One of the most beautiful things about camp, I’ve always felt, is how fleeting it is.  There’s freedom in the fact that it’s temporary, that it’s a step away from the ordinary rhythms that govern our everyday lives.  There’s space for weirdness that doesn’t normally fit.  For loudness.  For messiness.  For passion and creativity and community and love.
 
That freedom means we can experience new ways of being and can stretch our wings in ways we might not be able to access in other settings.  We’re surrounded by people we don’t really know and who, for the most part, we won’t see regularly after this week in God’s home in the woods.  The risks we might take are a little less scary, or at least the consequences have less staying power. You might say that camp leaves room for a unique form of grace.  And because of that grace, I’ve always thought of camp as a place where I could meet the person that God is growing me to be, to steal a quick peek into what it means to live as the wholeheartedly faithful child of God I aspire to be.  For that reason, I was always a little sad when it was time to leave Bethelwoods…and a little jealous of the “Camp Paul” that I left behind there.
 
Because the downside of camp’s temporary nature is that it eventually ends, usually before we’re ready to say goodbye.  Of course, in the moment, we can often feel exhausted and overstimulated, and a bit homesick.  But at the end of it, I always found myself wishing I could go back.  I was always left with a sense of incompleteness, with the feeling that there was more to the story that I didn’t have time to explore.
 
I’m glad to report that this feeling– that my camp journey isn’t complete– has changed over the last year for two reasons.  The first was getting to meet a camper ten years after I had been their counselor:  as a part of my first job out of seminary, I’ve been doing campus ministry work at UNC-Chapel Hill, and one of the students in the campus ministry (they graduated last year) recognized me from my first years as a counselor, about a decade ago.
 
I can’t tell you what a beautiful gift it was to have someone who had shared those summer moments of freedom, to see for myself the growth of this goofy camper into a compassionate, kind, wise, and thoughtful college graduate…to someone who I’m SO proud of and excited to continue the work of the Church with.  It was such a gift to see the full realization of the person that they had got to catch a glimpse of at camp and to peek into God’s plan for their future.  To share with them a reflection on how we had both grown was an unlooked-for blessing.
 
My gratitude for this gift was renewed by the second thing– I returned to camp for the first time as a worship leader, a dream I had held since first setting foot in Bethelwoods in 2012.  Not only that, but I had the chance to reminisce and reflect, to see the flourishing of all the seeds God had planted, in seeing so many counselors and summer staff I remember as campers.  I got to glimpse, again and again, the sacred and life-filled ways that so many of us have lived and loved and grown together.
 
My prayer this week is that you might catch similar glimpses, that you might feel the freedom to dream, to see the person God is molding you into…and also to look back with pride on the beautiful, wild, and holy roads that you have already traversed.
 
May you see God’s hand in all of it.

- Reverend Paul Burgess, Cary Presbyterian Church

​Conversations between Pastor Lissa and her daughter Sumner (13 years old) from Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery.  Pastor Lissa has been a volunteer camp pastor for years, and Sumner officially started as a camper at Day Camp.  Lissa first attended Bethelwoods as a 5-year-old on a church retreat with Mount Pleasant Presbyterian, which was also her first time in a canoe.  She continued to be connected with Bethelwoods while working at First Presbyterian in York, SC, and when she moved to Charleston.

What’s your earliest memory of Bethelwoods?

When you took me to camp and Brenna was at Day Camp.  We frolicked around camp while you worked.  I wasn’t old enough to be a camper yet.

What’s a silly memory of camp?

When Lizzie burped in her hand and then you wouldn’t hold it for prayer.  Sorry Lizzie.

What’s a Holy Spirit moment?

Any time we are singing songs like Reckless Love or Oceans at the campfire.  You know when we stand shoulder to shoulder and do the swaying thing.

What’s your favorite activity at camp?

All of them.

What’s your advice for a first time camper?

Don’t be nervous.  You’ll soon be greeted by a family you didn’t know you had.

What’s your advice for a first time camper parent?

Your kids are in good hands.  They are going to make some of the best memories.  Don’t forget to pack their bug spray.

What camps have you attended?

Day Camp, Explorer Camp, Tenderfeet, Explorers, Jr. Camp and Venture.  So all of them.

What other ways have you been at Bethelwoods?

Children’s Retreat with the Presbytery, but I was a baby and toddler.  Church Retreats with Westminster Presbyterian.  Middle School Retreat with Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery.  Pretty much any time I can go.

Last question…how do you feel about Harry the Hippo?

He’s pretty chill.  He knows what he is doing.

One of the words that comes to my mind when I think about Bethelwoods is “Belonging.” Camp is a place where many have found that sense of belonging. From campers to counselors to volunteers to guests, I have heard so many people describe camp as a second home, a place where they feel safe, a place where they can be their authentic selves, a place where they have met some of their life-long friends, a place they belong.

As the Director, hearing people describe camp in this way is a wonderful affirmation of our work. Helping people to have those experiences and feel that way about Bethelwoods has been a mission of mine since I took the job as Camp Director in the fall of 2015. Helping others find this sense of belonging is important to me because I was able to find that belonging at Bethelwoods while I was growing up. 

One of the things that always seems to come up when I am talking to someone about camp is, “Well, I grew up coming to camp at Bethelwoods.” Then, the conversation proceeds to highlight all of my years as a camper during my childhood and then my years serving as a counselor and on summer leadership staff during college. This personal history is not meant to brag about how long I have been at camp or how much I know about camp, but it is sincerely an attempt to show how much I appreciate this place and the sense of belonging I have felt being here. 

Something not many people may know, but my parents can attest to, is that when I was growing up, I was not always excited about coming to camp. I was an extremely shy, reserved, and anxious child. I know for many of you, this admission will be shocking! But the week leading up to camp each summer was filled with nerves about meeting new people, doing unfamiliar things, and not being accepted. However, these feelings were always unfounded, and I always came home from camp with stories of the fun things we did, the new friends I made, and not wanting to have to wait a whole year to go back. I had found a place and a community where I belonged. I am sure many of our campers and staff will find some commonality in this story. The anxiety and anticipation one feels before coming to camp is often replaced by this sense of belonging when they have experienced the community at camp.

In his novel, The Last Battle, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series, C.S. Lewis writes, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been searching for all my life, though I never knew it till now…” I love this sentiment of equating belonging with coming home. So many people describe camp as a second home, and so coming to camp is a way to come home to a place where you belong. This often is not something we are even looking for. For the staff and campers, belonging at Bethelwoods can come as a surprise, as something that you were not looking for, but as something that you needed in your life at the time. This has certainly always been true for me.

As I look forward to a new year at Bethelwoods, I pray that everyone who works, volunteers, or attends a program or retreat at Bethelwoods can find this sense of belonging.
- Stephen McDonald, Camp Director at Bethelwoods
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I recently cleaned out my storage closet, and in the process, I re-discovered my treasured box of t-shirts. This box of t-shirts includes all of my sentimental treasures of places, times, and people who have shaped my story. If it were up to me, I would carry this box full of folded up t-shirts through every move for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I married a woman who helps me to think more carefully about what I carry and why.

We opened up the box and pulled out the t-shirts, many of which span almost twenty years of Bethelwoods history. As I organized them into stacks, the stories came tumbling out. Look at this staff shirt with the names of all of my summer coworkers! Check out this very vintage Summer 1998 shirt from my first summer at day camp! How about this shirt where I had all my friends sign the back? I eventually worked on staff with this friend. I’m still Facebook friends with this one, and I just learned that her child was an LIT this summer! How are we that old already?! Look, here’s where the woman who would be my Bestie of Honor in our wedding signed! I remember tie-dying this shirt as a counselor and have the original from when I was a camper!

Here is the shirt from my Leadership Training Program years, back when we had SALT and CLIP, before we had LIT and CIT. This is the green shirt I wore on my 15th birthday, when my dad surprised me by picking me up from camp to take me to the DMV to get my driver’s permit on my birthday. I remember coming back later and having a marker fight with the day camp group we were shadowing.

My generously kind and wise wife offered to make me a t-shirt quilt out of these pieces of fabric that hold so many memories. That way I can wrap myself in the memories and stories regularly, instead of leaving them in a box, folded up and forgotten.

I look back with joy and gratitude on my many years with Bethelwoods. Much of what I have learned as a leader and facilitator came from the leadership training I received as a youth and adult. Bethelwoods taught me skills and gave me a chance to use them in caring for children, growing their faith, and taking risks and knowing someone was there to catch me, whether in low ropes initiatives, the high ropes course, or telling a story during a rainy day. I carry these lessons and experiences with me in the ways I live out my call to ordained ministry outside of traditional congregational contexts. I still lead and facilitate, building on the strong foundation the counselors and staff gave me many years ago. And I will always be ready to lead a repeat-after-me song. 

I look forward to snuggling up with these stories and memories in the form of the t-shirt quilt. Maybe you’ll join me around the campfire sometime soon and we can tell some good stories and share a song, too?

- Angela Tyler-Williams, former camper and counselor
​

Oakman's quote resonated with me because of our current season at Bethelwoods and for me. The act of becoming has been a new area I have explored in the past year, whether in casual reading or preparation for a sermon. This concept comes from process philosophy (or theology), which focuses on the interconnectedness of reality and how our environment, friends, families, and ourselves change, which is how we come to experience the world. In process philosophy, change is fundamental to ordinary, everyday life and the formation of our identity. 

Following several years of attempting to return to normal, Bethelwoods, like myself, is becoming influenced by the experiences of change from the past several years. As a newcomer this past summer, I kept my eyes and ears open, looking and listening to the sights and sounds of the campers, staff, and the beauty of God's creation. Amid my observation, I saw traditions still being held onto that harken back to the days of the covered wagons. On the flip side, I saw a newness spurred on by new and old staff members and campers alike. Both tradition and newness were at odds with one another, but even with friction between them, both are necessary for the process of becoming. I saw this best showcased in our deliberate gracious shifting for our night activities, free-time blocks, arts and crafts activities, and especially during worship. 

One memory that makes me laugh from this summer was a camper from week six who asked me why we were doing a counselor hunt on Tuesday night when it was usually done on Wednesday or Thursday night. I responded to them by saying, "Well, you know, sometimes things and plans change, but we still want to value the tradition of keeping it (counselor hunt) as a night activity." The camper seemed curious about my answer, shrugged their shoulders, and walked off. At breakfast, the same camper approached me the following day and said, " I'm glad we did counselor hunt last night because I'm usually too tired to run after the counselors later in the week." I think back to this honest statement when I notice myself getting frustrated with change or the lack of it because this statement holds the reality of being in process. It speaks to the constantly changing landscape of our world and how we have to continually adjust and shift to find our way of being in it. Like the seasons, our ever-evolving selves find moments to bloom and remain dormant, but in that state, we still find ourselves in the process of becoming. Try not to be discouraged by the change; embrace it like the camper did this past summer, and relish in the new reality that change has brought for yourself and others. 

Between summer camp and conference center season, new and old things are always happening at Bethelwoods. The tree's leaves might change color, and the covered wagons might be gone, but I hope you take the opportunity to see and experience what is going on at Bethelwoods for yourself. This place may be part of your process...

​- Rev. Parker Lucas (Program Director)

When I first started working at camp in 2012, it was the office assistant position.  It was a summer only position.  I applied so I could be close to my 2 youngest children who both worked at camp that year.  In the fall of that year I was asked if I would be interested in being the office manager starting in 2013.  I accepted the position with great excitement.
 
Not only was working for a Christian non-profit something I always wanted to do, but it gave me the opportunity to meet more people.  
My family had recently moved and I was hoping to find some new friends. And boy did I ever.  There have been quite a few people that have become very close friends that I met at camp either through working together, our non summer programs, our guest groups, camper families, and members of the ministry team.
 
So essentially, camp to me is building relationships, learning about others, helping others, while keeping Christ at the center of it all.

​- Colleen Johnson, Office Manager

Bethelwoods.  Where do I start?  Bethelwoods is a sacred place where I can step out of the real world and step into a place that provides calm and peace.  Bethelwoods as a child, a camp counselor and a mom provide me different experiences but in all of these roles, I find peace and comfort when I make the left turn into the camp driveway.  I cling to childhood memories with my church family and to memories I made as a camp counselor.  I cling to hope that my child will experience Bethelwoods as a child just as I did and hold those memories near and dear to her heart as well.


I remember coming to camp as a child with my church family.  We had countless church retreats here.  We’d play games, tell stories over meals, enjoy worship at the campfire, and even annoy our parents to take us canoeing into the lake.  One fall, a dad agreed to take us canoeing.  We got to the middle of the lake, he took our paddles, and then began singing to us.  Thirty years later, we still talk about how we never asked him again to take us canoeing.  I have fond memories of camp with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and church friends.


The summer between my junior and senior year of college, I worked as a camp counselor at Bethelwoods.  The following summer I was a unit coordinator for a short stint at camp.  While I always loved camp as a child, this was going to be a stretch for me.  When I heard I got the job, I have to admit I was a bit nervous.  I had no clue how to build a campfire and what if these people actually wanted me to sleep in the covered wagons and actually take a group of kids hiking and tent camping?  This was going to get me out of my comfort zone and require me to share my faith with children and even other camp counselors.  After a summer of being stretched spiritually and getting out of my comfort zone in other areas, I must admit, this was one of my favorite summer adventures.  I have such fond memories of my time as a counselor.  I got to see the opening of the new swimming pool.  I was used as a counselor most weeks but also got to lifeguard some as well.  I made friendships that even continue to this day.  And yes, I even learned to build a campfire AND enjoyed taking campers on tent camping excursions during the week.


After college, I got the opportunity to serve on the ministry board for Bethelwoods.  This was a neat time to see the other side of camp.  I got to see how decisions were made for camp.  While on the board, I got to see camp start the process of adding new cabins, help make decisions for summer camp options and create more friendships.
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This summer, I got the opportunity to introduce Bethelwoods to my daughter through family camp.  While 2020 has been a  very different year for everyone, I am so thankful Bethelwoods offered this option for my family.  Emma Grace still talks about things we did at Bethelwoods.  She talks about twin Lexi and the “other big kids”.  Emma Grace has even told people that when she turns five in April, she’s going to big camp without her mommy and daddy.  However, she has invited our extended family, her preschool, and daycare to come to family camp on the weekends when adults are allowed.  ☺ To see Bethelwods begin to invest in my child warms my heart.  To see the camp seed be planted and her faith be poured into and fostered makes my mom hear smile.  Some parents would call me crazy to let my child go spend a week with a bunch of college kids at camp.  However, Bethelwoods, to me, is such a sacred place that has shaped my faith and life as a child, young adult, and mom that I will not think twice about sending Emma Grace there each summer.

​- Katherine Crawford Dix