What is Camp?

Just got off the phone with a family asking, “What is camp?” How would you answer their question? #summercamp #camp #kidmin

— Sandy Kathleen (@sandykathleen) March 25, 2013

My office phone rang. I was almost taken back by the noise. I rarely get calls to my office phone, besides a few evangelical youth ministry organizations hoping to 'bring Jesus to my ministry' and a few pushy fundraising organizations that have to listen to my lie that 'we don't do fundraising.'

This time, the call was a little different. A woman had landed on the Facebook page of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. She was not new to the neighborhood, and she had two grandson's who were elementary age. She was to be their primary caregiver for the summer and was looking to find something to keep them busy. She noted that she was drawn into pictures on our Facebook page of kids at camp. But then came a question I was not prepared for. She asked in her soft voice, "What is camp?"

I can only imagine I echoed one of my professors who responseds to all questions by saying, "Yay, that's a qreat question." I was trying to buy some time. I should know this. I spent four summers working at two unique camping ministries, I have sent kids to camp for many years and by golly gee, I have two degrees in children, youth and family ministry.

It seemed like minutes passed by before I began to put together an answer, even though the clock on my phone proved me wrong. I began to share what happens at camp, from camps to songs to field-trips. This compassionate grandmother stopped me in my explanation. She asked again, but in a different way, 'What is so special about camp? Why should I bring my grandchildren to camp?'

I understood. And I tried again. She seemed to be content with my answer as I explained that camp is a place that young people can play, where they can find safety, and they are allowed to take risks. Camp gives us a place to share the Biblical narrative in a unique way. It establishes and fosters community between peers and other adults. It is a place that many find difficult to have the right words to explain to articulate, because it is often a place that we do not experience in our everyday lives, even though we should.

She then shared more about her life, and she looked forward to talking more as summer got closer.

I've been compelled by this conversation. I was grateful for her question, the why? that I challenge to ask of others, but has me step back when asked of myself.

I also wanted to know how others would answer. Here are some of my favorite Twitter responses to this question:

RT @sandykathleen: “What is camp?” My answer: time to disconnect, reconnect, find safety, take risks, and sing awesome songs #camp #kidmin
— Dawn Trautman (@UrbanNomadUSA) March 26, 2013

@sandykathleen the single most amazing thing and invaluable experience in all the world and it is not to be missed. How's that?
— Laura Twedell (@LauraAnne0912) March 25, 2013

@sandykathleen Great question! We are BIG camp fans around here =) It's all about experiencing awe.
— Vibrant Faith Min. (@vibrantfaith) March 25, 2013

Learn more about the experience of awe: Theology of Awe.

@sandykathleen A place to learn and grow in faith while being in community with others; a place to experince new things.
— Victoria (@vlhoppes) March 25, 2013

What would you add to the conversation?

You Have Prepared A Cross For Your Savior

O my people, O my church,
what more could I have done for you? Answer me.

I came to you in the least of your brothers and sisters
a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me,

but I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirty and you give me no drink
sick in prison and you did not visit me.

and you have prepared a cross for your Savior. 

We Call This Friday Good

We are here. We have arrived to the day we call Good Friday. Yet, what is Good Friday:

Palm Sunday and Maudy Thursday

Where are we on our Holy Week journey? This video from SparkHouse's curricula Holy Moly does a great job sharing: 

As a ridiculous sensory adult, these videos are just one of the ways I am looking to experience Holy Week with newness this year. 

We Rode On An Airplane

On Sunday, I listened to stories of elementary age student's recent travels. Some students have just returned from family vacation, while others are still waiting in anticipation of what spring break, that still seems like an infinity away, will be like.

Two siblings joined us in our haphazard circle. The older shared they went to Washington D.C. this past week. The younger of the two, exclaimed with sheer joy, 'We rode on an airplane.' Her arms shot out during her exclamation to make the wings of the plane. And off they went, complementing each other's stories of the trip, mostly surrounding the snacks their dad packed, Twizzler's to keep their ears from popping while landing, and how the houses looked like 'average-sized legos' from the sky. Others chimed in saying things like, 'I've been on an airplane before' or 'I ride them all the time.' After listening to more of this sibling pair's story, it became apparent this had been their first time on a plane, and maybe even the highlight of their trip to D.C.

I use to have that same excitement every time I rode an airplane. As soon as I was situated in my seat, I would make a mental list of every time I had taken a plane, including my first time, a family trip during Spring Break to Disneyland when I was in the first grade. Now, riding an airplane is no big deal. It serves as my main mode of transportation to see family, and most often the only way to partake in celebrations with friends from high school and college. I take airplanes to conferences and to explore new places. I take airplanes a lot.

I'm not sure the exact moment that airplanes became routine for me. That excitement I once had was gone. That mystery of whether my stomach would flip when we landed, now seems silly. I am even so use to airplanes that I have the ability to fall asleep before take off and not wake-up until I am tapped by the person next to me saying that we have landed.

So many places in my life, which I expect for many of you, have lost their mystery or have become too routine. One of those places for me is Holy Week. I know the moment that the altar will be stripped, and I know what to expect in the sanctuary when I enter Easter morning. I know the words, I know the stories, and I know what happens next. This year, I do not want Holy Week to be routine. I do not want to know what comes next. I want to be present in the experience. I want to reclaim the mystery.

I began the journey through Holy Week with the people of Calvary Lutheran in South Minneapolis this past Sunday. As we paraded through the neighborhood singing and waving our palm branches, I wondered what Jesus' processional experience was like. I was in that moment, not thinking of what comes next. And as we left the sanctuary, I did so knowing something else is to come, but I did not need to know what. I was content knowing that this was just the beginning of a week that has transformed us.

This Holy Week, I am removing all which I have previously placed as a norm for these days. I am removing the routine. I am removing the knowing. As the journey continues, I want to be present in the emotions, the stories, and the mystery. Maybe, I will again be filled with my memories surrounding this week, but maybe, just maybe, I will leave Easter Vigil with the same excitement to share the story as those two young children did to share their first ride on an airplane.

The Camp Counselor vs The Intern

The Camp Counselor vs The Intern by Dan Fleshler 

My last summer on staff at camp in Key West 

"What I do there matters," she insisted. In several conversations, she told us about helping a camper cope with her mother's debilitating depression and comforting others whose parents were fighting or separating, about aiding 11 - and 12 -year-olds who were coming to terms with their sexuality, battling anorexia, confronting body fear. She talked about the many hours devoted to water-skiing lessons, about instilling the confidence needed by awkward, gawky, painfully self conscious 8- and 9-year-olds to stay prone in the water, hold on to the rope, then rise up and stay on their feet as the boat pulled away. "What's more important than that?" she asked."

 This article has been taking another round through social media. And it seems to be shared this time to more or less validate the decisions of my friends and their parents to spend another summer at camp. 

Following college graduation, I spent one last summer working at camp. I had been convinced by one of my best friends, and I knew that this would be the last time for an experience like this. I did learn a lot that summed. I continued to foster great friendships and started some new ones. I got one last summer before entering the real world. And at that time, I was still looking for validation of my call to youth and family ministry. 

Yet, I wonder, can camp be a place that also teaches young people the skills that we believe are traditionally learned through an internship. And can both serve as places for self-growth, networking and relationship building, and conversations surrounding vocation?

I see some of this already happening. And I hope to continue to be part of those conversations, because whether camp, internship or a summer working retail, we want these experiences to be experiences of growth, challenge and exploration. 

What If the Kids Don't Want Our Church?

What If the Kids Don't Want Our Church? by Derek Penwell

"But what happens when a generation comes along that doesn't care about the game you've spent so much time buying equipment for, has little invested in the durable nature of the stuff you value? What happens when your kids say, "Don't give me all that stuff. I'll just have a yard sale, and call Goodwill to haul away what's left over"?"

How would you answer the question that is asked in the title of this article? I almost want to scream, 'good.' Maybe this generation that is concerned with adventure and experience is ready to challenge the church to be less concerned with buildings, infrastructures and all that other stuff that has locked us into meetings instead of being the church in the world. 

More than Fun and Games

Check-out this article from Faith and Leadership from Duke Divinity: Youth ministry that's more than fun and games.

The article reflects on a different way to be doing youth ministry in the church, a way that we should all approach Christian community with both youth and adults.

 “Authentic Christian communities do not isolate or ghettoize youth in a hodgepodge of lock-ins and pool parties. Instead they welcome youth into their very center as they seek to embody faithful life and worship before God. The same graceful means that have sustained God’s people historically -- worship, sacrament, serious study of scripture and theology, prayer, service with the poor, hospitality, self-denial, spiritual direction and accountability -- are what youth hunger for today.”

- Vision and Theology of Duke Youth Academy

Progressive Lock-in

Friday night through Saturday morning sacred space was created with eighteen young people and a bunch of other adults who were in and out throughout our time together at the Innagural, maybe annual, Progressive Lock-in.

Many have wondered what a Progressive Lock-in is. We used progressive because our time together would not be spent in one place, we moved between the three churches of the collaborative during the event. Some of the reasoning was to break down territorial issues, but we also wanted the young people and adults to become familiar with these three unique buildings.

To set our time together as something special, we 'lit' a candle at our first location that would travel with us throughout the night. We identified times in our lives that we light candles: birthdays, celebrations, anniversaries, in remembrance, baptisms. These are all special times. We wanted our time together to be special as we began to establish community with one another.

As a youth worker, you have these moments. One of my moments came when I walked into the sanctuary around 6:30 am on Saturday morning. A majority of the students had circled around the altar to tell stories earlier that morning. When I walked in this time, most of them had fallen asleep. But a few sat surrounding the candle we first 'lit' at the beginning of the event. The space I hoped to create was being established by these young people. The community we are dreamed for within this collaborative was beginning to form. And we created sacred space together through being present, through prayer, through conversation, through the stories we told and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Wealth Inequality in the US

The world we live in is very frustrating. Although, as I watch this video, I am not shocked with the data. Maybe I should be? But this is the reality and like others, maybe I have become too comfortable with this reality.

I now wonder what will change look like? And what will it take to get people to think differently? How can I, someone who may have become comfortable in this reality, be so disturbed that I am going to be part of a solution? These are the hard questions we face. And until we are ready to face them, we will continue to live in a society with inequality.

Tracking Adventures

I think many of us have the goal of traveling to all fifty states in our lifetime. I know I do, even though I have a short, very short, list of states that I could have done without visiting. The other day, when my brain needed a mundane task, I discovered that I could save my travels into an interactive Google map.

Here is the best I could do without thinking too hard or consulting my mother:

View Sandy K.'s travels in a larger map

The only issue is now I am wondering where I should go next, even though I just got back from Seattle.

Continuous Photo: New Year's Eve Edition

It is possible that in three months I will be embarrassed by this post and it will be deleted, but today it needs to be shared. I am currently looking through my archives for some photos to be added to a presentation I am giving and realized that my pictures from my road trip to Roanoke for New Years have been neglected.

In college we did this thing called continuous photo. One person was in-charge of the camera and called out commands, such as 'your long lost dog named Fido just returned from being missing for months.' You then made your pose and emotion match the command. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, and it is absolutely ridiculous. Most times I am missing after six or so frames. I usually lost interest and went to find some other trouble to get into. Well, tonight I laughed at these two sets of continuous photos from New Years. The people I spent New Year's Eve with are good people. They are the people that have taught me what embrace is. And they are the people who continue to push me to figure out what that means outside of the place that proudly bore us. Today I find myself extremely grateful for the laughter, conversation and ridiculousness that occurs when you are a part of community.

Learning Types

One of the things I have become more aware of as I am working on my second master's degree is my learning style. For most of my undergraduate career, I  assumed that there was one way to learn. And that one way of learning, that was not necessarily the best option for me, was the only way.

Today, I continue to be gratefully that researchers are constantly finding more support for the different ways we learn. My need to learn differently has had a huge impact on how I think about faith exploration with children and youth. That one way is not going to work nor should it work for everyone. We must continue to be creative and imagination as we think about the ways we share the Story.

Seattle #adventureTBA

I took an adventure to Seattle for my birthday. I traveled with my DSLR, three lens, a few filters, a point and shoot camera, my iPhone and a three page google document of restaurants, neighborhoods, attractions, coffee shops and bars curated by John. 

You'd think I would return with hundreds of pictures, unfortunately there were 32 total. I'm not too concerned though. The company, the tea, the cocktails, the beer, the french toast and the experiences were incredible.

Moral of the story, I am taking less to Africa. My best picture was taken of the incredible french toast at Portage Bay Cafe. There was a toppings bar.Oh, another important detail. Our hotel had carts you could borrow for free. They had a kids cart that came with Crayola crayons and other art supplies and board games. There were other carts for grown-ups, but I found them less appealing.

The rest of my pictures include: awful attempts of selfy's and pictures of John tying his shoes every few blocks.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss.

"My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It's the letter I use to spell yuzz a ma tuzz. You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond Z and start poking around." -- On Beyond Zebra!

Today we celebrate Dr. Seuss. An individual that entered into the lives of children to play, to hear and to share. A man that created characters and stories to challenge both children and adults, to proclaim the injustice in our society and campaign for change. 

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss.

To continue to keep alive the creativity and imagination of Dr. Seuss, check out this link asking: What if the Shema were written by Dr. Seuss? 

P.S. I think it is a beautiful coincidence that I will be spending Dr. Seuss' birthday at Godly Play Training. Dr. Seuss understand the importance of wondering -- “Think and wonder, wonder and think.” 

The Greatest Question Ever Asked

It is no secret that I have a obsession with most things Crayola. And if you read Defining Embrace, you also know that I am passionate about creativity, the power of play and asking the question, 'What if?' especially with children. Well, Crayola created the following video that is a great summary of my philosophy. I want to also keep the imagination and creativity alive in all people. I want to ask questions that lead to greater wonderment and dreaming. And I have been wondering if the greatest question is, 'What if?"

I, like Crayola, want to extend this invitation to all people to be people of imagination, of dreaming and unending creativity.

Practicing Through the Lens During Lent

If you use Facebook, Twitter or instagram, which are all social media agents, you may have friends that are taking part in some sort of photo-a- day challenge. Some of these projects challenge individuals to take a photo of a certain idea or item each day. I began my own photo-a-day project three years ago which I called “Once Upon a Day.” I challenged myself each day to take one picture. There were no boundaries and most were taken via my cell phone and uploaded to a website that tracked my progress.

My purpose through this project was three-fold: 1. To have time each day to reflect 2. To teach myself discipline 3. To create a space to share the mundane and extraordinary events as I went through the year. After that year was over, in which I did successfully take a picture every day, I completed all three of those tasks and even completed my first New Years Resolution. Beginning with the new year in the church, I began another Once Upon a Day project, but that is not the only photo project I’m working on at this time. 

This Lent, Rethink Church, an extension of the United Methodist Church, is challenging people to think differently about church. They have created a Lent photo-a-day project. Each day of Lent is associated with one word or a short phrase. Participants are challenged to take time each day to reflect on the word or phrase and then share their perceptions with the larger community through social media.

Rethink Church’s goal for this project is for participants to take up the practice of being aware and intentional, two of the reasons I began my first photo challenge in 2010.

During Lent we may face the challenge of ridding ourselves from a practice or habit that may discourage our relationship with God and our community. Sometimes we take things up during this season in the church such as participation in weekly Lenten services or giving additional money to the poor.

This year, what are some ways we can practice being aware, intentional and reflective? If you are still searching for that answer, I invite you  to join in with on this Lenten Challenge. It could be through capturing these ideas on film, maybe it is drawing or coloring reflection, or it could be spending time together understanding what is so unique about these 40 days.

Check-out my journey of rethinking church this lent by following me on twitter, instagram or checking out my photos here.

Join the conversation:
Instagram:  #40days #rethinkchurch
Twitter: #40days #rethinkchurch 

The Darkness in our Lives

I read these below earlier. And then I reread these words over and over again. I needed to hear them. And I need to continue to hear them.

"While we live in the light, rejoice in the light, sing of the light, darkness can be beautiful in any time of year. It calls us to rest and to hope, inviting us to acknowledge our inabilities and our fears. It stills our work and even our sense that we can do it, making us poor, bringing us to seek our sheltering community. In the darkness everyone is in need, and those who know what the darkness reveals will not be surprised by the discovery of the abyss of need in each of the people they encounter."

Lathrop, Gordon. The pastor: a spirituality. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2006, 85. 

Dirt People

Today, I am reminded that we are dirt people. From the the dirt we were created. From the dirt our story is told. And because of that, to the dirt we will return. I am having a difficult time figuring out what this means this year, but I will do my best to be open to a forty-day wondering.

Blue Donkeys, Oreos, Inclusivity in BSA and Coffee Shops

Each week I find myself reading through blogs, journals and newspapers. I want to share some of the most valuable pieces I have found from a variety of different sources:

Blue Donkeys from Thoughts from Paul Hill by Dr. Paul Hill

Dr. Paul Hill, Executive Director at Vibrant Faith Ministries, learns another a lesson from his four year-old grandson, who he calls one of his current mentors. Through watching James color during worship, Hill makes the connection that we can learn a lot when we stop assuming that a donkey is a donkey. If we allow ourselves not to be constrained to what we think we know, we can expand the way we lead. 

Oreos in the Dark from Pastor David L. Hansen by Pastor David L. Hansen

It seems that there are those who watched Super Bowl XLVII for the game, while others were watching for the commercials. Hansen shares that it costs $4,000,000 for 30 seconds of advertising for one of the coveted spots during the game. When the lights went out in the Superdome during the game, Oreo took to Twitter to share a message. They did not pay millions of dollars for that slot that got  them over 15,000 retweets. Hansen makes clear that congregations have the same resources that Oreo did for one tweet that went viral, but many churches are not using the resources that are available. 

Why Boy Scouts Should Be As Inclusive As My Church from Huffpost Religion by Glenn Blockmon

Glenn Blockmon is congregational president of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Olympia, Washington. As the Boy Scouts of America consider lifting their ban on LBGT individuals as troop leaders, Blockmon shares that BSA can learn something from his congregation. He says "scouting best serves our mission to youth when it respects our welcome to all people."

Why You Should Work From A Coffee Shop, Even When You Have An Office from Fast Company by Wesley Verhoeve

Verhoeve learned from personal experience when his company was misplaced for six weeks the importance of working away from the office from time to time. He found the experience to be so beneficial to his work that he continues to have "coffee shop days." Learn more about what Verhoeve says are the perks of working out of the office.

Holding on

I am listing to this song on repeat today. It is from Tales from the Bad Years by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk. I'm dwelling in the following lyrics -- "The earth keeps turning the light/ Keeps shifting an eye/ Keep holding on... I'm growing up again."

I am left wondering what can I stop holding on to as I accept that the earth will keep turning us towards the light. A force larger than myself will continue to help me see, even when I may not want to. There are a lot of things that I need to be able to let go of in order that I can have focus on seeing the light and looking towards the vision.

A New Kind of Monasticism

The restoration of the church must sincerely depend on a new kind of monasticism… the time has come to gather people & do that. #bonhoeffer
— Sandy Kathleen (@sandykathleen) January 27, 2013

Dietrich Bonhoeffer tackles the question that we all know we have asked. We want to know what will bring upon the restoration of the church. I want to know this. I need to know this. I can pretend to live in hope, but I also need answers. I need to know what is next.

Bonhoeffer was plagued with this question, but as he spent time with the students at the seminary of the Confession Church he knew that the change of church depended on a new kind of monasticism. He also realized that this could not just be something we continued to talk about with no action taken. The confession church was a place where Bonhoeffer could gather people together and do something different. It was a place and space where people could live life together. They could live in community, they could pray, they could worship and they could give thanks to God.

What would restoration of church look like today? Who are the people we just need to gather to get this done?

A Promise to Have Conversation

Can we all make a promise to have conversation on all issues? Conversations where listening may be just as important as speaking? Conversations that turn into action?

Reclaiming Normalcy

I've disappeared for over a month now. Some of it was the chance to rest and truly encounter Sabbath, other times I felt behind and did not know where to start. If you are part of my community on facebook, twitter or instagram, you may see that I was completely embracing the season of Advent and Christmas. I've traveled to Fargo to visit the sexton and the vicar, Philadelphia to be with family and had a road-trip to Roanoke, Virignia with my bff to celebrate the new year with some dear friends from college. I mourned the loss of a dear mentor and the man who first made me read James Fowler's Stages of Faith, I stayed up late catching up on reality television and caught a good case of pneumonia/ bronchitis.

And here I am now, attempting to reclaim normalcy, even though I have only made a dent in the process.

If you missed the journey, here is a little glimpse through December:

You can check out larger images at 365 Project.