Wildfire near Camp Valaqua in July causes concern but no evacuation
When Camp Valaqua director Jon Olfert received a text on July 23 from a friend working with Alberta Wildfire saying that there was a three-acre fire 25 kilometres northwest of the camp, he didn’t think much of it. Olfert, who also works as deputy fire chief with the local Water Valley Fire Department, knew three…
Camp really matters
The smell of pancakes on the griddle, the roar of laughter while trying new activities, and the joyful noise of campfire singing are forever etched in my heart. Summer camps and camp programming have long been a passion of mine. Although I didn’t grow up as a die-hard camper, camp-related experiences in my childhood, youth…
Summer camping returns to Squeah
After a too-quiet 2020, when summer camps were cancelled due to the pandemic, Camp Squeah of Hope, B.C., is once again a place to hear the sounds of children’s laughter and families gathering this summer. This summer, a modified schedule of “Go Beyond” day camps, family camps and self-contained family camps has replaced the traditional…
COVID camp closures
Camp Squeah of Hope, B.C. has cancelled its 2020 camping season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a May 15 statement, camp director Rob Tiessen wrote, “In order to best ensure the health of our campers and staff, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our 2020 summer camp session. This applies to all…
Willowgrove guarantees camp programming this summer
Before COVID-19, southern Ontario not-for-profit Willowgrove offered summer camps, outdoor education and seasonal events in Ontario from its Willowgrove Day Camp and Outdoor Education Centre in Stouffville and Fraser Lake Camp in Bancroft. In order to maintain its mission but move its work online, Willowgrove has created Camp @ Home, a unique online camp experience…
Can church be more like camp?
Every winter, I hear a radio advertisement for a back-to-the-woods summer children’s camp in Ontario. The ad closes with the tagline, “You send us your child, and we’ll send you back a new one.” It’s a great slogan. It points out that renewal and transformation occur when people are pulled away from their daily routines…
Chesley Lake accordion
An accordionist serenades a literary society meeting at Chesley Lake Camp in Ontario, in 1949. Chesley Lake was the first Mennonite church camp in Ontario and one of the first in Canada. Literary societies were common in Ontario Mennonite churches at the time, as social outlets and avenues for artistic expression. In today’s fast-paced world,…
Journey of a beloved camp treasure
Moose Lake was one of three camps under the umbrella of Camps with Meaning (CwM), Mennonite Church Manitoba’s camping ministry. It opened in 1957 and closed in September 2017, in order to create a more sustainable model for the regional church’s camping ministry. The picnic shelter was built in 2008 with funds raised by the…
Stepping outside the comfort zone
I had the pleasure of leading the Leaders in Training (LIT) and Advanced Camper Experience (ACE) programs at Hidden Acres last summer. Both programs offer youth a chance to further develop leadership skills, study the Bible, build community, spend time outdoors, and learn the ins and outs of serving at camp. Taking on the role…
Witnessing God at Camp Assiniboia
As I prepare to enter my eighth summer as a camp staffer, I have an overwhelming abundance of memories to reflect on. From childhood weeks at Camp Moose Lake and the pubescent discoveries at Camp Koinonia, all the way to last summer, when I fell into awkwardly new territory to direct at Camp Assiniboia. I…
