Presbytery of Coastal Carolina – Summer Program at Camp Monroe

Sixth Week with Campers

Well summer camp is over but there is still a lot of hot weather ahead! The camping season went all too quickly and everyone was sorry that it had to end. There were a few minor problems but nothing that couldn’t be handled with a few small changes in procedure, etc. As I told staff on Friday night, God smiled on me and blessed me with a great group of people to work with. Actually here is a picture of that great group:

They all look happy and they truly are. Lyndsey is not in the picture because she took it and I’m not there because it was Robert’s week to be at camp. He is the one with the gray hair. If Jon took off his cap then he would be the one without any hair. Mildred is the one with the apron and Jennifer, her assistant in the kitchen is to her right.

Oh, I’ll just go ahead and introduce all of them. Starting from the left on the back row is Trey with Ian hanging on to him. Next is Erin followed by Michael (program director), Robert (lifeguard), Kris, Cassie (lifeguard), Venicecia “V” hanging onto Robert, Rebekah, Andy with Fredy (from Guatemala) on his shoulders and Bridget (horse wrangler). From the left on the second row are Michelle, Jennifer and Mildred. Behind Mildred is Ellen. In front of Robert is Kate (program director) and next to Robert are Andrew (Kate’s brother) and Jon. In front of Andrew is Joseph. Well this gets us to the ones seated on the porch. Starting from the left is Louie (from Namibia), Tony, Jamie, Laura (lifeguard) and finally Kasey. So when you meet them on the street please remember to say “Thank You!” Well so much for the introductions! I hope that the next camp director has a staff that is just as responsive and committed as this group.

We, along with members of the Outdoor Ministry Committee, spent Friday night at the Old Laurel Hill Church celebrating the summer. A good time was had by all! Many thanks to the women of the church for preparing a wonderful meal and to Howard Whitehurst for volunteering the church to host our event!

This summer yielded a number of firsts. Among those are the Commissioning Service at the beginning of the summer program and this celebration at the end of the camping season. Both of these were bonding events – not only for the staff but for all involved in the camp ministry. Here is a picture from the Friday night event:

You may be wondering about this week’s campers! Well I didn’t get to camp until late Thursday night so I really don’t have any pictures to share other than the one at the end of this Blog. Robert didn’t report any problems and I can report that there weren’t any campers left over by the end of Friday afternoon. We did have a few reports that campers did not receive Bunk1 notes sent by parents but the problems were minimal compared to past years. At this point, I am recommending that the camp continue to use Bunk1 services in the future.

I’m in the middle of writing a manual so the next Director will have a “How-to-do-Camp” document when she or he arrives on the scene. It won’t be complete but hopefully be a good place to start. Items covered include directions on: setting up the yearly camp program; getting fees approved; hiring staff; responding to sick children; and even items as mundane as how and where to get group pictures printed. There is always another item to add if I stop to think about the past several weeks. One item that is extremely important is the maintenance of the camp website. Ann and I have handled this during the past several months but we need input from others on content and presentation. If you have any comments, please don’t hesitate to contact Ann at annlocklear@presbycc.org.

Well I have been working on this Blog entry on and off for the last three days so I guess it is time to put it to bed. One thing that I have learned during the last eight months is how important the camps are to the Presbytery’s ministry. We can’t walk away from them but must use them to spread the word of Christ to our own and to the world. The reality is that we can’t continue to have our resources spread thin but trying to hang onto the past. The truth is that we can only afford one camp where we can focus our resources and as a result be more effective in ministry. As much as I love Kirkwood, it would be in our best interest to possibly spin that property off as a separate non-profit entity, much like what New Hope Presbytery has done with Camp Albemarle. We could also consider a long term lease with other non-profits such as the “Y”, maybe even selling it to a group who could create a county park in Pender County. After all, the county doesn’t have a satisfactory recreation facility and Kirkwood has the only semi-public pool in the area. This is one person’s opinion, one that I know will generate much discussion – if it does then I will know that somebody is actually reading these things. Now that I’ve stirred the pot, maybe it is time to say good-bye. It has been fun, educational and I think that I haven’t risen to the level of my own incompetence (aka: The Peter Principle).

Bob

Here is the group that participated in the last week of camp: