This is the third summer I will spend as the director at Spirit in the Pines Camp. I know by now that the days and weeks are long, but honestly I could not be more excited and hopeful for what is to come.
Ironically, my parents never sent me to camp. But like many people, I still had a very formative experience with outdoor ministries; mine came as an entering freshman at Wheaton College on a two week student hiking and canoeing trip. My memories of that trip still feed me today, which is why I can say without any doubt that every single week at Spirit in the Pines Camp is one that changes lives forever.
This is why I am so passionate about growing our camp scholarship fund. We want more kids to receive the gift of a week of camp. We want to give them an experience where they realize that they are uniquely gifted and called by God and that community can be done differently. It can actually model the unconditional love and acceptance that we find in our faith.
Life is hard; no one escapes that, but love really does go with us the whole way. Camp is a place where we can catch a glimpse of that through each other’s campfire stories and affirming words. We know kids who go to camp have a much higher chance of engaging their faith in community for a lifetime. So please join me in this incredible ministry in any way you can! Yes, summer is off and running, but it is never too late to get involved with camp at Spirit in the Pines Camp.
You can give a small gift to our scholarship fund by going to standrewlu.org/giving, clicking on online giving, and then camp. You can also come to camp or volunteer!
Typically, a handful of openings remain in all of our sessions, including our family camp program on the week ends. For easy reference, we keep our current openings up to date at spiritinthepinescamp.org/current-openings.
There are volunteer opportunities both at camp and here at St. Andrew. Our bus send-offs on Sunday mornings are always lively, and extra hands are more than welcome. Onsite, we are always happy to have someone volunteer in the kitchen for a week or weekend.
The best part is you get to hang out on our beautiful lake with us with down time to relax. If you are interested in volunteering, just send an email to campingministry@standrewlu.org.
Finally, one of the best things you can do is to extend an invitation to kids in your orbit who might love coming to camp! We are working hard to build our camp scholarship fund so that any kid who wants to attend camp can do so.
So take a moment to think about the kids in your life—maybe it’s your grandkids, your neighbors, or other friends in your kids’ friend group—and take a risk and extend that invitation. Everyone who is a part of our camp community now was invited for the first time once. We are looking forward to an in credible summer, and we hope yours is fabulous, too!
Sarah Blasing
Outdoor Ministry & Youth Leadership Director