The four seasons of
By Megan Brandsrud
camp S
For more information on outdoor ministries, visit
www.elca.org/camps or
www.lomnetwork.org.
been growing over the years,” said Don Johnson, executive director of Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, an organization for camp and retreat
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www.thelutheran.org
ummer has always been a busy time for camps, hosting hun- dreds of kids at a time where
days can be spent swimming, hiking or singing around campfires. But what happens when fall rolls around and kids have to swap their swim- suits for textbooks? Camp directors just lock the cabins and kick back until Memorial Day, right? Not quite. For a majority of ELCA outdoor ministries, the school year marks a season full of retreats and community
and congregational outreach. “Winter programming has really
center leaders. “Back in the 60s there were very few camps that were doing year-round programming, but now more and more camps have been improving their accommodations and all of their facilities in ways that make winter programming a very comfortable experience.” Outdoor ministries aren’t just
for the young anymore, and the school year can be a time for the young at heart to enjoy what camps have to offer. “Te outdoor ministry experience
is such a moving and life-impacting experience,” Johnson said. “Tose who experienced it when they were younger grew into adults and were very seriously asking for the camp they went to in the summer to provide opportunities for them to experience camp as adults.” Johnson said the move to year-
round programming, while some- times a necessary financial choice,
Mir Youngquist-Thurow, environmental education director, inspects a gathering bowl for macro invertebrates with a student during an ACE Education class, a program of Agapé + Kure Beach Ministries in Fuquay Varina, N.C.
was made to expand mission: “[It] came as outdoor ministry organiza- tions strived to live more fully into their mission, which is to provide faith formation and church leader- ship formation programs for all people and to do that in a setting apart from your normal routine.”
Camp in congregations For some outdoor ministries that means taking what their camp has to offer on the road. During the school year, Metigoshe Minis- tries in Bottineau, N.D., takes its “Metigoshe in Motion” program to congregations. “Te program brings the giſts of
camp ministry to a congregational context to provide affordable and sustainable ministry support,” said Jon Halvorson, executive direc-
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