Jump out of your comfort zone at Peace Camp
Have you ever been in a place, space or community where you have been encouraged to try something new? Have you been challenged to take risks and leap out of your comfort zone? Have you tasted the confidence that comes with mastering new skills? At summer camp, youth often have the opportunity to take these…
Silver Lake takes steps to deepen faith formation
How can we deepen Christian faith formation at camp? In wrestling with this question, the leadership team at Silver Lake Mennonite Camp, located near Sauble Beach, Ont., launched a new initiative last summer to take its longstanding faith-building tradition to another level. The team created a new position called “spiritual life coordinator” and hired David…
A special faith-based community
Attending Ontario Mennonite Music Camp at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., has benefitted me in ways that I never could have imagined when I registered in 2012. I made some incredible friendships and developed important life skills in my two weeks at camp. I was pretty nervous going into Music Camp, being a…
A front-row seat
A highlight of each summer at the Shekinah Retreat Centre near Waldheim, Sask., is the coffee house during our senior-teen camp for ages 15 to 18. Campers come out of their shell and display talents that we didn’t know they had. It is a special time of vulnerability. Coffee House 2016 was highlighted by a…
Peace Camp 2016 was a huge success!
Conrad Grebel University College’s sixth annual Peace Camp was an opportunity to inspire young lives, strengthen community ties and make peace happen in Waterloo Region. The Peace Camp 2016 theme was “Peace in action,” with the goal of showing campers that whatever their interests may be—whether art, music, math, engineering, business or even fashion—they can…
‘I can’t wait for summer’
The sun is shining through the tall trees today at Camp Valaqua near Water Valley, Alta., and the a hint of spring is in the air. This time of year brings hiring, planning and anticipation into our little corner of the camp world. Sometimes it is tough to keep track of why we work at…
The beauty in difference
I’m an archetype. My family immigrated to Canada when I was 6, and while I went to school, my parents worked tirelessly to support me. They uprooted their lives in hope of a better tomorrow for their child. My story is that of millions of immigrant children in Canada and around the world. At 10,…
‘So supported’
The summer of 2016 was one the most memorable summers of my life. When the opportunity to work as a camp counsellor first came up, I was admittedly a little apprehensive. Having never counselled before, I was unsure of what to expect. What I experienced, however, was nothing short of spectacular. Although it’s likely been…
Camping ministry a common thread for AMBS students
What do 10 of the 33 first-year students at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) have in common? A background as staff members at Mennonite camps and retreat centres. Scott Litwiller of Hopedale (Ill.) Mennonite Church is one of the 10. Litwiller has a bachelor of arts degree in biblical and theological studies from Canadian Mennonite…
Deep in the marrow: Silver Lake Mennonite Camp
I never went to camp as a kid because growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan seemed sufficiently uncivilized that I didn’t need to spend another week or two sleeping in a forest. My children, though, aren’t me: they’re growing up in a city, where they rarely see the sun set or the stars shine,…
