“Building Bridges-Connecting Communities” is the theme for this year’s Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association and Campfire Collective Annual Conference to take place at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas from Nov. 12-17.
When children and those who are young at heart have the chance to step outside their regular experiences to enjoy a week or so at a Presbyterian camp or conference center or a sister organization, “it can open us up to so many possibilities for our faith and our spirituality, for connecting with God and one another in Creation around us.”
For many of the participants at last week’s Shaping Our Story Conference, this was their first in-person gathering since the pandemic began 20 months ago.
In elementary school, Natarsha Sanders’ favorite story was The Three Little Pigs. But then she heard the story from the perspective of the Big Bad Wolf.
Gina Yeager-Buckley came away from her experience coaching the Presbyterian Youth Workers Association (PYWA) cohort for the Office of Christian Formation dramatically changed.
During his Wednesday keynote for the “Gathering as One” online conference of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, the Rev. Dr. Jason Brian Santos managed to compare two experiences that seem very different: a week-long immersion into the contemplative Taizé community and a week at one’s favorite Presbyterian church camp or conference center.
The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour avant-garde film wasn’t well-received back in 1967. But its iconic status and concept proved stunningly successful in the middle of a 2020 pandemic.
In a normal year Crestfield Camp & Conference Center would be the summer home for more than 600 youth campers and nearly 3,000 conference and retreat attendees.
But 2020 has been anything but normal.
Like most organizations, PC(USA)-affiliated camp and retreat centers were blindsided by the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has swept through the country and world over the past several months. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders struck the very heart and infrastructure of summer camp and retreat resident ministries. But amidst it all, associate for Christian Formation Brian Frick — who has oversight of PC(USA)-affiliated camps and retreats — sees positive outcomes for 2020 that hopefully carry over into 2021.
