A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Camp -- 26C -- DIFFERENT THEOLOLGIES

 We were very intentional about creating a  “safe” place for persons to get to know others who had different ideas or beliefs about their faith and politics.   It was a good week to get to know those we do not ordinarily agree with in the larger context of “the Church.”   We discover that those we disagree with are not weird or evil.   Those who disagree with us are not stupid or non-Christian.   I have always said the extremes on the conservative right and the liberal left theologically were strange bedfellows. 

I will never forget one of the weeks of a high school conference that became very uncomfortable.  The two speakers, one in the morning and one in the evening, began to challenge the theology of the other speaker.   By the third day I had to move in and ask each of them to speak to the topic we agreed upon before they came up to camp.    I challenged them to model for the high schoolers the ability to listen to another point of view without putting that person down.   The staff had special prayer meetings about this.   We shared each night how things were going.   The campers were definitely aware of the differences.  

            One of my friends, who was a youth director and who had come up with her youth for the week, was sleeping in another room in my apartment.   She said that I would be breathing deeply and groaning throughout the night.   She was convinced it was because of the tension between the two speakers and my concern about what the campers were experiencing.   Fortunately, by the end of the week the campers sharing time reflected thoughtful testimonies of their experiences with the different speakers.   Thank goodness this seldom happened.

Choosing to Make Life Work - 24L -- SACRIFICE

As we are committed to each other’s success, we are called to give of ourselves to each other, the family, the church, the community and as well as in the world.  A good reminder from the Scriptures is, “let each esteem the other better and more important than self.”   “WHOA!  What does that do to my self image, Noreen?”   It didn’t take me too long on my walk to 83 years old to realize the world does not revolve around me.  I have choices to make daily about what is important or not.  Every morning I wake up choosing to stay in bed or get up and go do my exercises on a stationary bike plus.  I DON’T WANT TO GET UP!  I do get up and join others who are more disciplined than me.  They are models and an encouragement to me. 

We can choose to be givers or takers.  Our society raises kids to be very individualistic.  When they hit the real world they are blown away.  They are not being asked, “when do you want dinner?  They are told, “dinner is at 6” and they revolt.  There is too much need in the world beginning with our families on through the world to indulge our selfish desires.   Jesus calls us to “follow him”—to the cross?   Jesus says take care of the hungry, the widow, the sick, those in need. 

A hard word for this is self sacrifice.  The more we sacrifice for others the more we will discover who we are.  No need to remove the layers.  We know who we belong to and out of our love for God, we experience the joy we’re looking for in the way we live out our lives.  Other decision opportunities

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Camp -- 25C - LIFE ON STAFF

Staff romances were almost a “given.”    Periodically, I would have to call the couple in and remind them to use discretion in their demonstrating their affection for each other.   One year some of the summer staff men were housed in the apartment above me.   One afternoon someone observed a male and female staff person standing in front of the upstairs window naked.  Hello! 

 At Calvin Crest our candy store was in an old cabin on the hillside.   There was a partition that separated a storeroom from the store items.   We discovered that some on staff would climb over the partition and help themselves to the goodies.   They thought that was fun!

One night after campers went to bed, there was noise coming from the pool house at The Woods.  For some reason, I was close at hand and went over to see what was happening.  Several of the male staffers were having a water fight with hoses.  Loved seeing their faces when they realized they had just hosed me with water as I came around the corner. 

It is never easy to take disciplinary actions with employees.   My style of leadership was first a warning and alerting the staff person of the indiscretion or whatever behavior that was not lending itself to positive modeling and effective work habits.   If it happened again, it was “goodbye, try again next year.”   I was very open to hiring ex-staffers who blew it the previous year.   I would ask pastors or teachers for recommendations indicating ways the applicant was modifying behavior and moving in positive directions.  

       It really is remarkable that in the 30 years of my involvement in camping there were very few times that I had to release staffers of their duties

Choosing to Make Life Work - 24L - PURPOSE IN LIFE

        Happy New Year!  New and old resolutions?  Making commitments?  What is our purpose in life?   I think to fulfill our purpose in life we must understand commitment.  You can tell I’m big on the word commitment!  Many of us say we are working at “finding ourselves” and to discover who we are which we hope will reveal our purpose in life.   We try different lifestyles, different philosophies, insisting on our own way, insisting on being me, etc.  If we look close enough we discover everything revolves around “me.”  What I think! What I want to do!  Who I want to love!   Someone has said trying to find oneself is like pealing an onion.  You remove one layer at a time and what’s left—nothing.   Jesus says, “whosever seeks to find themselves will lose themselves and whoever is willing to lose themselves for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel will find themselves.”

When we are committed to Jesus Christ, we know who we are, who we belong to and what life is all about.

We believe that as Christians we have been called to service not privilege in our relationships.  Choosing to make life work!  The key word is “choosing”.    Actually, we make choices all day long—what to eat, what to wear, where to go, who to be friends with, etc.   Choose you this day who you will serve!  May this new year be a confirmation of the assurance that God is with us in all circumstances. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Camp -- 24C -- NOT OFTEN

            In the early 70’s during the Viet Nam War especially, we had many instances of having to deal with those who were smoking marijuana and taking dope.  Sometimes this meant having to deal with the issue with staffers as well as campers. 

One year there was a rumor that came to my attention that several staffers were smoking pot.   I called an emergency meeting with those who I thought might be potentially involved.   I went down to Sherwood to pick up one or two of them.   They wanted to know what this was all about.   After I had the group together I appealed to their good judgment that this was not acceptable at camp and especially by staffers.   We discovered that all of the ones we had at this gathering were not necessarily involved themselves but knew who were.   There was also a rumor that someone was growing the marijuana weed up at Nelder Grove which was the hill up and behind Calvin Crest about a mile.  I wanted to bring these to light so that we could deal with them as positively as we could. 

We had one young man on staff who had some experience with those on drugs.   One night there was a camper who evidently had over dosed on some drug.   The staffer held the teenage boy in his arms and kept whispering in his ears and repeating over and over again,   “Let it come out.”    He stroked the arms and legs as though he was pulling something out of the camper’s system.    It helped calm the young man while we had him transported to a hospital in Fresno.   Grateful outcome. 

Happy New Year!  I had a great New Year’s eve day with Mark, Jenny, Nancy and surprise visit from Paul and Debbie from Houston!  Awesome and wonderful!