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Reflections on values with Camp & Retreat Ministries
The Gifts of Grace and Gratitude
Value 6: Gratitude
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By Rev. Todd Bartlett. Executive Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries
It is now three years since I began as the interim Executive Director (9/11/16). During these three years I have learned a lot about each of our sites, our programs, and the people who lead this ministry of helping people become disciples of Jesus.
One of the key elements of being a disciple of Jesus is that of gratitude. In this next few weeks, you will have the opportunity to read the perspectives of our site directors on gratitude from their unique place in the world. As you prepare to open yourself for this journey, I would like to share a few things about gratitude.
Gratitude is an expression that recognizes there is something that we appreciate in our lives. The things that we appreciate can come to us because we asked for them, but often it comes as grace, without our asking. Life may be the greatest example of this.
Beyond the gift itself and our feeling of appreciation, there is the knowledge that something other than ourselves, greater than ourselves, gifted us. For us as people of faith, we proclaim that it is God who has offered us such grace and that as a practice of our faith it is important to express our thanks, our gratitude to God for these gifts. At the heart of gratitude is some recognition of relationship with another, we are in community.
As I celebrate the gift of serving the conference and this ministry for the past three years, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the people who have trusted me to be the Executive Director. The Camp and Retreat Ministries community: members of the Board, the directors at each site, the staff in the conference office and those who support this profoundly life-changing ministry through their expressions of gratitude be it as a staff member, volunteer, donor or a participant in the programs that we sponsor.
What are you grateful for today? How will you express your gratitude? How does Camp and Retreat Ministries inform your faith and your expression of gratitude? If you are interested, you can check out a couple of articles that I found on-line about gratitude.
See you around the campfire soon,
Links to two articles:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/in-praise-of-gratitude
Save the Date!!
Blessings Report
In their weekly e-news, the National United Methodist Camp & Retreat Ministry includes a blessings report. This report gives readers the opportunity to share the blessings that they experience at camp. We are happy to provide a similar report in our weekly publication!
- Learning new things on the challenge course
- Getting the perfect run on the Suttle Lake Tubing Hill
- Creating life long friends through small group initiative time
Please send your blessings to share in future issues of the e-news. Click on this link
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