Faith in Action

Greetings! “Through the Spirit we are Gathered!”

Tuesday June 19…Last night after supper two of our groups were on the “Camp Out” but they did not stay in tents overnight because of the rain and possible storms.  Yet they had a great time cooking their meals over open fire, roasting marshmallows, munching on graham crackers and Hershey bars.   They even shared a bit with their pastor.  How many people can Sam and Brian jump over lying side by side – the answer is 9 people (with no injuries!).  They had a great time.  The rest of our group stayed in camp and attacked the canteen for goodies after enduring one huge scavenger hunt that involved the whole camp.  We closed the evening with worship.  

This morning as I returned from a walk around 7 am I followed Retta, Shelby, Rachel and Rebecca all wrapped up in towels and coming back from their polar bear plunge; they looked awake!  Gathering for a breakfast of bagels, toast, cereal, banana bread, and coffee cake (a few grabbed a bit of fruit); we listened to the first word asking “What does it mean to live in community and in relationship with one another?”  And “The Holy Spirit connects us to all those around us.”  At morning worship a college student from South Africa named Evidence taught us one of her camp songs and a counselor named Chris who talked about a very special mentor he had named Jim who told him shortly before he died that “Confirmation is not the end of your faith journey but only the beginning.”  

I really take pleasure in how well our young people respond with bible study as we read and pondered Ephesians 4:1-6.  This lesson was about CommUNITY!   Many times we think that if we are working toward unity that means we all have to work toward being the same. That is, we’re willing to work with others who are different from us IF they agree to change to become more like us. But the Bible teaches us that God does not care about our differences. God does not prefer one group of kids at school over another group, one gender over another or one race over another. The Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of ALL believers. At our baptism we are adopted as children of God.  We began with a nature walk talking about how all of creation is interconnected; this led to how we are different and similar, followed by activities that addressed our unity without conformity.  Along the way I addressed the two teenagers Emma and Sydnie that died tragically in our community and the importance of support and interconnection their families and our community needs at this time.  Then we broke up into small groups and talked about all the various communities we are a part of.   It was a good day together.

I just left the mess hall where it is Taco Tuesday food which is a hit with the campers! That is enough for Tuesday…I will be back tomorrow; I am so thankful for the parents and families that share their precious gifts with me and Pine Lake Camp. Pastor Mark

Precious God, thank you for the communities for which we have been gathered; Pine Lake Camp, our families, Stoughton and Covenant. Please help us to always remember those things we have in common with one another so that we may live, love, and be in relationship with all of your creation. Amen