Transforming the silence at Camp Cross
A few feet of snow, a chilling breeze, absolute silence . . . . Hiking into Camp Cross last February to shovel snow off the pontoon boat, Camp’s beauty seemed isolated, singular, and alone. Months later, walking through a camp settling into the quiet of fall, I cannot help but feel behind it the vibrancy of the community that supports it. Camp’s story this year was truly that of a community stepping up and making things happen at the camp they love.
From the incredible turn out for Labor of Love in May, Camp Cross has been blessed this season with hundreds of people of all ages volunteering their time to make Camp happen. In May and June, folks braved the flooded parking lots and beaches to do more work than we had done at the end of staff training in 2007. On top of that, a couple of weeks later folks even came out to clean up our beach after the flood waters receded. This meant our staff had more time to train and prepare the innovative and creative programs for the summer once they got here.
The amount of time given to Camp Cross this summer goes far beyond just the folks who came up and labored with us. We had volunteers in the kitchen week after week pumping out meal after meal for our ravenous campers, parents and clergy spending hours on the road making sure our campers got to Camp, and counselors that took on new challenges both in leading the campers and taking care of big projects around the property.
The Camp Cross community has also truly stepped up to the plate in their financial support. Churches from around the Diocese raised over $11,000 in scholarship funds for campers from their own congregations and others. Holy Trinity, Wallace, wasn’t discouraged by the lack of camper-aged children in their congregation; they raised scholarship money so the impact of their congregation’s unique youth ministry could be spread across the Diocese.
Our community also jumped in to help Camp in its time of need, whether it was replacing broken speakers or the thousands of dollars given by parents and friends during our closing lunches; people went out of their way to support Camp as a transformative force in our lives.
The Camp Cross community has done something incredible in transforming their individual talents into actions truly contributing to the over-all transformative power of Camp. I saw it in St. Paul’s, Kennewick, which sent 13 kids to one session, in the individuals whose warm personal invitations to their friends and family filled our camps, and in the line dancing classes at Labor Day Family Camp. I saw it in everything from the creative and engaging formation and worship by our Camp leaders and clergy to the chainsaw lessons that helped us clear trails all across our 107 acres. And I saw it in our 42 counselors, who not only used their talents to lead and nurture our youth, but also showed their leadership by doing everything from dishes to digging gutters for run-off.
Now, when I walk around, I don’t feel alone at Camp. In every trail, dish, and building I can feel the efforts and passion from the thousands around our Diocese and beyond who have supported this place in an incredible array of ways in 2008. We could not have been the welcoming, transformative force in so many hundreds of people’s lives this summer without your support. Thank you – and come join us at Camp next year!
