Invite and include: this camp is your Camp
Barak Obama, whatever your opinion of the candidate, has run a very unusual campaign. Like Howard Dean in 2004, he has built an incredible network of internet based support. Unlike Howard Dean, his campaign hasn’t fizzled out because of an inability to mobilize on the ground. Instead, his deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, explains, “(the) online support was only great if we could translate it into activity within (the) community.” And the candidate has, and his success has taken the country, and himself, by surprise.
As I continue to travel the Diocese and talk to more folks and congregations, I am energized by the incredible love and passion for Camp Cross that I find. People recall for me experiences of Camp from 70 years ago, write essays for me about Camp 50 years ago, and inspire me to work even more determinedly for this wonderful place. And as the excitement builds for the year at hand, I wonder what can be done to make this a year of passion that actively changes the communities we care about, a year of Obama instead of Dean.
So the question is, how this year can we mobilize the incredible energy and passion of the Camp Cross community so it becomes manifest as activity within our congregations and Diocese? For both Youth and Adults the first step is simple: participation and invitation.
Participation seems an obvious answer, but for adults around the Diocese it’s an often overlooked first step to supporting and developing the mission of Camp. Coming to Man Camp, Women’s Weekend, Days at the Lake or any of the Family Camps isn’t only a chance for personal retreat, it’s an opportunity to strengthen and energize the interconnectedness of our Diocese. Joining the Camp staff for Eucharist and brunch on Sundays, for the annual Open House, or even volunteering for a few hours or days, creates a sense of abundance and belonging
At Diocesan Convention, the excitement of meeting, learning from, and being in communion with other Episcopalians was palpable; Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies, commented on the spiritual connectedness of our Diocese. Camp Cross serves as another blessed meeting place for our Diocesan community, a place for us to get excited about the wider Episcopalian family we are part of, and get fresh perspectives on our faith and our congregations.
Invitation is just as important as participation. Not only is the invitation to Camp Cross a wonderful form of evangelism, of sharing the joy of our faith with those around us, it’s also a chance to deepen our connections with those close to us. An invitation to a young adult in your congregation is a great chance to demonstrate that you care about their faith, want them to have a home in your church, and want to be a mentor for their life journey. Even for me, a Camp veteran, such an invitation would be incredibly moving and affirming.
An invitation is also a chance to take responsibility for the relationships you have with other members of your congregation. There is someone in all our congregations that we don’t know as well as we want to, someone new and unsure, or someone who we struggle to connect with because of cultural or generational differences. Camp Cross gives us the chance to create a common experience in which a new spiritual friendship can be rooted. Don’t go another year wishing you got to know someone better, or wondering how to get them more involved in Church. Invite them to join you at Camp Cross to join you in something you love.
The passion we have for Camp is powerful and energizing. But passion without action can never be transformative and, like Howard Dean’s campaign, fizzles out. Barak Obama speaks with passion and hope, but he has also allowed people to translate that passion and hope into real action campaigning actively, one person at a time, for his vision.
I invite all of us to this year make time to come to Camp and extend the invitation to others, so that our passion and hope for Camp Cross can become the reality we continue to live in and celebrate come November.
