Page 3 - Moravian Messenger Oct 2020

2020 must be the strangest of years and that includes summer camp. Dovedale House was booked, water sports were booked and leaders were selected and planning had started. The booking forms had gone out and then lockdown was enforced because of the coronavirus. Initially we were optimistic that camp would go ahead as planned, August is a long time away from the end of March, but as the pandemic continued and it became obvious there was not going to be a quick end to it we had to cancel camp.
that was not the end of summer camp 2020. Various organisations were doing meetings online and it seemed possible camp could go online. After discussion with PEC and the camp leaders it was decided we would try a three-day online camp at the beginning of August.
The theme of '20/20 vision' had been discussed before camp
was cancelled and we decided
to go with that. New posters
and forms were produced and sent out to all ministers and youth and children's contacts. Initial response was completely negative, but the leaders decided they would plan and pray that someone would respond, fully understanding that for many young people they were fed up of online and needed a break from it. So, the leaders met and talked about what we might
beabletodoandcameupwitha rough programme. Summer camp usually had lots of outside, active games, but we knew they were not possible but other aspects of camp were. A second meeting pulled together what we could include and how we could do it.
Eventually there were seven young people booked on, three at the last minute, but one unfortunately couldn’t get the technology to work so there were six – three new to
of the time. Hannah Cooper, Alice Fraser, Daniel Newman and Lol Wood provided more support. So, each gathering had 14 people in it.
Over the three days we played games, sewed a bookmark, made soda bread, did a bible study, learnt about prayer, prepared material for a provincial service, learnt about perspective, took part in challenges and finished with a talent show and a cup of covenant. Phew - it was exhausting but great fun. The
talent show was a great opportunity to get to learn more about the campers; we had a fencing demonstration, cheerleading, a cartoon (watch out for this in our service), and musical instruments.
Online cannot replace meeting in person although it has many advantages; no travel, reduced cost, your own bed, home cooking etc and can be a useful additional tool to use for the young people across
the province meeting together, perhaps this will supplement our regular camps.
2020 was a vastly different camp, but the laughter and enjoyment of all the participants will stay with me a long time.
Sr Joy Raynor
Provincial Youth and Children’s Officer
camp. They, and the leaders, all received a 'camp box' full of things we were going to use over the three days. We met three times a day for the camp programme and once for Werewolf, spread through the day. The teams were led by Jane Dixon for Juniors and Josh Cooper with Alishbha Khan for Seniors, although to be fair we were together most
When Sadness Comes to Call - Eva Eland
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ISBN 978-1-78344-795-4 www.andersonpress.co.uk Softback £6.99
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Summer Camp 2020
20-20 Vision
© Sr Joy Raynor