I had the privilege of being theme leader and chaplain for the Jr. Coed camp at Camp Artaban
on Gambier Island this past week. It has been a blast!


Leading up to it, I thought long and hard about the theme and the one thing I would want these
kids (and leaders) to walk away with.


Finally, it came to me. I wanted them to know that God is with them, God is with us.
Together we looked at the story of Jesus, Emmanuel – God-with-us – to begin imagining what
that might mean.


To help, we had a manatee, of course, called Emmanuel (Manny Manatee.)
So, we celebrated Christmas on Monday and learned about the word “Incarnation.” We learned
that the Christmas story is a love story between God and the world.


On Tuesday, we looked at the life and teachings of Jesus, in particular one of Jesus’ favourite
activities – eating. We asked, ‘who is God-with-us with?’ We saw that Jesus, Emmanuel, was
often with people who were on the outside, bringing them in.


On Wednesday we talked about Good Friday. We looked at God-with-us on a cross and thought
about what that might mean. We learned that in the cross, even though it might be confusing
and sad, we can see that God is with us even in our most difficult circumstances. We know that
even when we feel like we are far from God, God is still with us.


Thursday was Easter and we celebrated together that God is with us and is making all things
new.


Finally, on Friday we marked Pentecost. We learned that God-with-us is indeed with us, and in
us, filling us up, through the power of the sometimes-mysterious Holy Spirit, to give us energy
to love, serve, give and forgive.


I am so grateful for this week, where I am sure I learned more from the kids about the goodness
and grace of God than they ever learned from me. I am so grateful for places like Camp
Artaban, where young people (and grown-ups!) can get away and experience intentional
Christian community at its best, playing and praying, learning and growing, singing and
swimming, in a fun, safe, compassionate space.


Thanks be to God!


CG+