500 Years Ago Today

 Martin Luther had hoped to reform the Catholic Church from the inside. Instead, the 95 theses this monk nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany sparked the protestant reformation, a movement which has grown and diversified over the past five centuries.

For those of us who are protestant this is a birthday celebration. It is the story of our brands of Christianity. It's had it's challenges, it's heresies, it's hiccoughs. But overall it is the story of a struggle to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and to bring him to our communities. We share that mission with Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, but today is our day to celebrate our own heritage.




For those who have a historical bent, here are some links:


Luther's 95 Theses

Women Leaders of the Reformation

The Protestant Reformation

500 Years of Protestant Christianity


For everyone else, celebrate with us!

And have a blessed Reformation Day!

Ongoing Hurricane Response

It seems like the hurricanes (and the wildfires) are fading out of the news, but they have disrupted many lives for the long term. It would be easy to decry the response of the occupant of the White House, but let's not go there. I'd rather look at some people who are helping.


My denomination (American Baptists) has always been mission-minded. In fact, it was formed to support missionaries.

The day after Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico, the American Baptist Home Mission Societies launched a long-term initiative to help the people there. Questioned as to why Puerto Rico over other places, they replied:

We certainly hold the other US territories and nations impacted by the numerous natural disasters of the last few weeks in our thoughts and prayers. Next week, ABHMS disaster response director will be going on a needs assessment trip across the Gulf Coast and Florida as well as Puerto Rico. We will be posting regular updates here and on our website at abhms.org. I invite you to follow along. In addition to Puerto Rico, we expect to be coordinating recovery efforts in Florida and Texas, but needs are still being assessed. We expect to have a clearer picture of our response after the needs assessment trip next week. Our pledge to Puerto Rico is a long-term commitment. Puerto Rico is where a large American Baptist infrastructure — including 114 American Baptist churches, an American Baptist seminary and a community center — and a historic partnership allow us to have an immediate and sustainable impact.

"An immediate and sustainable impact." They want to be in this for the long haul. Indeed, I have been following the blog posts of the ABHMS team which is touring Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Puerto Rico -- "6,100 Miles, Seven Days" Here is more on what they are doing:

Rebuild, Restore, Renew Puerto Rico


Our International Ministries people have a presence in Puerto Rico as well. The American Baptist Men have disaster teams in various places. Most of our churches are appealing to their congregants to give to One Great Hour of Sharing, a charity which has already released thousands to hurricane affected areas.

Our denomination is moving, doing what it can where it can, and trusting that God will send others to supply the needs of those we can't reach.  We don't have the resources on our own. But we aren't alone -- others are working to.  We can't do it all. Christians need each other. Humans need each other.

I appeal to you to do what is set before you. Pray. Give. Go. We can all do something.

Have a blessed day.




 I amparticipating on the October 2017 Ultimate Blog Challenge. A blog post every day in October. #blogboost

Song for Sunday: Details in the Fabric (In Memory of Tom Serewicz)

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I heard on the radio the other day that one third of all traffic accidents involve a driver under the influence of alcohol. One third.

And that’s only some of the preventable accidents. Other forms of impaired driving involve distractions like texting, cell phone use or playing games on devices. Inexperienced drivers are also often distracted by other passengers, by the radio, by food or by coffee and other soft drinks. Everyone who drives while impaired or distracted has made a choice to do so. In some cases, others on hand have allowed it.

Friends, our choices matter.

They mattered to Tom Serewicz and his family. Tom was just 24 when he and his best friend were on their way home from a night fishing trip. Their car was struck by the car of a drunk and drugged driver who was going the wrong way on the highway. All three were killed.  It was June 17, 2011.

Tom left behind a wife, two very young sons, a mother and two sisters. Their heartbreak continues five years later and will continue as long as they live. That woman’s choice ended her life, and two other lives, and had a horrible impact on two families.

One of Tom’s sisters is a dancer. She choreographed the song Details in the Fabric by Jason Mraz as a testament to how the family clung to each other after the accident and supported each other in their grief. It is a moving testimony to their love for Tom and each other.

A sample of the lyrics:

Hang on
Help is on the way
And stay strong
I'm doing everything

Details in the Fabric is today’s “Song for Sunday.”  Here’s a link to it.

 Live Kindly, Choose Responsibly

Learn more about Tom and how to end drunk driving here:

Drunk Driving
Ending Drunk Driving
Drunk Driving
Celebrating a Life
Drunk Driving: In Memory of Tom Serewicz

The Thomas J. Serewicz, Sr. Foundation for Kind &Responsible Living remembers Tom’s loving and generous spirit by supporting a variety of charities and hosting an annual memorial picnic, which I attended today.

I met Tom and his wife, Cherise, at the Christian YouthConference at Ocean Park (CYC), when they were teenagers. It was where they met and decided to marry. (I looked after Cherise’s engagement ring once while she was out on a service project doing physical labor.) CYC meets for two weeks every August in Maine and is open to all high schoolers. There are still slots available for the 2016 conference. Check it out!

Memories and ABCs -- Camp!

Each year at the youth conference, the classes of young women make gifts for each other, their counselors, and the women faculty. . Back in 1999, one class handed out a scroll title the "ABC's of NEBYC." It's a list of things they found wonderful about the conference and wanted to remember. I came across my copy today. Reading it,  I realized how much of the list would be echoed by campers now... or campers back in 1920. Back in 1920, we were called the "School of Methods"; now we are CYC. But name changes notwithstanding, the important stuff has remained constant. Here's that list:

The ABC's of NEBYC

A  Alone with God: Answers: Amazing

B  Beauty: Banquet: Boys: Believing is Becoming: Bell Tower: Block Party: Big Sisters

C  Communion: Commitment: Chapel: Class: Campfire: Care Cards: Canoeing: Curfew: Camp Meetings

D  Dining Hall: Dancing: Desire: Devotions

E  Enthusiasm: Energy (or lack of): Evening program: Everlasting Bond

F  Faith: Fun: Friends:: Fellowship: Fort Williams: Free Time

G  God: Graduation

H  Hasseltine: Hope: Hugs: Holy Spirit

I  Indescribable: Ideas: Individual: Inspiration

J  Jesus: Judson: Joking: Joy

K  Knowledge: Kindred Spirits

L  Love: Listening: Laughter: Life: Little Sisters

M  Meaning: Miracles: Moonlight

N  Nature

O  Ocean Park: Ocean: Openness

P Peaceful: Party: Pines: Possibilities

Q Questions: Quiet Time

R  Railroad Tracks: Raiding (there is no...): Reveille: Raspberry Lime Rickey

S   Singing: Serenade: Silence: Sherwood: Sunrise: Sunset: Searching: Swimming: Soda Fountain: Soulful:

     Smiles: Spirit: Sunshine

T  Temple: Thankful: Tears & Tissues: Trust: Talent Show

U  Unconditional Acceptance: unity: Unique

V  Ventures: Vacation: Volleyball: Vespers

W  Worthy: Wacky: Wonderful: Water: Welcome

X  Xcellent: Xtraordinary

Y  You (the one and only): Yummy

Z  Zany: Zeal

Camps and conferences for teens offer so much. Try it and see. 

CYC, or the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park, offers two weeks of Christian community, discipleship training, fun and friendship every August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. Check us out!

 

Getting Organized --Playroom, Update 2

Well, getting there. This second weekly update brings visible progress. Some, anyway.

Still need encouragement and prayers though. I've still got the target date of July 1.

For those following along. here's photos:


Beginning:

Current:

The fact that this is visible progress is testimony to how bad it was when I started. *sigh*

Well, on we go.....


Thanks to my biggest encouragers-- and competitors in "The Minimalist Game" -- who are fellow members of the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park (CYC) community. Three of us were students together. The other started attending a few years later. Not all of us are active in CYC anymore and there is some geographic distance, but CYC cements friendships. Encouragement is part of that.

If you know a teenager who would like to make lifelong friends while enjoying two weeks of God, learning and fun a quarter mile from the beach this August, check out this link.

We're also on Facebook.

Previous posts:

Getting Organized -- Playroom
Getting Organized -- Playroom, Update 1


Blessings on your housework this week!

Meme-ic Monday: Serving and Leading

Just a reaction today:  I believe this.

It reminds me of Christ's teaching:  “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9: 36b

Let us first be servants. It is what we are called to do. 

God bless your day. 

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On Mondays, I will be posting and responding to memes, one each week. They will be ones that grab my attention, perhaps either resonate with me or annoy me. If you see a meme you would like me to react to, let me know.

(Belated) Song for Sunday: Come Holy Spirit, Dove Divine

Sunday was my son's baptism, a joyous spiritual event for our family. We read this baptismal hymn in unison after the ceremony. In our Baptist tradition, baptism is for professed believers in Jesus Christ who request the ceremony as a way to demonstrate their faith. We are proud and happy.

In addition, this hymn was written by Adoniram Judson, the first missionary sent by an organization from America to anywhere. He served in Burma. Adoniram and his wife Anne Hasseltine  are the vocational models and inspiration for our men's and women's camps at CYC (the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park.) I re-enact Anne Hasseltine, so this hymn is special to me because of its author.

Now I have the additional connection with it because of Jordan's baptism. So, even though I've used it for this before, it becomes this week's "Song for Sunday."

Come, Holy Spirit, Dove divine,
On these baptismal waters shine,
And teach our hearts, in highest strain,
To praise the Lamb for sinners slain.

We love Your Name, we love Your laws,
And joyfully embrace Your cause;
We love Your cross, the shame, the pain,
O Lamb of God, for sinners slain.

We sink beneath the water’s face,
And thank You for Your saving grace;
We die to sin and seek a grave
With You, beneath the yielding wave.

And as we rise with You to live,
O let the Holy Spirit give
The sealing unction from above,
The joy of life, the fire of love.

                           Adoniram Judson

                           Public Domain

Song for Sunday: A Way in a Manger

At church tonight we sang about the Cross. 

Yes, it's Christmas. Usually, more a time to be singing about the manger and Bethlehem. About Jesus as a baby. But, you know, he didn't stay a baby. He isn't a baby now. 

We commemmorate the incarnation every year because it's important. It's God with us. As we reflect on the birth of Jesus though, we need to remember we really are celebrating the anniversary (probably on the wrong date) of that birth. In human terms, Jesus is over 2000 years old; in spiritual terms, he's eternal. 

He came to earth to live with us, to be with us, to experience mortal life and it's temptations and afflictions. He came to die for our sins, to allow for our forgiveness. 

We need to remember that in the midst of cute pageants and carols. 

We also need to remember he loves us and that is why "He made a way in a manger to make a way to the cross."

Enjoy this link to a beautiful reminder of this truth. 

Words and music by Lee Black and Steve Merkel. Performed by Candi Pearson Shelton. 

What Christmas song touches your heart?

I was introduced to this song when it was song by a young woman at the Christian Youth Conference. She sang it at the talent show. On her first attempt she was overwhelmed by stagefright. People surrounded her with support and a little while later she tried again. At the end the teen audience rose to their feet and cheered not only her beautiful singing voice but also her courage to try again. This song is special to me both because of this story and because of it's intrinsic meaning.

Roads, Walls & Soldiers' Toilets: Reflections on History and Survival

Yesterday, we drove down a Roman Road. It was very straight and, after nearly 2,000 years, very usable.

Of course, over the milennia it has received maintenance, upgrades, paving and modern markings. All over Britain there are ancient Roman roads still in use.

We took that Roman Road to an ancient fort called "Housesteads." Really, a ruin. You can still see the outlines of many buildings. From an archaeological perspective, it is remarkably well preserved, but trust me, you don't want to use these toilets. Though the latrine was built to the highest level of sanitation technology known in the world at that time, it is now a curiosity, useful only to teach us about the past.

Preservation is a wonderful thing, as is learning about the past. Ruins are one way to recognize our history and to feel connected to those who came before.

But there is an even greater connection, a living connection, when we are still using the items our ancestors made. I have seen this in the castles, church buildings and cathedrals we have visited, too. Some are simply museums, showing old items and teaching facts -- often in creative and interactive ways. I love re-enactors!

Others are stil residences, places where people live, eat, laugh and cry. Or they house vibrant congregations who continue the tradition of worship. They don't live and worship exactly as their ancestors however. They have electricity, running water, projectors, updated language, new styles of music, different clothing, new forms of art and communication mixed in with the old. Historical, yet living. Renewed and transformed, yet connected to centuries past.

How is your church or organization? Is it a museum to the past or a living community? It's worth thinking about.








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CYC does a good job of balancing tradition with renewal. It's a 100 year old ministry to teens. Send your highschoolers along to this amazing two weeks in August on the southern coast of Maine. It's not too late to sign up for our 100th anniversary conference that starts August 2, 2015.  

Song for Sunday: Beauty for Brokenness

I have used this prayer for shalom or wholeness as a Song for Sunday before, but we sang it in church today and it grabbed my attention. God has been challenging me to remember, even identify with, the poor. This time around it is these lyrics that caught me:

Shelter for fragile lives 

Cures for their ills 

Work for the craftsman

Trade for their skills 

Land for the dispossessed

Rights for the weakVoices to plead the cause

Of those who can't speak

                                                 Graham Kendrick
                                                 Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music,
                                                www.grahamkendrick.co.uk

                                                          Graham Kendrick, author,  talking about this song. 


And a link to the song itself: 

What has God been calling your attention to lately?

How are you called to help the poor?

CYC (Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park) is a two week leadership development program for high school students. It meets August 2-15, 2015 on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and is open to all teens ages 14 and up who have completed at least eighth grade. Check it out!

Fighting Summer Learning Loss

Summer learning loss is real. Teachers spend much of the first two months of school reviewing what kids have learned before, especially for low income kids (see article linked below.)

There are many ways to fight summer learning loss: read as a family, cook together, play board games that involve reading and math, visit the library, go to a museum.

Another way is to go to camp. There are, certainly, camps (and summer schools) specifically designed to maintain or forward academic skills. They are not the only good options in this respect, however. Camps that allow kids to explore natute, learn new sports skills, program computers, or make crafts can also be very helpful. According to the article Bunks are Good for Brains camps offer a wide variety of experience that help brains develop well.

At CYC, we have an academic program. It doesn't focus on school subjects, but offers Bible study, spiritual formation, leadership, missions, and self-exploration. These are not intense classes with homework, but they do require students to engage with new topics, to discuss ideas, to express opinions, and to learn skills. All of these help students to keep their minds active, and should help prevent summer learning loss. Other camps can do the same. It's another reason I encourage camp. Do check to make sure the camp you choose is right for your child and safe, but send them. It is a lifechanging experience.

For More Information:

Bunks are Good for Brains

More than a Hunch: Kids Lose Learning Skills Over the Summer Months


Other thoughts on camp:

Why Go to Camp?
Want Your Kids to Astound You?
Making Disciples


CYC (Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park) is a two week leadership development program for high school students. It meets August 2-15, 2015 on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and is open to all teens ages 14 and up who have completed at least eighth grade.

Song for Sunday: One Great Hour to Share

As aftershocks continue to wrack Nepal and over 2200 have died, I post a song about sharing

I heard it yeaterday, at The American Baptiist Churches of Masschusetts' Annual Gathering. We met to worship, to learn, and to honor our retiring executive minister. This song was sung (by the same people who sing it in the video linked below) I confess I was close to tears listening to it.

Part of sharing is sharing the gospel, but practical aid is also critical.
 "Faith without works is dead." ~James 2: 17. This song is a good reminder of that.

Words and Music by Leslie Lee and Steve Gretz 

What song is on your mind today?

This is my 25th post for the April 2015 Ultimate Blog Challenge. 

Want Your Kids to Astound You?

A few years ago, I took an informal survey about why teens should go to the Conference I work with.  One of the responses, from an alumnus' dad was:




You will amaze/astound/ baffle/confuse/impress/etc. your parents.




He went on to say:

I will always remember the "deer in the headlights" look of the "little boy" we dropped off at CYC, compared to the confident, competent, joy filled young man who greeted us just one week later at banquet. Each subsequent year brought a new milestone, a new goal, a new acheivement, a new understanding, and a faith and compassion that has remained evident, and constant over the years and the miles.

I know the young man, and he really has made his parents proud. I hope CYC played a part in that. It is what we pray for.

Camp can be a real confidence builder. Our camp is just for teens, so we do encourage goals. We want kids to step outside their comfort zones and stretch their faith. We also try to provide a community they can lean on going forward and to lead them to a deeper relationship with God.

If you are on the fence about sending your kid to camp, I encourage you to go for it. The experience can lead to significant growth. I'd love to think that everyone would go to CYC, but if that isn't appropriate for  your child's age or your location, look into one near you.

Check it out. Make sure it is well run and safe, but do it!  I doubt you'll regret it.

Have a blessed day!




CYC (Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park) is a two week leadership development program for high school students. It meets August 2-15, 2015 on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and is open to all teens ages 14 and up who have completed at least eighth grade.


This is my 21st post for the April 2015 Ultimate Blog Challenge. 

Song for Sunday: One Love

One of the students at the school of ministry I serve as the registrar for offered devotions and included this song, reminding us that Bob Marley wrote several Christian praise and worship songs, despite some life choices that are often considered out of step with church culture.

We had a good time singing along to this. It has a fun beat and a and nice message. So it becomes my Song for Sunday.

What are some of your favorite praise and worship songs? Or religious songs?

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This is my 11th post for the April 2015 Ultimate Blog Challenge.

We sing a lot at the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park, a quality discipleship training program and experience of Christian Community, held each August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. Celebrating our 100th Anniversary!

Erin Go Bragh

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I cooked corned beef and cabbage today, not because I am part Irish, but because I am part Irish-American. In the old counry, they ate pork and potatoes. Check it out on Hungry History.


For most of us, St. Patrick's Day is about wearing green, cutting out shamrocks and having a little fun with our Irish heritage. Good to pause and remember the real roots of the day, though. Here's a good story about St. Patrick -- with words about why it's relevant today.


Sadly, there is one other thing about St. Patrick's Day. Drunk drivers make it one of the deadliest days of the year to be on the roads in the US. (Celebrating with green beer is another thing found in America, not so much in Ireland.)

Post by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).                                                                                                      

Here are a few of my posts on drunk driving:

Drunk Driving

Drunk Driving

Ending Drunk Driving

Finally:

Now go wear green and catch a leprechaun!

Yeah, that,

So I am in Ocean Park, ME. 'Cause it is beautiful and a bit of a change is nice.

CYC is going on now (which is why I am visiting now, really.)


Today I witnessed something I had to report to the men's camp director. I was in the soda fountain, getting a Raspberry Lime Rickey. As a stood in line, I became aware of a young man from the camp interacting with an elderly couple who were using mobility aids --the man a wheelchair, the woman a cane. The Judson man (that's what CYC calls it's male campers) stood in line for the couple, ordered their food and twice refused their offer to pay for his ice cream saying it wasn't necessary. He noticed the man was wearing a veteran's t-shirt and thanked him for his service.

I couldn't help but smile.

Then, I have been a believer in Christian camp for 30+ years.


I am not the only one convinced. Sometimes people join the community and just "click." That seems to have been the case with this year's chaplaincy duo. Never having been with us ever, they seemed to know what to expect and what was needed. The husband of the team even blogged about the experience. Check out what he had to say here.

See, it's not just me.

I also saw a  variety of posts on Commitment Night from people who couldn't attend but wished they could or shared other memories of their experiences. Not all entirely positive but everyone had some good memories. Not to mention some of the alumni who (like me) were present in person.. for the 35th, 40th or 48th time.

What's been your experience with summer camp?

Knitters' Devotional: Service

Many knitters serve others on a regular basis. People knit sweaters for orphans, blankets for babies going to foster care, helmet liners for soldiers, ditty bags for merchant mariners and prayer shawls for those in distress. The list goes on and on. Whether we are knitting for strangers and friends, we are often providing loving help and care.

In serving we emulate Christ, who washed the feet of His disciples, fed the multitudes and healed the sick. He was not above doing the tasks of lowly servants and neither should we be. In every area of our lives we have chances to act as servants to others. We should recognize these opportunities as chances to serve Jesus. It is good to look for Christ in the people we help.

Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? Two people who should have known better passed an injured man by. The third, a political enemy, stopped to help. He acted as a servant. Jesus held this fictional man up as an example of what a neighbor should do. “Go and do likewise,” he said. And so we should, with our knitting and with all our lives.

Lord Jesus, help us to serve others, knowing that in doing so we really serve you. In your precious name, Amen.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

                ~Matthew 20: 25-28

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

                                          ~ Galatans 5: 13-14

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I am writing a knitters' devotional book and would love constructive criticism and feedback on content, grammar, etc. Thanks!

Knitter's Devotional: Love

If you are at the right time of life, have you knit baby booties for a coming grandchild? Why’d you do it? I bet it’s because you couldn’t wait to meet that little one and had to do something for him or her right away. Or maybe you wanted to celebrate your child’s joy.

Love is like that. It makes us want to reach out to its object, to shower them with good things. That’s why many of us have made gifts for family and friends. Another way we may have shown love is, perhaps, by laying down our needles for a while to act as caregiver, chauffer, cook, cleaner and nurse. We placed the needs of others above our hobby and, likely, our own needs as well.

God loves us like that. Sacrificially. He loved us completely. He even died for us, while we were sinners. Before we even knew Him. Reflect on that for a moment. The truth is that if we really thought about it, we’d be dizzy. It is too awesome to be comprehensible.

But it’s real. The Cross may not be understandable, but it is Truth. You are beloved of God and He gave his life for you.

Awesome God, thank you for Your love and Your sacrifice. May we follow your example, loving as you have loved and giving our lives for others. In Jesus name, Amen.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

                         ~John 3:16

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

                      ~Romans 5: 7-8



I am writing a knitter's devotional and would appreciate constructive criticism and other feedback. Thanks!

Knitters' Devotional: Casting Off

As we reach the end of a knitting project, we prepare to cut the yarn by casting off the stitches and tying up loose ends. It is a time to look back over the project, recognize our progress, give thanks that something is nearly completed and fix anything that needs repair. Then we finish.

As we reach the end of our lives, we need to prepare for God to call us home – for death—by separating ourselves from the things of earth and readying ourselves for Heaven. We look back over our lives. We can see all that we have learned and the many blessings we have experienced. We can try to right any wrongs and reestablish broken relationships. Then we are ready for the final stage.

Several of my family members have received hospice care at the end of difficult illnesses. Hospice workers have taught us that there are observable patterns that those who are preparing for death follow. Many begin to forget the names of those around them but to remember those who have gone before. Eating becomes less important to them. Many, shortly before the end, have a final spurt of energy during which they say their good-byes.

There is also a spiritual dimension to this preparation. Those around the dying can help with prayer and reading scripture aloud. We can offer help to people who wish to confess sins, repair relationships or make amends. Many knitters make beautiful prayer shawls for hospice patients so that those patients can feel surrounded by love and faith.

May God bless you as you prepare for the end of life and help others to do so.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.

  ~Psalm 116:15

I am in the process of writing a knitters' devotional and would love your thoughts on this post. Thanks!

Intercultural Experience at Camp

Jordan went to camp recently and came back declaring he had a great time. He was in the water club, shot the first bullseye in archery, made a beard in the mancave and stayed in a yurt. So he learned skills, gained confidence and got to interact in positive ways with people who are different from him.

Jordan attended an American Baptist camp. Earlier in July, I posted the article "Real Diversity" in which I explained that the American Baptist denomination, like the U.S. of the near future, has no majority ethnic group. We want to set a positive example of how to work out this level of diversity well.

Jordan's camp was reflective of the larger denomination. Five ethnic groups were represented by the ten campers and two counselors in the group. The female counselor was from another country and was the only one to represent that group, all the other groups were represented by more than one person. The group was diverse in other ways, too. There were both urban and suburban kids. At least one child had significant disabilities. The campers had different interests, also, which is why there were three different clubs and a wide variety of activities.  There was one similarity -- the campers were all from Christian families and both counselors were Christians. Worship was a part of the camp routine.


The diversity wasn't planned by the camp. People signed up for a convenient session and were assigned on a first come/first serve basis. I am excited that this was a natural representation rather than an engineered grouping.

Jordan didn't come home talking about intercultural experiences and differences. He talked about friends and activities. That's the way it is supposed to be. 

Camp offers many positive benefits, which is why I send my son and encourage others to send their children.  Interacting with a diverse group 24/7 is one of those benefits.


What opportunities have your kids had to interact with people who were different from them?





God camp for teens -- the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park offers worship, Christian education and fun in an intense -- and diverse -- Christian community. This years two week session starts next Sunday, August 4th, but there is still time to register.