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Song time at junior high camp pumps up campers and counselors alike.

Church camp meets students on Camp Wood’s ‘holy ground’

By Chad Senuta
Diocesan Youth Missioner

The Rev. Bob Layne has said on many occasions that Camp Wood is “holy ground.” After directing the Diocese of Kansas summer camp program for the past five years, I’m inclined to agree. Something very special happens when the youth and adults of our diocese come to this beautiful spot in the heart of the Flint Hills for three weeks in June.

Our program theme this summer was “Finding Identity in Christ.” The inspiration for the program theme came from Jesus’ question to the apostle Peter, “Who do you say I am?” We wanted to explore how God sees us and how we see God. We wanted to help the youth of our diocese see that God knows us, loves us and calls us to be his people.

All three age groups spent time doing meditative and reflective exercises involving Scripture and prayer. The high school session did a unique activity recommended by the Rev. Lisa Senuta, with the youth studying a Bible passage in which someone encountered Jesus, and then retold the story from that person’s perspective.

The Rev. Craig Loya, one of the campus missioners for the diocese, said he thought this exercise was very powerful and felt he was watching the teens have their own encounter with Jesus as they told the stories.

Our camp program also offers youth and adults of our diocese an opportunity to experience God through community.

We were blessed this year to have 15 young people and two adults participating from the Diocese of Western Kansas. This new cooperative ministry started because Western Kansas doesn’t have a camp program but wanted to offer this opportunity for their youth.

Joel Garavaglia-Maiorano, the diocesan youth coordinator for the Diocese of Western Kansas, said the youth from his diocese returned home excited and saying only positive things about their experiences at Camp Wood.

This new partnership was a blessing to all, and we look forward to having participants from the Diocese of Western Kansas in the future.

Another highlight of our summer camp program is the possibilities it offers to develop young leaders. This summer four college-aged interns received hands-on ministry training in our camp program. These four young people helped plan liturgies, assisted in program development, prepared and delivered sermons, led small group discussions, and engaged in pastoral care and counseling.

Natalie Vanatta, a second-year intern, said she enjoyed the new perspective her role provided her for ministry, seeing not only the fun and excitement she had seen as a youth but also the challenges and difficulties that come with ministry. This helped her realize she needed to rely more deeply on God and her community to be an effective leader.

Camp Wood is a place where we gather again and again to seek God and love one another.

Our deep tradition lives on, and each year new ideas, new faces and new leaders enrich it.

Camp Wood is indeed holy ground.