Friday, August 10, 2018

Good Morning from One Heartland


Good Morning!

It’s the last full day of camp, and it’s rehearsal day.  The choir, band, and orchestra are preparing for their final performances.  Bells are ringing, and chimes are chiming.  The drums beat, and the guitars strum.  Feet are tapping and shuffling on the stage, as the songs from Mary Poppins waft across camp.

As always, it’s a bittersweet day, as we start to say goodbye, and prepare to perform for you.

This week has been transformational, as it is all weeks.  It is an amazing journey to understanding the message of Jesus, and how we take that into our world.

One of things we talked about in morning worship was The Beloved Community.  

As Christians, we must lead with Love.  Presiding Bishop Curry talks about The Way of Love, that every action is grounded in Love.  It is more about being loving than being right.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if do not give up.” –Galatians 6:9

Thursday, August 9, 2018

The Next Chapter - Senior Camper and the Beyond

The last night of camp is a special night for seniors, and I will explain that at a later time.  This year one of our seniors must to leave early to attend her sister's wedding.  Congratulations and a life full of happiness to the couple.

Unfortunately, since she is leaving today, she will be unable to participate in the farewell to seniors on Friday night.

Instead, she wrote a prayer and said it during campfire:

Tonight, we pray for those who don't have the sense of community like the one here at EYMC that I've had the pleasure of experiencing for the last 8 years.

Tomorrow, I will leave EYMC, as all of you will do on Saturday.  Some of you will return to this physical place in the upcoming years, and for other of you, it might be the last time here at Camp Heartland, at least for a while.  But it is not the 6 days spent here that make up EYMC.  It is the late night conversations in your cabin that end up giving you some of your best friends, the pure joy of Clark when he cries in front of the band, and so many other incredible memories and lessons that you will take with you for the rest of your lives.

I pray that we all go out into the world and use the tools EYMC has given us to become the people that create a new instrument called the floboe for a struggling flute player (friends who make things easier when your neighbor is struggling), run around taking pictures at the silliest moments, and creating a space where people can be truly, authentically themselves, maybe for the first time.

We pray for strength to do this, to make the world just a little bit better.

Amen

Kathleen Scoggin

Thursday's Activity

Tonight is the night.

The campers don't have to wait any longer.

It's the night they have waited for all year.

BOOF!

Mic drop.

Composer in the Making

One of our campers is the lone recorder student.  And while she the "lone" recorder student, no one is lonely.  She has begun composing recorder music.  She has taken charge, and her teachers are learning from her.


Good Morning from One Heartland

Once again, the morning is glorious, if not a little humid. 

Our wake-up song was both an "action" song, and a "repeat after me song."  For being introduced to a new song, on the fourth day of camp (we are all very tired), they did a fantastic job.

At morning worship, we talked about Mark 12:31, "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

Camper Chaplain Alison told us a story about a freshman in high school who wore a pink shirt on the first day of school.  Another group ninth graders teased him, and mocked him for wearing pink.

The next day, all the seniors work pink shirts in support of that freshman who was bullied.

Alison asked the campers, how do you think the senior felt when they did this?  Powerful.  Supportive.  Kind. 

Jesus brought us this message to love others as we would want to be loved.  He lived this message in the world, and calls us to do the same.

We have so much power to stand up for the powerless.  We can step in.  And as Christians, we must step in.  We can't just watch bad things happen.  We can use our power, like popularity and age, to help others to make our communities healthier.

Neutrality is not an option for Christians. 





Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Skit Night

Well, it came a day earlier than usual, but that didn't stop campers from performing great skits.  For those of you unfamiliar, every year each cabin writes, and performs their own skit.

Highlights:

We had a superhero support group.

A mail carrier delivering mail to a camper through torrential rain (aka a bucket dumped on her head).

A demonstration of how a Jimmy John's delivery man delivers (so quickly) your sandwich.

The desire to be like your friends to fit in, but the ability to be yourself at camp.

Counselor imitations.


A common theme for many of the skits was the day's theme: walking together two by two, or put more simply, asking for help.