one in intermediate 2 who kept sleep walking and talking in the night in cabin 7. You guys are the best! I don't know if I ll be atending camp next year but I will definetly reccomend “Geddie”. I am writing this letter because I felt you needed to know how much I appreciate you guys. You made a beg impact on my life and I just want to say thanks, you tought me things I probalt would never learrnt.
Thank you very much
Lots of love
Your Camper
Annielle (age 12)
I believe one of the most unsung and at times unrecognized programs of The Presbyterian Church in Canada is our Camping program. There are Synod Camps coast to coast, as well as presbytery or congregational Camps. These are enterprises run by our various churches, through very dedicated members, mostly volunteers who work on the various boards and committees that make up the varied camp structures and facilitate the smooth operation of the program. In a year when we are highlighting education in the church it is helpful to acknowledge one of the most successful modes of Christian education and leadership development that we have.
The philosophy that underlines our camping ministry is one that:
- promotes a Christian community in action
- promotes growth in Christian faith and living
- provides a place to gain a broader understanding of God at work in His world
- provides ways for campers to know Christ as the living word of God
- encourages a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour
- encourages the dedication of all life to the claims of God
Church camping is a different kind of camping, in that the focus is on God as the centre of all life, and the focal point of every day's activities.
Some of these activities are:
- sharing and learning from each other
- expressing thoughts and deep feelings, not only about our faith, but also about each other; this creates a kind of fellowship, the same kind that Christ created with his disciples
- a closeness achieved through community with Christ which is a totally different closeness from that experienced apart from Christ. The natural surroundings of the outdoors seem to be the catalyst for this deep-rooted fellowship, which happens when conditions are working in harmony with each other.
The development of Christian faith and character through living together in a camp community and the furthering of our church Christian Education program is then carried back to individual congregations by campers and staff in the form of an on-going service in the name of Jesus Christ.
Christian camping is special because:
- It provides the opportunity to see life just a little differently than we do every day. When you are very young, it is the opportunity to prove to yourself, your parents and maybe even to others that you can make it on your own, albeit in a very protected environment. This is a very important achievement. As a counsellor you have the challenge to test your skills and mature into a well-rounded and mature leader. For many campers who come from challenging communities and home environments, it is the one week when you are able to live in an affirming climate and you learn how to sustain yourself as a person. In the constant but often non-intrusiveness of this faith community you experience a real sense of the presence of God.
- A unique Christian Community is born and sustained during the extent of the time together. A community of sharing, a common task, with genuine growth in faith. It is not perfectly manifested, nor is it without its own blemishes but the call together of the community in Christ's name and for Christ's purpose is sufficient to make it a meaningful and worthwhile experience. The camp community is bonded in its primary tasks, which allows for time for relaxation, recreation, joy, and, yes, just plain fun while fulfilling its purpose.
- All kinds of skills and learning are enhanced at camp. This is a twenty-four-seven experience. Your basic human skills of encouraging and enjoying each other's faith and talents will be paramount. One learns the most when teaching others, the camp is in no way a formal classroom but it is always a place to teach others, and to be taught in return. The shy reserved member gains the confidence to be bolder and to speak out. The extrovert learns to be still and to hear the voices of others. The person afraid of the woods relishes the hand of God that can be found in this part of the natural world.
- Specific teaching and learning skills are all there, in a very positive framework. At Camp Geddie, and I believe at a number of our other camps, for the past four years our summer curriculum choice has been Christian Resources For The Outdoors published by the Christian Board of Publications and the United Methodist Publishing House on behalf of the Cooperative Publication Association. Each year there is a specific theme for the summer (in 2004 the theme was Join The Party developed out of bible passages. On the surface seemingly quite traditional. In actual presentation it allows for a variety of approaches and ways to present the general and daily themes. The Camp Geddie experience enhanced the approach by not limiting the teaching to the traditional discovery time but also to other convenient moments in the day. Beginning with the morning promo at the outside gazebo and often ending with a dramatic re-enactment at the concluding chapel of the day. Every opportunity was taken to not only talk the lesson but also act and live it. Eventually most of the seven intelligence preferences would find manifestation in one form or another. Both words and actions (in the woods, at the beach, in the craft hall and, yes, even washing dishes) become opportunities for impromptu learning.
Among the many things I continue to learn while being involved directly in a camping ministry is the changes and differences in words and language between a younger and a not so young person. In 2003 around the second or third week of the season I engaged in one of my usual short conversations with one of the campers. I eventually asked how he was enjoying his time with us as this was the first time he came to camp. When I indicated that it might not be a good experience for him he said, “oh no, the camp is wicked”. I was taken aback a bit because I did not think wickedness was what we were all about. When I related the story to some of the counsellors they assured me that something being “wicked” in 2003 to a young camper was indeed positive, a great affirmation of a great time, a good program and something that the young person would indeed wish to repeat. Needless to say, promoting our camp as a 'wicked' place for young people to come, has not found a central place in our promotional literature. That which is central is the caring, loving and learning place our camp becomes for all who experience it and our sincere desire to continue this vital educational ministry.
