This week our church campus has been filled with single-file lines, arts and crafts, story sharing and story writing, drums drumming, science lessons, Taichi and yoga and sound bathing, all sorts of colored stickers and gems, shadows and light, spirited singing, amazing food representing multiple cultures from around the globe, and just the right amount of chaos.
Each year Paul’s Place organizes a summer camp for about 50 elementary school-aged children in Southwest Baltimore. Churches and other community organizations partner with Paul’s Place to take weeklong turns hosting this camp throughout the summer, and this week has been our turn in the rotation to host camp. It has been awesome.
Hosting camp, like many other community efforts at Redeemer, is true to the expression: “It takes a village.” Before any campers arrived, months of preparation, planning, and investment built a foundation for this camp to come to life. Donations and other contributions from members of our community provided food, transportation, materials for camp, and even a full and very thrilling day at Climb Zone. Over these preparation months, we also assembled various teams of volunteers, from the kitchen crew to the various instructors and guides. We also assembled and trained a team of about 30 high school-aged camp counselors to embody a spirit of hospitality and a sense of attempted order for our campers.
As I write this reflection, after having helped facilitate lunch for the day and, having enjoyed a delicious bowl of African Bean Stew made by our kitchen crew, I am keenly aware of the generosity of so many people who have made this possible. It really feels like our whole parish is here in one way or another, bringing camp to life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
One of the many lessons that I continue to learn and appreciate is that we cannot do this church thing without each other. Life, faith, growth, love… all of it… is possible because of the relationships and the community that we form along the way. It takes a village to have an understanding of and a relationship with God. It takes a village to grow as a person. It takes a village to discern and navigate change. It takes a village to heal from loss or trauma. It takes a village to broaden our view of the world around us. It takes a village to host camp. And it takes a village to be church.
I’m so grateful for our village, this week and every week. Thanks for showing up. Thanks for being you. Thanks for being church.
Love,