A Theological Rationale for United Church Camping

"We are not alone, we live in God's world"

These opening words from A New Creed help us to remember. They help us remember that God is present in our world. They help us remember that wherever we look, wherever we live, wherever we walk, and wherever we meet people, we meet God. As the church, we have an amazing opportunity to help people recognize God in the world around us. When a church takes this opportunity seriously, everything about its way of being invites people into an experience of the Holy.

Church camping is one place where this ideal can come close to being fully realized. At camp, people of various ages and stages gather to live together in community. They eat together, cook and clean together, work and learn together, fight and laugh together. They swim in lakes, gather around fires, walk in woods and sit in grass. In the faces of those around them, in the magnificence of the nature which surrounds them, in the stillness of quiet moments alone and in the struggles and joys of community, people meet God.

United Church camping is ministry. It is a ministry which touches thousands of children, teens, young adults and adults every year. It is a ministry which, as the church, we must celebrate and support.

Camping is also a ministry that the church must take very seriously. If camp is to be a place where people meet God, it must be a place where they feel nurtured, valued and safe. The church has an obligation to ensure that campers and staff are offered an environment free from any type of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional and theological. It is the church's obligation to ensure that camp facilities meet all safety standards. It is the church's obligation to ensure that staff is well trained and able to care for campers responsibly and lovingly. And it is the church's obligation to ensure that campers are offered quality Christian education programmes, which are consistent with United Church ethos.

On the road to Emaus, Jesus walked with two friends who thought him to be a stranger. As the day drew to a close, they invited him to stay with them and eat. Before they ate, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it for them. In that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. In our camping ministries, people recognize Jesus. The church cannot ignore such an important ministry. When people can gather together to share bread in an environment of safety, love and respect, people meet God.