Celebrate Kids & Youth!
The “Village” of Dearborn First UMC
We often say that to raise children or get much of anywhere in this world, that it takes a village. I know I am blessed that you have all been part of my village–helping to raise me, and now helping to raise my own children. And here at Dearborn First UMC, we have been the proverbial village for a lot of children over the years. It is so great to have made it to the point where we are a congregation ENCOURAGING kids to be seen AND heard, smiling at their sounds, supporting their enthusiasm, and even being okay with a little bit of, shall we say, light jogging in the church.
I loved seeing the video this morning of our children. They learn so much here in Sunday School and youth group—like the value of United Methodist snacks! I know that as much as my boys love a relaxing Sunday morning at home, they are always anxious to get to Sunday School and youth gatherings! This church supports kids learning about their faith in a way that is appropriate for them.
Can we say “YAY KIDS MINISTRY?”
Now try “YAY YOUTH MINISTRY!”
While we celebrate those ministry areas today, I wanted to make sure we also think about some other important villages we give kids through experiences at Christian camp, especially at Choir Camp where many of our Dearborn First kids and youth attend and I am blessed to lead.
Photo used with permission: Christie Brewster / Lake Louise Christian Community
Learning from God’s Creation
Our scripture today talked about the way animals and the Earth can teach us. This week we celebrated Earth Day and this church has had a history of caring for the Earth. We have participated in river cleanups, we have beautiful gardens, and we work to be good stewards of God’s creation.
God’s creation itself is part of the village that raises kids, especially at camp.
Take a peek at this picture of creation helping kids learn. This is a climbing tree at Lake Louise.
That climbing tree, growing undisturbed for so many years, embedded in nature, is a place where kids learn confidence. They learn teamwork. They learn perseverance.
They learn they can really DO hard things–with lots of safety precautions!
Photo courtesy of Christie Brewster; used wth permission
Look at this image of the night sky, taken from my cabin porch during Choir Camp. When we take our city-dwelling kids to Lake Louise for camp each summer, they get to see how great our amazing God can be by witnessing just how magnificent the night sky really is when you can TRULY see the stars.
And to think this picture doesn’t even really do it justice. It’s a lesson that God’s creation is uniquely suited to teach. Even if we don’t usually have talking fish at camp.
When this world is difficult to live within, when it feels like everything is out of place in our own lives, that night sky helps you know there is so much more to this world than what might be happening in that small moment. It’s a valuable lesson for kids to learn.
Can we say “YAY GOD’S CREATION!”
Okay you’re starting to act like campers….a little.
Learning from Community
One of my greatest gifts, that teaches me the most, is being the dean of Choir Camp.
Being a dean is a lot like being a camp counselor, it’s just being the counselor to EVERYONE at camp—every camper, and every adult. It means knowing what is happening next, but it is also knowing personalities and needs and being open to the spirit moving at camp.
It’s also leading in worship and dressing in….interesting ways. I sure don’t do it alone.
The counselors at Choir Camp are incredible. The counselors on our staff at Choir Camp counsel me and one another just as much as they counsel our kids. They teach everyone so much through their everyday actions.
Joe Richards, a rather wise Canadian Camp Director, wrote a beautiful piece called “Camp Counselor’s Manifesto” and several of these lines really resonated with me…
take a listen while you look for some other counselors you might recognize!
Choir Camp morning assembly.
Photo courtesy of Christie Brewster; used with permission.
Choir Camp Counselors. Photo courtesy of Christie Brewster; used with permission.
Alternative worship attire accepted! Photo courtesy of Christie Brewster; used with permission.
“Camp Counselor’s Manifesto” by Joe Richards
I am a summer camp counselor.
I believe in camp.
I believe in shorts, t-shirts and sandals.
I believe in singing at the table.
I believe everyone should know five games to play on a bus.
I believe in early morning dip (even if I don’t always go).
I believe that if you play with children you will stay childlike.
I believe that camp makes a difference in every camper’s life, as well as my own.
Camp is a place that I can get away from the rush of everyday life and back to the basics.
I come to camp for the campers, but also for myself.
Every camper is an individual and I need to treat them as such.
One method does not work with all campers.
I will strive to find the balance that will help me to see each camper as an individual
And help me to give them each the summer of their lives.
I will remember my favorite counselors and teachers.
By remembering I draw on the positives of these people to make myself into a better counselor.
I am the most important person at camp to my campers.
My campers will watch everything that I do and say this summer
So I want to do what is right and say what is good.
Camper see, camper do.
Camp is camp because of the people that are there.
I believe that every child should have an opportunity to attend camp at some point in their lives.
Camp is good, no camp is great—in fact, I believe camp is the best place to be.
I believe this is going to be the best summer yet.
Can you say “YAY COUNSELORS?!”
Lake Louise Choir Camp; Photo courtesy of Christie Brewster, used with permission.
You see, I DO believe camp is the best place to be.
At camp, kids get the chance to grow and work out their faith in discussions with other trusted adults, and with their peers. They get to see that being silly is OK–just like you did this morning! They get to see that faith can mean teaching your stuffed animals the basics of the faith because you really want to win clean cabin with a very church-camp appropriate bribe!.
They get to BE KIDS. Not to be cool, not to know everything, but to have questions. To ASK questions. To have answers they’ve heard about, but they just aren’t fully confident in.
At camp, they get to learn from other KIDS --kids of all ages, kids from different backgrounds and life experiences. Kids are part of one another’s village, always and everywhere, but especially at camp. We have seen the friendships, and indeed the relationships last a lifetime.
Kids inspire one another, kids teach one another, kids do amazing things. Just look at some of the brilliance they share with us during a family moment here! Can I get a YAY KIDS?!
Learning from Music
Another really amazing thing about Choir Camp in particular is the music.
You know how you can get a song stuck in your head?
Imagine if the song stuck in your head WASN’T Pink Pony Club or whatever else you just heard on a radio or in your spotify playlist.
What if the song was called “I Am Not Alone” and it talked about how God goes before me, He will never leave me?
What if the song was called “More Love” and it talked about how the world needs more love and less hate?
What if the song was called “Big House” and it described a house where the table is wide enough to always fit one more, where everyone is welcome and if they walk in broke then they walk out healed?
Believer’s Choir Rehearsal; Lake Louise Choir Camp.
Photo Courtesy of Christie Brewster, used with permission
These are the songs Choir Camp puts in kids heads and ears and, most importantly, hearts. So that when the day is tough, when the news is horrifying, when their friends don’t seem so friendly….there’s the chance that they remember God goes before them and will never leave them.
You see, the gift of music can be part of the village raising our kids too. It’s the reason hearing the doxology sung in a small, third grade little boy’s voice next to me on a communion Sunday morning fills my heart to overflowing.
How about a “YAY MUSIC?!”
Learning and Living Faith - Outside Church!
We do great things with kids in this church. We’ve done great things with and for kids in this church for generations.
But as some of you have heard me say lots of times before—-what happens at camp is like Sunday School on steroids. It is a place and space set aside in God’s creation, away from routines, away from home, away from many of our usual friends, a place where kids grow in independence and confidence in their own abilities to BE away and in their FAITH.
It is a place where the unconditional love of God is seen and felt and given and LIVED. And it changes their lives in ways we can only begin to dream of.
Celebrate Kids & Youth - Send them to Camp!
Today is a day to celebrate our kids and youth, and it’s also a day to celebrate the way that camp has changed some of their lives. I celebrate all of the ways this congregation has supported campers in the past and I’d love for you to do that again this year.
Many of our kids go to Choir Camp and it costs roughly $500 for a week. It’s not cheap….But it is life-changing. So let’s support kids in their faith development at camp today.
Sign up the kids that you know!
Support the youth of our church with scholarships!
Can you say YAY CAMP?!
Photo by Bill Gullo on Unsplash
So….Thank you for all of the ways you teach children in your midst.
Whether they are your children, your grandchildren, the neighbor kids, kids that are your peers because you are a kid yourself—each and every one of you in this room IS the village for kids.
You are LIVING, WALKING, BREATHING teachers everywhere you go that kids are present, whether you have a teaching degree or not.
Keep being that village, keep showing God’s love and care through all you do.
Can I get another YAY KIDS!? Amen.
About the Guest Speaker: Christie Brewster is a life-long member of Dearborn First UMC, and Dean of Choir Camp at Lake Louise Christian Community. Outside of church and camp, she teaches Kindergarten and raises her two sons, Tyler and Grant, with her husband, Greg.
