Lutheran Summer Camp, The First Day

Just off Mile 95 of the Glenn Highway, past Palmer, Sutton and Chickaloon, and out in the middle of a range of gorgeous mountains, sits Victory Bible Camp. For most of the summer, the non-denominational camp runs its own programs. For one week of the summer, the Lutherans take over. It's Lutheran Summer Camp week, people!

I'm writing from Victory Bible Camp now, where the Wifi is great but the cell service is not. This is my fourth (I think) summer at camp.

I never went to Bible Camp as a kid, but I did go to 4-H Camp. I remember that I was terribly homesick and cried a lot. Then, as a college student, I worked at a Lutheran Bible Camp in Eastern Iowa (EWALU). I was a counselor and a program coordinator for three summers. It was a transformational time. I fell in love with hiking and camping. I learned to play guitar, find God in outdoor worship and how to improvise in front of a group of kids.

Now I'm the camp pastor. There are other youth directors and adult volunteers, too. We have about 40 campers from Lutheran churches across Anchorage. We also have about 12 high school youth serving as counselors.

The theme for this week is "Spirit Life." We're using the curriculum from the ELCA's national office. It's decent curriculum, though it's a little hard to teach about the Holy Spirit. I mean, it's pretty abstract for kids to get their brains around. It's hard for adults, too.

Here's the theme verse: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." -- Ephesians 4:4-6

Here are the themes for each day: We're Gifted; We're Forgiven; We're Loved; We're Gathered; We're Sent. There are corresponding Bible verses for each day. I wish they were action-packed stories, but most are just reflections on the aspects of the Holy Spirit. I'll try to jazz it up a bit in Bible study.

I hope the kids have a good week. I always wonder about them as they arrive. Are they nervous? Excited? Intimidated? Do they know anything about God? Do they think church stuff is boring? I don't know what goes on inside their heads, but I do know they usually have a blast here. They laugh a lot. They sing songs and do hand motions. They splash around in the lake. They run and play games. They learn, I hope, that God loves them and so do we. They learn, I hope, that worship can be fun, that you can praise God outside and that God is with them, here and everywhere.