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Mission Possible: Summer 2013 Archives - Bethany Birches Camp

Posts Tagged ‘Mission Possible: Summer 2013’

Mission Possible: Giving Presence

BBC has chosen a theme for summer 2014! There has been a pattern developing the past few years. A theme for the upcoming summer is chosen and at the same time the prior summer’s theme is STUCK in my mind. For the past 6 weeks we’ve contemplated the summer theme for 2014 and I’ve had Mission Possible (summer 2013) on the brain!

Over the next few weeks perhaps I’ll share some of the ways I’ve seen Mission Possible come alive outside the realm of summer camp. I could share how Mission Possible has morphed into a relevant way to experience God everyday. For now, here’s one example:

I love presents! Some people know this about me. Some people may not. I love to OPEN presents and I love to GIVE presents. The look on someone’s face when they first view the present they didn’t even know they wanted but are so glad to have is priceless! Giving someone joy makes me near giddy. The anticipation of uncovering what is underneath the wrapping paper is the best suspense I’m aware of! I love presents.

This year is different. I can’t decide what to wrap for the people I love most. What do they want? What do they need?

This year is different. Both sides of my family have decided to exchange names which means less giving/receiving of presents.

This year giving presents has felt nearly impossible. And then I received the following in an email:

“This time of year, I’m particularly aware of the importance of presence.  Not presents, but presence… The gift of their (family) presence has been truly the most rewarding gift I have ever received. Just knowing that they are there for me gives me confidence to do whatever my heart desires.  And that is a great gift.
In this season of presents, it’s easy to get bogged down in the commercialism and gift buying.  I would like to encourage you to give someone your presence this holiday season.  It will mean a great deal to the giver and the receiver. ” (Michelle Cummings, Training Wheels CEO)

Suddenly both giving and receiving seems possible. And exciting. I will give my presence. I will enjoy the presence of others. Together we will experience God’s presence.

#WithGod.

Celebrating Christmas at Camp with Presents - Summer 2013

Celebrating Christmas at Camp with Presents – Summer 2013

Newsletter 2013: Summer Programs & Events

Event   Age   Date
Staff Orientation17+Jun 15-22
Pilgrim9-11Jun 23-28
Voyager10-12Jun 30-Jul 5
Voyager Extended10-11Jun 23-Jul 5
Church at Camp and Chicken BBQ(Camp staff lead in worship and sharing)AllJul 7 10 am
BBQ following Service
Friendship/ Pioneer 6-9Jul 7-9/7-11
Discoverer 11-13Jul 14-19
Internship15-17Jul 14-26
Explorer 12-14Jul 21-26
Discoverer Extended12-13Jul 14-26
Sojourner 14-18Jul 28-Aug 2
Mission Possible/Crew 11-14/15-18Aug 4-8
Staff De-Orientation17+Aug 9-11
Facility Available for Rent & EventsAug 12-Oct
BBC Annual Benefit AuctionSept 28 10am
Fall Work DayOct 26 9am

Spring Newsletter 2013: Mission Possible, The Pavilion Project

Intel is on a need to know basis. Here’s what you need to know. The effort to replace the old pavilion with a new one is under way.

We’ve been hard at work raising money since October 2012.  Some of camp’s faithful supporters have given generously to achieve nearly $700,000 in commitments already.  The project total is $1,800,000. This will pay for the new pavilion and subsidize program for 4 years (we wanted to consolidate all our fundraising needs for the length of the campaign into one effort).

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to make a gift (or at least a commitment) by August 15, 2013.  If you complete your mission you will receive a couple free gifts.

You may gain intel about the free gifts and give here.

In order to proceed, you must watch the video about the project here.


 

At Home in the World: Spiritual Saturday

Among the blogs I read is Generous Matters. It’s largely about generosity, giving and making ourselves rich toward God (rather than just plain old rich). This past Friday, the author of the blog included an excerpt from CS Lewis… I love CS Lewis! Here’s what he wrote in one of his books:

“Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that is ‘finding his place in it,’ while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of really being at home on Earth, which is just what we want. You will notice that the young are generally less unwilling to die than the middle-aged and the old.”

Having read Screwtape Letters, I know that Lewis does not consider it a good thing when we feel “at home on Earth.”  Being at home on Earth makes it hard to be at home in God’s Kingdom.

This summer, we hope to have a ton of fun while discovering together this special place some Christians call God’s Kingdom.  If we trust Jesus’ words, we know that in that place is where we receive “life to the full.”

Tuna

Staff Saturday: Ray Charles

Greetings friends – this past Saturday was crazy busy here at camp.  It was Spring Work Day, Open House and the Annual Association Meeting.  There was so much going on I couldn’t post this note from Ray.  Here’s what she says:

——

Hi campers!

So excited to spend another summer up on the hill with you all! Last year was just too much fun so I had to make my way back up from Ohio to camp again this summer. As the weather has started warming up I can’t stop thinking about the fun Wet’n’Wild Wednesdays we had last summer. From the baked oatmeal, to the slip’n’slide, then the cookout complete with s’mores—that day stands out as one of my favorite parts of the week. I’m excited to see again those I got to know last year and also meet some new and awesome friends! I’m sure we’ll all learn something new this summer too, whether it’s from shelter chats, fireside, or from all the fantastic people Jesus brings to camp. God’s got great adventures planned for this summer and I hope to see you all there!
Ray Charles

Tuna Tuesday: Life to the full

I was writing in my journal this morning after reading a booked called Enjoy the Silence. Great book. Geared toward teens but relevant to adults.

In my reflection, I was thinking about the fact that last summer was our second most attended summer ever. And that high attendance came after a spring of virtually no advertising and very little marketing. We were focused on the cabin renovations and simply being able to use the building in time for summer.

Any increase in attendance couldn’t be traced to communications work done that winter and spring. I believe it was God who brought the increase. For me, this is a reminder that it is God who sustains all things (and even lets us partner sometimes in this effort – like when we tend our gardens). It’s God who provides the air we breathe and the life we were born into.

Pray with me that we will remember this each day and that once again, this summer, God will bring many campers so he may inspire them and encourage their hope and faith. We are told that faith is what pleases God. And with God we have life to the full.

To another summer, experiencing life to the full!

Tuna

 

Staff Saturday: Frodo (and a Lamb)

frodo and a lambHello My Dear Campers!

This is Frodo here, reporting in that I will be seeing all of you at Bethany Birches Camp this summer! I hope you are planning to return with me and are ready to enjoy some of our favorite camp craziness. Every day I think about being up on the hill at camp and enjoying my very favorite day of the week.. wet n’ wild Wednesday. I think about soaping up my belly and running towards the slip n’ slide, and then going down to the pond for some jump competition and of course an amazing cookout. There is no better way to spend a summer day than up at Bethany Birches with all of you! I have been practicing up on my guitar skills every day too, getting ready to have a summer filled with music. I can’t wait to sing to Jesus, share His amazing love, and have an amazing time with each of you!

Until we meet again!

Frodo Birches

Les Miserables & Camp: Tuna Tuesday

So Cheeks and I watched Les Miserables on video the other night.  It’s a classic story and the most recent version done on video is very good.  As I was watching the scene when Javert decides to drown himself, I realized one of many reasons to learn to love our enemies – so we don’t drown ourselves!

Here’s what he says in the song that made me think of this:

Da.ned if I’ll live in the debt of thief
Da.ned if I’ll yield at the end of the chase
I am the law and the law is not mocked
I’ll spit his pity right back in his face
There is nothing on Earth that we share
It is either Valjean or Javert!

Full Lyrics


In short, he can’t handle the fact that his enemy, Jean Valjean, loved him enough to help him in his time of need (Valjean gains permission to release him from behind enemy lines – he would have been most likely killed had Valjean not done this).  He can’t stand this kindness so much that he decides to drown himself.

An article from Wikipedia explains the narrative this way:

“Javert wanders the streets in emotional turmoil: his mind simply cannot reconcile the image he had carried through the years of Valjean as a brutal ex-convict with his acts of kindness on the barricades. Now, Javert can be justified neither in letting Valjean go nor in arresting him. For the first time in his life, Javert is faced with the situation where he cannot act lawfully without acting immorally, and vice versa. Unable to find a solution to this dilemma, and horrified at the sudden realization that Valjean was simultaneously a criminal and a good person—a conundrum which made mockery of Javert’s entire system of moral values—Javert decides to resolve the dissonance by drowning in the river Seine; his body is later found.”

Here’s my point – Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies is for our own good.  Whether we drown ourselves in an actual river or a metaphorical river, hate causes deep inner turmoil.

One of our goals at camp is to build a community of love each week, each summer and over the lifetime of the camp, with all who participate.  This helps each of us learn to love those we otherwise might not get along with.  In learning to love those hard to love, we become free from hate.  Just one of the many things Jesus saves us from.

Tuna

Staff (spritual) Saturday: Sonny

Are you guys ready?!?!

Campers of 2013; are you READY?!?!

I am! I am so thrilled to be coming back to camp, for the WHOLE summer!! Spending time in the beautiful mountains of VT, leaving the flatlands and humidity of Delaware. I am so ready to meet all you new campers and reconnect with the campers I met last summer! To be back in the woods, on the hill, in the tree house or the lake or the pavi; is more exciting than any of the plans little ol’ Delaware could offer. Why? -Because there is no place like camp.

Why do I love camp so much anyway? Why am I traveling all the way from Delaware, by train, for camp? I have been coming to camp for years! The thought of summer without camp, isn’t summer! Growing and learning about God, getting messy, singing, slip n’ sliding, and so much more! The atmosphere at Bethany Birches is acceptance and fun. Not making new friends is IMPOSSIBLE!! Coming to camp now as an Assistant Counselor (rather than intern) will be much more fun because I get to meet ALL of you!!

Don’t miss out on all the spectacular fun and silliness of camp this year!! I hope to see you there; I can’t wait to meet you!

-Sonny

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