There’s another option, says Jeff Dowdy of Sarete.org, a Richmond-based non-profit organization that helps people practice being better in conflict. When someone pushes your buttons, you can get off the line of attack, and lead them in a more productive direction. You can see things from their perspective, and perhaps then offer them another way to view the situation. On Sunday, July 3, Jeff and his brother Brian led the 14- and 15-year-old campers at St. George’s Session IV in a workshop that used some basic principles of aikido to explore the Christian practice of nonviolence. Aikido, a Japanese martial art, means ‘the way of peace.’ Jeff had 90 campers pair up with each other to practice low-impact forms of aikido-based self-defense. As Jeff demonstrated, aikido techniques aren’t about size or strength – the practical physical exercises let campers use their partner's negative energy (a poke or a wrist grab) to put themselves and their partner in a more safe and productive space. Perhaps more importantly, aikido teaches people to respond to conflict with a desire for friendship, knowing that meeting force with force doesn’t produce a good result. The physical practice of aikido is meant to transform the heart of the practitioner, so that when we find ourselves in conflict, we can respond non-anxiously, non-violently, with love for self and for the other. This is one of the ways we hope camp can impact the world: by helping us practice the loving, redemptive non-violence that we see in Jesus. Many thanks to Jeff and Sarete for sharing their wisdom and fun with us!
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By Emily Lettau Session I of St. Sebastian's Sports Camp played all the sports, from soccer to ultimate frisbee and everything in between! For the first time in many years tennis was played and by all accounts was a huge success; campers and counselors alike were already asking to play again. One of the days was spent hiking to Seven Springs, where everyone braved the frigid waters and got into the spring. All of the Evening Programs were big hits, but particularly the ones where up to three camps combined to have a super awesome Evening Programs such as a "How Well Do You Know Your Counselor" game show with MAD camp and a combined Sports/MAD/Explorers' dance.
By Emily Lettau Music and Drama (MAD) I spent the week working on their show, A Technicolor Promise, the story of Noah and the promise God made to him after the flood. Besides director's time, the campers traveled throughout the mountain playing games, finding their "rainbows", and spreading God's love to everyone here at Shrine Mont Camps. The campers spread God's love to each other many ways during their week at camp, including writing 'warm fuzzies' to each other. Some of the favorite Evening Programs of the session include Improv night, a game show night with Sports camp, the dance with Sports and Explorers', and the last night's talent show.
By Emily Lettau Explorers' the Great spent 10 days hiking and canoeing all over our mountain and the Shenandoah Valley. The eight campers played a variety of games, their favorite being Big Booty. They sang together, ate together, worshiped together, and built a community together. They even planned their own Evening Program involving a campfire and singing some of their favorite camp songs. The other favorite Evening Program of Explorers' the Great was, after joining MAD camp worship, participating in the all camp dance!
By The Rev. Chris Miller
With openness to outcomes, we have also set a goal for the week. Our goal for the week is to embody a three-fold love: Love of Self, Love of Neighbor, Love of God. Today we focused on Love of Self. There are so many things in this world that can make us not love ourselves. There is self-doubt, there is bullying, there is a lack of trust in who we are…these are just a few of the problems that stand in our way of loving ourselves. As the evening approached, we ate dinner and then made our way to the labyrinth. Cabin One (nicknamed Cabin Fun!) planned and offered one of the most supportive, love-focused worship services I have ever experienced. We walked the labyrinth in silence with one camper reading Psalm 1 aloud. Then we sang some songs, read about how we are all created in the image of God and that we are all good (Genesis 1:26-31), and had some time to reflect on what helps and hinders our love of self. One camper spoke up and said that walking the labyrinth was helpful for his comprehension of loving himself. He said that life makes us turn back and forth, up and down, and side to side. There may be times when we don’t even know where we are going. With all those twists and turns, the labyrinth still took each and every one of us back to the center. He referred to the center as our “high point.” Indeed, the center of that labyrinth was a high point for St. Sebastian’s Sports Camp tonight because we are reminded that at our center, at our core, we are beloved children of God. If you are reading from afar, whenever you stumble upon this blog post, I encourage you to spend your next day intentionally practicing Love of Self. You might be amazed at how near you are to your high point.
Let us pray: “Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.” (BCP, 833) Good night from Shrine Mont. By Emily Lettau St. Andrew's Camp this year was a close knit community where everyone felt accepted for exactly who they are, loved, and able to be their very best. Hiking was a part of every day, and everyone pushed themselves and motivated each other to keep up on the trail. One of their hikes was to Seven Springs, where they spent the evening swimming in the spring. Their bravery and willingness to get in the water was impressive on all accounts! A portion of every day was spent in chaplain's time, where the focus was on positive ways to communicate with one another while understanding scripture and God. Thank you for being your authentic selves, St. Andrew's Camp!
[1] Bebo Norman, "Walk Down This Mountain" By The Rev. Beth Magill
For the last several years I have had the privilege of serving at (gasp!) another Episcopal camp outside of the Diocese of Virginia. (Yes, they do exist. Though we'll leave it at that.) Upon being invited to direct my first session of camp as a priest - think: role of the Chaplain at Shrine Mont - but with design of the entire session, I was fretting about what on earth I had to offer to the staff and campers. A good friend and fellow life-long Shrine Mont patron offered this guidance: "Do what you know. Don't try to reinvent the wheel." So, I went about apprehensively designing a week of camp based on the Body of Christ passage from 1 Corinthians. I was nervous. Of course this framework had worked well and permeated the lives of generations of folks from the Diocese of Virginia. It had such an impact on me that it is the passage after which I strive to order my life and ministry. But, I couldn't help but wonder if tradition, emotional attachment, or simple complacency hadn't led us to laud it's success, after all these years. Being out of my comfort zone often leads me to questions that seem silly and even unfaithful in hindsight. I persevered and set out to buy hundreds of feet of body string. As is often the case, my fears were unfounded. Campers and staffers alike were completely taken and moved by a reminder of their deep and abiding importance as a member of the Body of Christ. Middle school students were enlivened by the challenge of building a community stronger than that which they had dreamed possible. They even humored me by wearing the body strings. My expectations were quite low and so, at the end of the session, I marked this one down in the books as an outrageous success. Imagine my surprise when I happened upon a counselor at a Diocesan event several months later, still proudly wearing her body string. She then proceeded to tell me of others with whom she had kept in touch, and for whom their Body String had been a source of strength over the course of the school year. A simple string, miles from the home of its origin, still conveying a reminder of a beloved child's deep and abiding importance as a member of the Body of Christ. Fast forward four years to this summer, at the all-camp Eucharist. A returning counselor with whom I had the privilege of working previously was assigned to a different camp site this year. We were excited to reconnect as we gathered around the lake to worship. Before I returned to setting the altar, he stopped me and asked, "Do you think I could get another Body String? It really helped me a lot this year, but I gave it to a friend when he moved to North Carolina." Not only did he find meaning in the simple symbol, but he had met the challenge of sharing the Good News with another. "Yes, why don't you take mine." I also had the privilege of visiting Camp Capers, of the Diocese of West Texas, throughout the summer, where students of our ministry both attend and work. As I was going about my visit I happened to notice a common sight on the wrists of the staffers - Body Strings. Their staff director, who worked with me last year at camp and throughout the school year, without my knowing had shared what she had experienced with a whole new body of folks. Exponential and surprising growth, all birthed of a simple reminder that we can all use help remembering our place in the Body of Christ. What I had initially failed to focus on was the unfailing power of scripture when it comes alive. Did it all look, sound, and smell a little different than that of our lives on the beloved mountain? Of course. But it still had meaning - deep, transformative meaning. So, I suppose I write simply to celebrate with those whom I still consider my beloved community of origin, and those in this new place, who are intimately tied to one another. What you're doing works, Shrine Mont Camps, both for people to whom you once ministered, to those whom you currently minister, and to many, many others beyond the grasp of the mountain. The Rev. Beth Magill has served as Missioner to the Episcopal Student Center at the University of Texas since 2011, and in the Diocese of Texas since 2009. She is originally from Alexandria, Virginia, where her family still resides. Beth was a MAD & St. George's camper throughout her childhood. She served as counselor to Explorer's camp, St. George's, and as chaplain. She returns to the mountain as often as she is able.
By Kevin Cole
Hello folks, welcome to Summer 2 of the Shrine Mont Camp Cast!
Right off the bat, you'll notice one key difference with the show this summer and that's our release schedule which will now be biweekly. This show is a lot of work for one man to take on, and in the interest of self-preservation we've decided to space out the episodes this time around. A few weeks ago, I attended the Shrine Mont Alumni Work Weekend, a new event that takes place a week before training begins for those who will be on the mountain this summer. During that time I spoke to Paris Ball, Mike Wade and a few of the alumni attending the event to find out what it takes to get camp ready for staff that will be living on the mountain. If you have a story for the Shrine Mont Camp Cast, send an MP3 to [email protected] By The Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff, Bishop Suffragan
When I joined the staff of Shrine Mont Camps for the final days of staff training last month, I was deeply impressed by their maturity made known in childlike play. I saw young adults teaching and learning children's games together with laughter, a good-natured willingness to try anything, and a heart-felt desire to honor and include all. Of course I saw glimpses of a competitive spirit, but the competition was almost more about who could be the quickest to love rather than who would win. It takes great maturity to engage in this kind of abandoned play that watches out for the needs of others, especially those on the margins. Members of the Shrine Mont Camps staff are mature in their silliness, their inclusiveness, their playfulness and their knowledge that healthy play builds healthy relationships. Now that camps are in session, I trust fully that staff members are sharing that same mature playfulness with campers. I trust completely that these men and women are learning when it is necessary to reign in the silliness and discovering when they need to take the playfulness into quiet listening. I can scarcely wait to return to Shrine Mont at the end of the month to play with the staff and campers, and to get a refresher on how to live with childlike delight.
By Meg Schwarz, co-editor of The View from the Moutain
These contradictions became particularly evident throughout the first weekend of camp, during which we opened 5 separate camps for campers of all ages and interests. It was, perhaps, appropriate that the weekend was book-ended with some of our oldest campers on Friday and Sunday while Saturday was devoted to opening sessions for our youngest campers, as some of the most beautiful camp contradictions can be found in the age differences amongst our campers. Last Friday morning found 8 high school students on the upper pavilion, ready to embark on a couple of extended camping trips with their fellow Explorers’ the Great-ers. All of these campers had been to Shrine Mont Camps before and while some of them were fresh-faced first timers at Explorers’ the Great, their comfort with camp was evident from the moment they arrived. Rather than emanating nervousness at the tasks that lay ahead of them (a difficult 3-day hike and a 20+ mile canoe trip) these young adults exuded a steady certainty which I imagine can only be found within those people who are so familiar with something that newness no longer frightens them. Though these campers were embarking on a new type of camp experience, their time at camp had taught them that they could handle whatever was coming their way with the help of their leader and their friends (and perhaps God fit into that mix somewhere along the way as well). Opening registration for St. Andrew’s, Music and Drama I and St. Sebastian’s I 24 hours later, however, told a slightly different story. The sureness and composure of those teenaged campers was replaced with the apprehension and uncertainty of 9-year-old campers and their parents, many of whom were experiencing Shrine Mont Camps for the very first time. Parents seemed to hang on every word from their camp director’s mouths (“Send camper mail to this address! Closing worship will take place at this time! And please- no care packages!”) while their camper’s eyes darted nervously around, wondering who might be his or her new best friend this week. Gone was the ease with which the older campers left their parents and merged seamlessly with their ‘camp family’ as a certain questioning-process seemed to occupy the air under the Happy Pavilion instead: Did I choose the right camp for her? Did we pack everything that he will need? Is she going to be alright without me for a week? Am I going to be alright without him for a week? And then, slowly and almost unrecognizably, a slight shift began to occur. As families made their way through the registration line- checking on account balances and finding out cabin assignments- a certain warmth began to descend on the anxious crowd. “Perhaps,” it seemed that everyone was collectively digesting at once, “this won’t be quite as scary as we thought.” Sunday afternoon found almost 100 campers (and their associated guardians) lined up on the upper pavilion, eagerly awaiting the beginning of their second-to-last or last session of St. George’s Camp. Many of these campers had been attending camp since they were 8 years old, but even those who were a bit newer to the St. George’s game were relaxed and completely sure of themselves in this space, their home-away-from-home. Looking on at the numerous reunions that were happening around me, I was reminded of the feeling one gets as they walk through the door of a familiar place, drop their bag by the stairs and kick off their shoes. These 14 and 15-year-old campers were settling in for an experience that, though sure to be different from previous years of camp, would fill them to the brim with enthusiasm, strength, sustenance and steady love- and they were ready to soak up every bit of it. They were, as the Explorers’ the Great campers before them, a far cry from the campers of yesterday who were setting foot on the pavilion for perhaps the first time ever.
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The view from the mountainSpreading the good news of Shrine Mont Camps into the Valley of the World.
AuthorsThe View from the Mountain is written by a rotating cast of staff writers and contributors. Archives
September 2018
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