‘Hi, let’s go join the rest of the group’
Stepping off that bus for the first time can be scary; it can be a big deal. The minds of many are on the edge of uncertainty and fear. If those steps take you into the embrace of a healthy community that welcomes you as you are, some magical things can happen. The way I…
Assiniboia, Koinonia: Similar but different
Over the past few years, the structure of Mennonite Church Manitoba’s Camps with Meaning has undergone some major shifts. It has gone from a three-camp system to a two-camp model, running spring and summer camps at Assiniboia and Koinonia. • Camp Assiniboia, consisting of 40 hectares of Manitoba river-bottom forest and nestled in one of…
Rhythm and Song Camp breaks into rap
According to camp counsellor Laura Moolenbeek, Silver Lake Mennonite Camp’s first Rhythm and Song Camp was an incredible week for campers and staff. Seven- to 16-year-olds came with a huge range of musical experience. They brought a wide range of perspectives to each session. The boys cabin chose to write and perform a rap for…
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…
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…
Fun is a camp byproduct
The word “fun” is often used in association with camp but, from my perspective, fun is not the meat and potatoes of what happens at camp. Fun is the byproduct of an accepting community and doing silly, exciting and difficult things together. A young camper sat at the table with a flurry of craft supplies…
This ground is holy ground
This Ground is a collective that meets to work, worship and eat together in aid of Camp Assiniboia near Cartier, Man. “This ground, this is the place when we come here we are participating in worship just by looking up at these big trees and recognizing God’s greatness,” says Sandy Plett. Plett and her husband…
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…
‘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…
