Camp is not just for Kids.

Note: in the interests of full disclosure, I must state from the outset that I am on the Board of Directors for Camp McDougall, the local United Church Camp. I am involved in volunteer work in my own church, sit on various Presbytery committees, and provide pulpit and music supply for a number of United Churches in the area.

In short, I have a bias toward “church camps.” Having said that, and as I state in this article, below, I believe that both secular and church-based camps provide many of the same benefits to their campers.

This article is adapted from a Meditation I gave this past weekend as we celebrated “Camping Sunday” at my church. I make no apologies for shamelessly promoting Camp McDougall, but I will also stress that my comments could, and do, apply to any Camp. – David

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Why do we send our kids to camp?

Camp provides an opportunity for kids to:
- make new friends
- have new experiences
- learn to appreciate nature and the outdoors
- experience a different, more co-operative social setting

[- and yes, sometimes it’s so the parents can have a quiet week at home]

Why do we send kids to a church camp?

Church Camp provides the same benefits as a “regular” camp, but within a deliberate moral and spiritual framework.

Camp McDougall has been a part of the lives of children, youth and adults of this Presbytery for over 50 years.

Camp McDougall’s Philosophy is:

To provide an outdoor Christian Community in which people have the opportunity to experience new relationships, to grow personally, to participate in various kinds of recreation, and to discover new understandings of faith.

Notice that this philosophy was not limited to “Campers” or “Children.” Camp McDougall exists to provide “people” – Children, Youth and Adults – with these opportunities.

Camp is not just for Children.

How many of you:
- attended a Summer Camp (sleep-away or day camp) as a camper?
- worked at a Summer Camp as a Counsellor, or in another position?
- volunteered at a Summer Camp in some other capacity – perhaps a work weekend, etc?
- attended a Summer Camp for some other purpose – perhaps a workshop, meeting, or retreat, etc?

How many of you have never been to a Summer Camp at all?
(You do not know what you’re missing!)

Many who attended as campers returned to volunteer or work as paid staff: as Counsellors, Cooks, Waterfront, or Rec staff. Some accepted administrative roles, as Business Managers or Camp Directors.

There are many adults who have volunteered their time to help prepare and maintain Camp each year, or who serve on the Board and its Committees to plan and oversee the operation of the Camp.

There’s something special about Camp – and not just McDougall.

When you talk with people who have been Campers or have worked at Camp you notice a sort of “kinship” – there is something about the Camping experience that transcends generations; it doesn’t matter where the camp was, or what its focus may have been, or whether it was secular or church-based.

Camp is Camp. It’s a shared experience.

Anyone who has ever worked at a summer camp did not do so for the money. For the most part, it’s a minimum-wage job – sometimes less (when I worked at an Easter Seals camp in the mid-80s, I received $225 per week, less $25 room and board, for working 6 days a week.

No, people who work at camps do it because they love it: they love the kids, they love the experience, and they do it because they are called to it.

I cannot tell you how many times I have driven past Camp McDougall on my way to wherever I may have been going. When I do, it brings a smile to my face as I recall some of the good times I’ve had there. But when I actually turn in the driveway and reach the parking lot, and set foot on the grounds, there is a transformation that comes over me.

It’s like when the movie The Wizard of Oz begins in black-and-white, and then when the house lands and Dorothy opens the door and sees Munchkin Land, everything turns to colour.

It’s a sense that this is a special place. I take a deep breath and my cares and concerns and worries are washed away, and an overwhelming sense of peacefulness envelops me.

I sent a Facebook message to some friends and asked them to send me a short message describing what Camp meant to them. Here are some of the replies:

“Helped me to know who I was and let me be my true self!! It is truly a part of me and I totally love the BOG!!!”
– Jeannie

“Provided encouragement and training to develop my leadership skills. Allowed me to explore relationships, and create a love of the outdoors. Spirituality through nature.”
- Warren

“Gave me a place, both physically and spiritually, where I could freely spread my wings and be myself. It's still the place I return to in my heart when days are dark.”
- Siobhan

“It was the first time I had been away from my parents. It gave me a sense of freedom, and for the first time I realized that being a Christian could be fun! I felt closer to God during worship at Chapel Rock than I ever felt sitting in church.”
- Daphne

The feel of mud and sand in your clothes as you finish the bog wallow.
Playing capture the flag and counsellor hunt in the rocks behind the lodge and being thrown in the lake when you are caught (and pretending to put up a fight so the kids have to work for it)
The sound of kids sleeping after an active day
Greeting nervous kids on the first day of camp only to hug the same crying kids as they leave on the last day
Making friendships for life
- Don

“Camp” is a microcosm of how we live our lives.

Lessons about life are learned at Camp, and stick with kids well into their adulthood. But it isn’t just the kids who learn lessons.

We adults have as much to learn from the kids as they do from us. And that is one of the wonders of Camp.

We go to Camp expecting to be a part of a program that touches Children’s lives and hoping to make a difference – and really, that IS what it’s all about.

But just when you least expect it, it’s YOU that is learning something.

It doesn’t matter whether a Camp is secular or church-based; both kinds are very special places, and help a lot of kids discover more about themselves and others.

Camp is, most times, barely organized chaos, and is a lot of fun. However, it is more than just fun. Camp can also be a very poignant experience, especially when you meet the Camper who:
- has chaos and upheaval in their home life
- has difficulty making friends
- has never been “tucked-in” at night
- has never been hugged
- has never been told “you are special”
- has never been told “I care about you”

I recently heard the director of Kenesserie Camp, near Ridgetown, tell of how one camper from last season told her camp is the only place he has never been bullied.

Camp makes a difference in a Child’s life.

Camp makes a difference in the lives of all those who attend, who volunteer or work at, or who support the Camping Ministry.

Camp is not just for kids.

We can’t all be Counsellors, or Chaplains, or Directors.

We CAN all be a part of Camp, in our own way.

After all, what better place to experience the wonders of Creation, the Joy of Fellowship, and the Peace of the Holy Spirit?

Camp is for all of us.


But… that’s just my opinion.