So Much Sweetness

by Rev. Kay Ash

Despite the hot weather, we finished our last children’s camp of the summer entitled “Be A Force For Good:  People Camp.”  Our goal for this camp was to visit with and love the people of this church.  Each day went like this:  in the morning we played outside (which is the only time of day cool enough to do so); next, we gathered in the kitchen and made sweets from scratch; while our creations cooled, we told Bible stories, put on costumes and acted them out; after lunch, we went visiting; at the end of the day, we returned to church for parent pick-up.

 On Monday we planned to make snickerdoodle cookies but ran into a challenge.  The gas line inspector was in the building that day, so, all the gas was turned off in the kitchen.  Special thanks to Ken Kelley and Mary Ann Climer for coming to our rescue and baking our cookies.  After lunch, we drove to the Villages of Dallas to visit Eugenia Williams. We had such a wonderful time!  At first we met in the chapel and shared our story of “The Good Shepherd” which is based on Psalm 23, then, we sang some songs.  Finally, we shared our snickerdoodles with everybody and talked.   Interestingly, we discovered that Eugenia attended Rosemont Elementary when she was a young girl and most of our camp students currently attend Rosemont Elementary.  The kids were a bit confused, however, that Eugenia’s teachers are no longer teaching!

 On Tuesday, we wised up and made no bake chocolate and oatmeal cookies since the gas was still off.  As the cookies cooled in the refrigerator, we learned and acted out the story of the Prodigal Son.  The youth room was decorated in two halves:  one side contained crepe paper straw to represent the farm and the other side had streamers for a party.  As expected, our re-enactment dissolved into silliness as some of the pigs from the farm wandered into the party scene creating chaos!  Our plan was to take our skit to the local Fire Department, but the Chief called and said it was not a good day for a visit, so we ate our own chocolate oatmeal cookies and had extra play time.

 On Wednesday the gas came back on (yay!) so we made strawberry shortcake.  While the shortcake cooled, we learned and acted out the story of the Good Samaritan.  The robbers seemed to take their job very seriously and the Priest and Levite were extremely pious.  After lunch we drove over by Methodist Hospital to visit with Dwight Lind.   We had such a delightful time doing our skit, eating strawberry shortcake with too much whipped cream and learning about Dwight’s ancestors through the pictures on his wall.  Nobody wanted to leave because we were having such a good time. 

 On Thursday the kids requested that we make brownies and at the last minute, decided our brownies needed rainbow sprinkles.  Wow, those brownies had LOTS of sprinkles!  The story was a summary of the other stories we told throughout the week with a focus on loving and serving others. As the now crunchy and heavily sprinkled brownies cooled, we decorated the youth room for a party.  Battery operated candles set a festive mood and streamers brought color to the walls.  After lunch, many of our church seniors arrived for the party.  What we did not know at the beginning was that they had not been together in person for several years because of the pandemic.  What a great way to celebrate and come back together!  To begin, a few of the campers read Psalm 23; we acted out “The Good Shepherd,” and finished with a few songs.  Afterwards, the kids did a great job serving the brownies and ice cream and when everybody had their fill, we played games together.  What a magical afternoon! 

 People Camp was so very sweet.  The kids, the seniors, the hugs and the ever present Holy Spirit, all of it filled with sweetness.  What a perfect end to a perfect first summer of camps.

Be a Force for Good: Animal Camp

by Rev. Kay Ash

With one more camp to go, I want to tell you about Be A Force for Good:  Animal Camp which took place last week.  We had a wonderful group of 1st through 4th grade students, most of them attend Wednesday Night Live.  They all seemed to know each other deeply from the neighborhood, some go to school together, and some are related.  Each and every day of camp was filled with laughter and silliness!

In the mornings we played early (to beat the heat): soccer, badminton and many make-believe beauty performances.  I passed out lots of band aids and snacks, they guzzled gallons of water.  As always, there were Bible stories, deep questions, prayers and blessings.  I’m sure it is no surprise that we shared the story of Noah and the ark filled with all the animals.  Here are the questions that came up:  Is the story real or more than real (half thought one way, half thought the other)?  How long is a cubit?  Why did God make it rain?  Is God a person?  How does the Trinity work?  Did it rain for 40 days or 150 days?  We talked and talked and then talked some more. 

We also shared the story of John the Baptist, who was wild like an animal and lived in the wilderness.  I think the kids were grossed out by the idea of eating grasshoppers, but the honey was tempting.  When God spoke during Jesus’ baptism, the kids discussed the voice of God for a long time.  Do you hear the voice of God through your ears, or do you hear it in your soul?  Was God’s voice loud and booming or soft and comforting?  Does anybody actually hear a voice?  At the end of each story, they always prayed that summer should last forever and that they never want to go back to school again.  Blessings are demanded and they constantly want extras.  These children wrestle so deeply with their faith. 

All that said, we have not gotten to the best parts of Animal Camp yet!  On Tuesday, we went to the Dallas Zoo.  Thank you, thank you to the amazing Corey McSpadden who was an absolute rock star zoo guide.  Having worked at the zoo before, Corey always knew which way to go, many of the animal names and details, and was consistently encouraging the children on what turned out to be a blazing hot day.  First thing, the kids wanted to ride the carousel and then on to the flamingos.  The children’s petting zoo was a big hit and a great place for us to cool off while eating a snack and turning cartwheels.  The tigers were awesome, and the kids loved the snakes.  My favorites were the Texas horned lizards that I used to see when I was a little girl.  After lunch we saw the elephants and luckily, the lions were leaning up against the glass asleep, which gave us a chance to compare our hands to their giant paws.  After the lions, it got too hot to continue.  We need to go back to the zoo soon to see all the parts we missed.

Special thanks to Suzanne Braddick who brought her certified therapy dog on Wednesday.  We learned so much about all the behaviors a therapy dog needs to pass their test and become certified.  Each of the children got to give commands and then dog treats, lucky dog!

On Thursday we traveled to Dog and Kitty City, a no kill animal shelter run by the City of Dallas Humane Society.  What is different about Dog and Kitty City is that many of the cats freely roam the facility.  We helped to socialize the cats by sitting with them, petting them, reading books to them and by sharing the cat toys we made (baby socks filled with cotton balls and catnip).  The kids took turns in the kitten room and gently sat with those very senior cats who looked like they had used up 8 of their 9 lives.  Surprisingly, they were having so much fun, they hardly noticed the play yard full of puppies!  Once we got outside, the kids squealed with glee as they picked up the plump and fuzzy little puppies.  Wagging tails, slurpy kisses, sweet puppy breath and a small wading pool filled with water, what could be better? 

Small group camping this summer has truly been amazing!  Even with The Kessler School moving out and all the expansion construction going on right now, somehow it feels like Kessler Park United Methodist Church is the luckiest church in the world.  The pictures tell it all. 

Best Horse Camp Ever!

by Rev. Kay Ash

Last week we had our first camp of the summer, a one-day horse camp at the amazing River Ranch Educational Charities location close to Bonton Farms. What we experienced was truly unexpected and magical – this was not your typical tired, old, hoof-shuffling afternoon. We truly learned from and bonded with the animals.

With an address still in Dallas (who knew it was so close), River Ranch sits on 300 acres of City of Dallas property, some of which is partially shaded with forest, lots of pasture and part of the site is fenced off with active archaeological digs (something about Davy Crockett).  The facilities are lovely, spacious, and clean. That said, the most important part of our experience involves the River Ranch staff.

To begin, nine rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade girls (mostly from Wednesday Night Live) learned from ranch-hand Isaiah and his favorite horse, Santana, about all the different parts of a horse and all the parts of a saddle.  Then, the girls were divided into pairs and matched with a ranch hand and a horse. They truly practiced saddling a horse, over and over again until they understood. They learned just how heavy a saddle really is! They even tied their own knots, adjusted their own stirrups, and found out that horses can sometimes be uncooperative when it is time to put on a bridle. 

When the introductory learning portion was completed, the girls were divided into two groups. The first group put on helmets and led their horses to the mounting blocks. Over and over again the children learned how to get onto a horse and importantly, the soft way to hold onto the reins. While still in the large arena area, the girls got to play red light/green light with their horses which taught them how to start and stop their horses in gentle ways. Everybody got individual attention, everybody was given plenty of time to become comfortable. The horses were so empathetic – they mirrored the energy level of the girls and easily responded to the girls’ directions. At last, ranch hand Rafael (30+ years with Dallas Parks and Recreation) lead the girls out for a trail ride through the forest. The picture above is when they returned.

The second group was taken to the barn where they got to pet all the animals:  sweet wiggle tailed piglets, very patient chickens, goats that behaved more like faithful dogs and lots more horses and ponies. They learned how to hold in their thumbs when feeding a horse some oats and how goats always want more food. Ranch hand Rodeo then gave each girl a pony to lead out into the pasture. Letting the ponies eat grass, the girls asked questions and watched a new baby horse do zoomies all around us and then quickly ran back to his mom. Lastly, we bathed and brushed the ponies – there is nothing more lovely than young girls brushing horses, they did not want to leave!

After the two groups switched, we sat down for lunch and discussion. Several of the River Ranch staff joined us. We talked about the story of Adam and Eve, how God gave Adam “dominion” over the animals of the earth. I believe the girls came away from the day with an expanded understanding of what “dominion” means.  It was obvious that a 90-pound elementary girl had only limited “dominion” over her 1000-pound horse.  Instead, we redefined “dominion” as care taking and partnerships. The girls imagined that they were dancing together with their horses instead of controlling them. 

All in all, horse camp was an amazing success with success defined as a time of learning and empowerment.  Many thanks to the wonderful River Ranch staff who took such terrific care of our children. And, especially, thanks to the girls for being brave.