Loading...Karen loved church camp!
She loved the camaraderie, the things to learn, the singing and worshiping, and the conversations.
She even loved the work!
Karen was a college student who came to camp to work one summer. At first it was just a job for her because she needed to make some money.
She wasn’t sure what she really believed. She grew up in the church in Sunday school and confirmation. But now? She wasn’t sure anymore. She wondered if she still belonged in the church. After all, the worship seemed really old fashioned to her, and she didn’t feel connected anymore. She didn’t really even get the point of it all. Was it relevant to her anymore? She didn’t really think so.
Yet, she knew there must be something important!
When she went to camp, she found people who believed in Jesus and who were having fun. She found a place where worship made sense and didn’t feel stuffy and pointless. The other camp folks showed great joy, and they were really kind – to her and to others, especially to the kinda weird people (she put herself in that group, by the way).
The people she met at camp talked about caring for others, like Jesus had. When these folks talked about Jesus, they weren’t mocking or cynical! They told interesting and thought provoking stories about welcome and serving others that, it turns out, were told by Jesus!
Immersed in camp life, surrounded by people who knew Jesus, who asked real questions, who talked about uncertainty and doubt without shame and without being “shushed”,
Karen fell in love with Jesus.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This Sunday is Camp Cross Sunday. Our special offering this morning is for camp – a gift from you that would be over and above your regular offering.
Camp is wonderful for so many reasons. What are some that you know of?
Yes, all of those,
plus, camp is, for many, especially young people, THE place where faith is formed.
There is freedom, expansiveness, playfulness, respect, and honesty at camp.
This is not to say that faith formation doesn’t happen elsewhere (like in their home congregations!), but for many young people, camp is a most vital place. Especially if they don’t have a home congregation.
Camp Cross this year has a wide variety of camp opportunities for children and youth, for adults and family: Mini camp, junior high, senior high, arts camp, ecology camp, women’s weekend, men’s weekend, family camp, days at the lake (come for just the day!), labor of love, Camp No Limits, and Mission Week – the camp that I’m helping to run: a new option for this year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of our Scripture stories today is from Acts and describes the dramatic conversion story of Saul (to Paul). It is a memorable story: Saul, a forceful and brilliant Pharisee, is well known to be an emphatic enforcer in the movement amongst Jewish leaders to quash the Jesus movement. He is present at the stoning of Stephen, and has lead the stoning/killing of other “followers of The Way”, as the early Christians are known. He has in hand a letter from the Council in Jerusalem to take to the synagogue in Damascus with permission and license to kill all of the Followers whom he may find in Damascus.
On the way there, he has a forceful encounter with Jesus who comes to him in voice and in vision – “Why do you persecute me?” Then Saul is blind and must be lead by his helpers the rest of the way to Damascus. He’s been told to go to a man named Ananias who will help him.
This brings up the other dramatic, yet not as memorable, conversion that happens in this story. Ananias is one of the Followers of The Way, and he has heard of Saul and how dangerous he is! Yet, in a vision, the Spirit tells Ananias to welcome Saul into his home and help him to heal.
You can imagine Ananias’s hesitation: “Uh, excuse me Spirit. You KNOW who this guy is, right? He’s dangerous!!!” “Yes,” the Spirit says. “Welcome him anyway. He has much to learn and to heal from.”
This conversion of Ananias’s is maybe even MORE dramatic than is Saul/Paul’s:
he has an openness to continue to learn
he takes risks, scary risks
he listens, really listens to Jesus and to the Spirit
he is willing to be converted again,
even though he’s pretty sure that he’s already done that
he is willing to follow where God has invited him to go,
and to do what God asks him to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday morning, the larger Christian community lost a wonderful sister and writer. Rachel Held Evans, author of The Year of Biblical Womanhood, Faith Unraveled, Searching for Sunday, and Inspired died at the age of 37 following an infection.
The wonderful thing about Held Evans is that she was willing to ask questions, to dig around, to learn, to listen. And, she shared herself honestly with the world through her books and her blogs. Not everyone liked her – she had many critics who could be mean and vitriolic with their words – but she had tremendous impact on contemporary American Christianity.
Many people have been sharing her thoughts and some of her wisdom from her books, including this:
“This is what God’s kingdom is like:
a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a Table,
not because they are rich or worthy or good,
but because they are hungry;
because they said yes.
And there’s always room for more.”
~~~~~~~~
There is room at this Table where we celebrate Eucharist,
and at a camp dining room table singing silly songs as meal prayers,
with a bunch of outcasts and oddballs
with our questions, fears, uncertainty, and doubts.
We are invited and encouraged to say yes,
and then take that risk to welcome in the stranger, the other oddballs and outcasts.
And even the one who seems to be our enemy.
Actually, we don’t welcome them.
God does. Jesus is bringing people in all the time.
We merely scootch over so that everyone has room at the Table.
Elbow to elbow,
we love each other.
Elbow to elbow,
we dig into the feast for which we hunger.
Side by side,
we drink of the living water poured out for us.
We do that here at this Table,
or at a campfire on a lakeshore – eating fish for breakfast with Jesus
(as one friend quipped: the original men’s breakfast!)
or at a Camp – like Camp Cross.
We scootch over, making room,
loving and being loved
serving and living in the joy of being the beloved and claimed people of God.
Amen
