The News from Camp Magruder February 25-March 3
It's been a quiet week at camp. We had the pleasure of hosting the Grace Lutheran Council Retreat this past weekend. They came out of Corvallis, and there were about eleven of them. It was just enough people that we were able to push two tables together in the dining hall and all eat together. Nick and Peter, our chefs in the dining hall, tried new recipes for them that they don't get to practice for larger groups.
This was our last down week before the Outdoor School staff returns for the spring season of Outdoor School. Many of us talked of looking forward to welcoming back the ODS staff. They are a crucial part in the community we have here. The work they do in sharing environmental education with middle schoolers across the region feels important. It helps round out the work we do the rest of the year. Part of our mission in the church of the United Methodist Oregon Idaho Conference is to assist in developing an understanding of our interconnection with creation. I hold that part of our mission close to heart; I don't feel alone as a part of our year round staff in appreciating the good work the ODS staff does in sharing that.
We had some sunny days that were deceivingly cold. The temperature dropped into the 20's, which doesn't happen often on the coast. Being our last quiet week before ODS is back and the spring season ramps into our summer season, it felt like camp was hunkering down to get some final beauty sleep before the return of the liveliness and energy that comes this time of year.
Over the weekend, I talked with one of the Grace Lutheran Council members about the way their council retreats have changed over the years. He told me they'd gone on retreats for many years at a different camp, and then over time those retreats become day meetings where they'd returned home in the evenings to their families before returning the next day. Then later he worried those day meetings would become conference calls. He told me he felt they were missing something they were supposed to have in those retreats, so he pushed for them to return again to their overnight retreats at a place set aside. That's part of how they wound up here at Magruder. He spoke of spending the evenings staying up visiting with his fellow council members and the jokes they shared. He pointed out that a few members of the council had tried yoga over the weekend while one of the other council members led them. We agreed that time together is important. It can be hard to say exactly why, but I told him I believed in it, too.
I've spent the past few weeks interviewing summer staff members and preparing applications for other positions as we continue through our hiring season. It's an exciting time of year. Every time we add someone to the team, I get up from my chair in my office to tell the other staff members. We celebrate. There's a sense that even now, they are becoming a part of the work we'll do together this summer.
I go to career fairs to recruit applicants, too. Often our booth is nestled between business and marketing internships or opportunities for higher paying positions. It can be hard to explain in a two minute elevator speech why a position at a summer camp is so worth it, but the last career fair I did at University of Oregon, it clicked for many students. I told them about the way we strive to lay the foundation for intentional communities, like the Grace Lutheran Council, to come in and achieve goals so they may return into the world and take some goodness back out. I told them about the impact camp has had on me as a person growing up in it and the way I see that still happening in our youth and summer camps. I talked to one student about the importance of setting that time aside to live in community for purposeful reasons.
I look forward to the work I share with the summer staff because I believe they leave here able to return to the world some of the goodness we've shared together. We go back out holding a small flame to our chests. I see some of our summer staffers here and there throughout the year. They are more confident with their compassion than I knew them to be at the first of their time here. They listen hard to others and are able to pick up the meaning behind people's words. They share that little flame little by little with others through their everyday work.
Together, the community we make here builds. Making room for this work allows a spark to flicker. On the lakeside doing a science project with the ODS staff. Sitting in the dining hall sharing a meal with our guests around one table. Living beside each other and laughing. I'm looking for the presence of that flame. We hope you'll come share in it, too.
We are still hiring male Resident Counselors for summer 2018, and applications for summer 2018 resource staff members are due back March 9th. Find more information about both positions at www.campmagruder.org/employment. Feel free to email me at hope@campmagruder.org or give me a call at our office. I'm happy to tell you more about the work we can
do together.
This was our last down week before the Outdoor School staff returns for the spring season of Outdoor School. Many of us talked of looking forward to welcoming back the ODS staff. They are a crucial part in the community we have here. The work they do in sharing environmental education with middle schoolers across the region feels important. It helps round out the work we do the rest of the year. Part of our mission in the church of the United Methodist Oregon Idaho Conference is to assist in developing an understanding of our interconnection with creation. I hold that part of our mission close to heart; I don't feel alone as a part of our year round staff in appreciating the good work the ODS staff does in sharing that.
We had some sunny days that were deceivingly cold. The temperature dropped into the 20's, which doesn't happen often on the coast. Being our last quiet week before ODS is back and the spring season ramps into our summer season, it felt like camp was hunkering down to get some final beauty sleep before the return of the liveliness and energy that comes this time of year.Over the weekend, I talked with one of the Grace Lutheran Council members about the way their council retreats have changed over the years. He told me they'd gone on retreats for many years at a different camp, and then over time those retreats become day meetings where they'd returned home in the evenings to their families before returning the next day. Then later he worried those day meetings would become conference calls. He told me he felt they were missing something they were supposed to have in those retreats, so he pushed for them to return again to their overnight retreats at a place set aside. That's part of how they wound up here at Magruder. He spoke of spending the evenings staying up visiting with his fellow council members and the jokes they shared. He pointed out that a few members of the council had tried yoga over the weekend while one of the other council members led them. We agreed that time together is important. It can be hard to say exactly why, but I told him I believed in it, too.
I've spent the past few weeks interviewing summer staff members and preparing applications for other positions as we continue through our hiring season. It's an exciting time of year. Every time we add someone to the team, I get up from my chair in my office to tell the other staff members. We celebrate. There's a sense that even now, they are becoming a part of the work we'll do together this summer.
I go to career fairs to recruit applicants, too. Often our booth is nestled between business and marketing internships or opportunities for higher paying positions. It can be hard to explain in a two minute elevator speech why a position at a summer camp is so worth it, but the last career fair I did at University of Oregon, it clicked for many students. I told them about the way we strive to lay the foundation for intentional communities, like the Grace Lutheran Council, to come in and achieve goals so they may return into the world and take some goodness back out. I told them about the impact camp has had on me as a person growing up in it and the way I see that still happening in our youth and summer camps. I talked to one student about the importance of setting that time aside to live in community for purposeful reasons.I look forward to the work I share with the summer staff because I believe they leave here able to return to the world some of the goodness we've shared together. We go back out holding a small flame to our chests. I see some of our summer staffers here and there throughout the year. They are more confident with their compassion than I knew them to be at the first of their time here. They listen hard to others and are able to pick up the meaning behind people's words. They share that little flame little by little with others through their everyday work.
Together, the community we make here builds. Making room for this work allows a spark to flicker. On the lakeside doing a science project with the ODS staff. Sitting in the dining hall sharing a meal with our guests around one table. Living beside each other and laughing. I'm looking for the presence of that flame. We hope you'll come share in it, too.
We are still hiring male Resident Counselors for summer 2018, and applications for summer 2018 resource staff members are due back March 9th. Find more information about both positions at www.campmagruder.org/employment. Feel free to email me at hope@campmagruder.org or give me a call at our office. I'm happy to tell you more about the work we can
do together.
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