Déjà vu, Maybe?

by Rev. Kay Ash

I missed you in worship a few weeks ago while I was at Lake Bridgeport serving 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students from the North Texas UMC churches at a gathering called “Camp Bible.”  I wish you had been there; the photo above is just a glimpse.  So much about that experience was familiar:  200 acres of absolutely gorgeous land, teaching a new group of kids how to sing the “Superman” prayer, too much coffee, brand new Bibles and hours of Bible conversations until we lost our voices – a familiar list.  However, before any of our team could settle into cozy déjà vu experiences of days gone by, the realities of camp life during a pandemic became quickly evident.  

I think it would be fair to say that this year’s Camp Bible was the most difficult camp to orchestrate logistically.  Normally we work hard to mix different kids from different churches so that they can make new friends.  This year, instead, groups of children stayed together in church “pods” and did not mix in close spaces.  Our challenge was to independently move all of the pods around the campsite without the pods bumping into each other, as our directing team sat up into the wee hours of the night before (why do we do that?) discussing movement patterns and completely redoing the schedule to make it all work. To be honest - we stayed up to worry.  We had so many Covid protocols in place to keep everybody safe, would the changes ruin our camping experience?  Would Camp Bible be so unrecognizable that it would not even be Camp Bible anymore?

Looking back and reflecting on that very short, very intense experience, it is hard to figure out why we were so worried.  God never fails to show up at camp.  In fact, spontaneous encounters with the Divine (“God moments”) were abundant, for sure, but somewhat different than in years past.  For instance, most of the children, parents and counselors had never been to Bridgeport before.  Folks that had never experienced the struggle to climb the hill to get to dinner, yet somehow discovered that hamburgers just taste better at camp.  Children that discovered the power of what it feels like to be free and safe and loved and respected by an entire conference of the United Methodist Church.  Truly, I had more parents pull me aside and try to find the words to explain how awe-filled their time at camp had been than any year before- parents that had never imagined what Camp Bridgeport does better than any other camp in our area:  intentional grace-filled, patient yet energized love of all ages. 

This coming Sunday, October 17th, we all have another opportunity for potential God moments, another chance to share in the awe that so often appears when young people lead us.  This Sunday diverse expressions of faithful congregations all over the United States will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Children’s Sabbath.  Children’s Sabbath was created by the Children’s Defense Fund under the guidance of Marian Wright Edelman.  Although the Fund is a non-profit organization that politically advocates in all areas that touch the lives of children, the Children’s Defense Fund has for many years partnered with churches/synagogues everywhere to educate and to empower folk in the ways we can collectively work towards the well-being of all children.  

I particularly appreciate and am honored to serve this congregation of Kessler Park for many reasons, one of which is your way of loving our young people and including them into the life of the church.  Different than my experience at Kessler Park, I have found that sometimes churches are ripe environments where the well-intentioned place children on a “future of the church” pedestal.  Comments of “aren’t they cute” in every church hallway, laughter at the funny things kids say during children’s sermons, putting children in a completely different building or hallway and designating it the “children’s area.”  Not that any of these things are wrong, we all love children and think they deserve specifically crafted religious education.  However, giggling at their cuteness then sending them away to learn is not all there is to the faith formation of young people.  Let’s be real, children are vulnerable and they have very little agency of their own yet to make decisions for their lives.  Therefore, to live into our baptismal covenants and to disciple children into the fullness of who they hope to become requires much from us:  our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness.  

Truthfully, the task is vast and the village needed to shepherd the children in our parish and in our world requires a mighty and courageous group.  I know that Kessler Park folk are up to the challenge, so let’s get together and shine a spotlight on the issues surrounding young people today.  Let’s finally let go of our yearning for those déjà vu experiences of church from years gone by and allow some young members of our church to lead us toward new and unexpected God moments together on the lawn or on line online in worship this week.  See you Sunday!