On Monday morning I sat down at the breakfast table while the house was still quiet, coffee in hand, and a blank piece of paper staring back at me. I picked up a pen and started writing down the questions that have been percolating over the past weeks, mapping them with arrows and squiggles, circles and numbers. Question marks punctuated the page. So. Many. Questions.
Henry, my five-year-old, woke up some time later, and joined me at the table. He sat there, looking at my page of scribbles and lines and question marks. “I’m asking a lot of questions,” I shared with him. He quietly got up and retrieved his notebook (recently purchased to fill with the “stories” he’s been writing.) I checked on him a few minutes later to find his page full of ? ? ? – Or something resembling a question mark. “I’m working on my questions, too” he stated, then got back to work.
Even Henry seems to get that we’re living with the questions these days.
At Camp Friedenswald, as we sit with the questions raised by our current global reality, we are committed to maintaining and living into our core values. Through today’s lens these values seem to take on new meaning:
Peace: we embrace the peace of Jesus and encourage healthy daily interactions that lead to an earnest love for the world and
Stewardship: we care for the resources and relationships that are entrusted to Camp Friedenswald with a mind for the future
As we live into our values, we are committed to caring for the needs and well-being of our staff in these days of uncertainty; we are committed to doing what we can to care for the health of our camp community and broader world and making decisions that are in line with guidelines from the state and health authorities; and we are committed to ensuring that when the day comes for us to welcome you back to Camp Friedenswald, we will be here – ready as ever.
You may be wondering: what about summer camp? We wonder the same, and are committed to making a final decision by, if not before, May 1, as to whether we can safely move forward with the 2020 summer programs as scheduled.
Undoubtedly, there will be challenges – and questions – in the days ahead. We will need your support, encouragement, and shared wisdom, now and in the days ahead, more than ever. Keep our staff and their families in your prayers. Consider following us on Facebook for scenes and sounds from the Camp Friedenswald – you might find that sitting by the trickling spring restores your spirit on a difficult day.
The peaceful woods have been a source of solace for me these days. The early spring flowers, the peeping frogs, the promise of new life – even as the leaves from the fall still cover the path.
Be well, and stay healthy, Camp friends.
