Last week I began a new series of reflections on Camp and Retreat ministries that looks through the lens of our mission statement, which reads:

We are people dedicated to creating quality environments of Christian hospitality and learning. We nurture persons so that they may .  .  .

• Grow in wisdom and healthy self-esteem.
• Develop lifestyles of loving interdependence with each other and all of creation,
• Affirm and expand their faith in God and their service as Christian disciples within God's world.  

We serve individuals, families, educational institutions, religiously affiliated groups, social service agencies, community service organizations, and other non-profit organizations that enrich life in the world.

It is our hope that our campers and retreatants will  “grow in wisdom and healthy self-esteem, develop lifestyles of loving interdependence with each other and all of creation, and affirm and expand their faith in God and their service as Christian disciples within God's world”. The ambition of this statement takes my breath away for two reasons: the first is the challenge to meet this standard and the second is the audacious aspiration that we have for all who choose to come to our sites and participate in our programs. 

For those of us engaged in this work as professionals and volunteers, we know that our work is to prepare our sites to support this dream, to provide curriculum that guides staff and participants on a path towards these ends, and to design opportunities for our campers and retreatants to experience what a life of faith looks and feels like.

The directors of our six sites met last week and engaged in conversations about why we do what we do, shared stories about the transformation of lives, families and communities, and expressed our passion for living faithfully as people called to provide Christian hospitality and learning.  Our hearts, minds and efforts are committed to take the steps that we need to take to meet the challenge and to live fully into our aspiration. I hope that you are able to taste the fruits of our labor in the remainder of this fall or in the coming year.
 
See you around the campfire soon,

As Camp Magruder announces the 2018 summer schedule, we want to share a change to our Music Arts Dance & Drama (MADD) Camp that we hope will help the camp grow and bring even more high schoolers into its special community and incredible incorporation of artistic expression.

In 2018 MADD Camp will be held June 17-22, which changes it from a Sunday-Saturday camp to a Sunday-Friday camp, matching the rest of Magruder’s children/youth camps that week. This change will drop the cost of MADD by $90, which we hope will include more high schoolers who may have declined camp in the past for financial reasons. It will also make coordinating travel and rides to pick campers up more convenient for parents with children in multiple age groups.

What will most definitely stay the same is MADD Camp’s ability to create a meaningful community of young people who accept and care about each other. We will continue to bring in talented artists who share their gifts to make something beautiful and wonderfully fun to be part of. Campers will still make memories that will stay with them the rest of their lives, and form friendships in just one week that remain for decades.

We hope these new dates make MADD camp more accessible for campers to feel its impact which has touched thousands over the years. If you know someone who is passionate or even interested in the Arts and who might want a powerful life-changing experience, tell them about the special week that is Magruder MADD Camp.