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| Blog Post by Karmel Puzzuoli |
The quiet our campers encounter can be disorienting to them.
“This is probably the first time some of these children have experienced silence for any period of time,” said Bobbie Traxler (Holy Spirit, Belmont). “They are bombarded by advertising, electronic media, chaotic schedules, and often they don’t have enough time to form their own thoughts. Here we make it okay to be silent.”
However, the silence where gadgets and television once were is replaced by chatter of meeting new friends, reuniting with old friends, singing, laughing, splashing in the lake, and the reverent sounds of an outdoor Eucharist in a place in the woods called Walden.
You find generations of campers here. Many of the camp staff were young campers at Episcopal Youth Camp decades ago. There’s a sense of continuity.
“This is a time bubble,” said Christine Tillman, deacon for children and youth ministries. “We can create a different piece of the kingdom, something that grows and is exciting. We are all loving learning about God.”
EYC is held in three one week-sessions for different age groups throughout the summer. The first week was Senior Camp, held in the middle of June, for youth entering grades 9-12. The second camp, Middle Schol Camp for children entering grades 6-8 was held this week, and next week, the younger children entering grades 3-5 will arrive for Junior Camp.
In addition, new camp counselors and Christian leaders are constantly being trained through the Counselors in Training (CIT) and Leaders in Training (LIT) programs. CIT is open to young people who are 16, 17 and 18 and not yet out of high school. CITs lodge together and spend part of the time in a classroom setting, learning about child development and leadership skills. LITs also lodge together with their adult mentors. LIT is a new initiative for young people between the ages of 13 and 16 who are interested in learning more about Christian-based leadership. Their focus is on living into a community with God in the center, and to find and name their own gifts and skills and encouraging others to live into theirs.
Judy Fleener (St. Paul’s, Muskegon) has been working at EYCs since the 1970s, and was a camp counselor when Gennie Callard, Assistant to the Bishop for Children, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, was a camper here.
“Every year I load up a toolbox of stuff that will help the kids connect with God,” said Judy. “I am sharing what I have, who I am. I am also the beneficiary of this experience. I get to be who I am. And I think the best thing for the inside of a child is the outside – at camp. Kids who come here for a week can be themselves, nobody has preconceived expectations. And the kids love to come back.”
Each day is full of activities, including formation, arts and crafts, outdoor time, Eucharist, restful time, and even an outreach project, but not necessarily in that order.
In fact, this year’s EYC will make a generous donation to the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry at nearby Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Belmont. Each week of camp made a food item to donate. Senior Camp filled canning jars with beans and the ingredients for a homemade soup, Middle Camp is filling jars with the ingredients for chocolate cake, and Junior Camp will put together a collection of personal care items.
“Sometimes a week at camp gives them as much or more than a half hour of Sunday School every week,” said camp counselor Becky Searles, who also attended camp as a child.
Christine Tillman added that more than camp being a place for kids, it’s a place for adults to understand the spirituality of young people.
“This camp gives me hope for the church and a sense of how the Spirit is moving through the youth. It looks different from what some of us may be used to,” said Christine. “Our youth want a chance to be part of the church and to be loved. They are in love with the church and they are spiritual.”
– Karmel Puzzuoli
Assistant to the Bishop for Communications
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