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Reflections with
Camp & Retreat Ministries

SHAPED LIKE EARTH

Genesis 1:9-13 and Jeremiah 18:1-10

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. (Jeremiah 18:1-4)

 

Creation Speaks through stories of the earth. As the wife of a potter, I live in a world filled with pottery. The creative process of changing earth into a work of art like a bowl or vase is much like the shaping and forming that a week can make in the life of a person at camp or on a retreat: 

  • There is a lot of work that goes into getting the clay ready … soaking, kneading and removing rocks or stones before the clay ever touches the wheel.  
  • Sometimes the image of what you want to create changes once you start working on it. Trying to force a lot of pieces to look exactly the same will only create works without spirit.   
  • When things are out of balance, you can’t just keep pushing harder from one side in hopes that the other side will balance out to your pressure. 
  • Until it is fired, even a dried pot can be tossed into water and it will return to the state of unformed clay. 
  • After a pot is fired, the shape is set. You can glaze it to change the appearance and use, but the shape of the pot doesn’t change unless it is broken. 
  • Not all glaze is added before the final firing… sometimes the most beautiful glazes come from substances found in the fire itself… like ash that turns into glass.

The earth’s creation is a story of how God creates us all… and like the pottery, we can be formed and re-formed and created to be vessels for great things. Creating pottery, like creating a life, takes time, patience and a lot of fire.

Geneva Cook
Camping Accountant

*PHOTO: The waterfall at Camp Latgawa is just one of the elements that has shaped this sacred place (Todd Bartlett).


Land Acknowledgement 

Many of you have probably heard Land Acknowledgment statements that remind us of those who were here before us. Through a process that included looking at a variety of statements, the Board of Camp and Retreat Ministries has developed a template for our sites to use as one element of the way we welcome groups. We borrowed from the Deschutes Land Trust because we liked their statement, and it helped communicate the complexity of the fact that many tribes/nations were connected to the same land, though maybe at different times of the year (think, for example, of salmon runs). The Land Acknowledgment Statement below for Camp Latgawa (not perfected yet) demonstrates the template: setting our religious and historical context; noting some geographical markers of the area; naming the tribe/nation and our recognition of the relationship; our gratitude for the care for the land that preceded our presence here; and acknowledgment that there are tribal members still present today. 

Camp Latgawa's draft statement:

Hebrew and Christian scriptures say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” and all that is in them. And before the earth beneath our feet was called the Oregon Territory, before there was a Medford, Eagle Point, or Camp Latgawa thousands of years of life went on in these forests, along the streams, and across the rugged land. For generation after generation the Latgawa people belonged to this land. We acknowledge their relationship with this land, we give thanks for their care of this land, and we recognize their tribal presence today.

 *PHOTO: A feather rests on the ground at Camp Latgawa (Todd Bartlett).


Blessings Report

  • Board meeting in person!
  • Site Directors and office staff meeting in person!
  • Sacred and safe spaces for in-person gathering, learning, and growing

 Please send your blessings to share in future issues of the e-news. 


Shaped by love

The features of each one of our sites have been uniquely shaped by God's creative hand: the mountains and meadows of Sawtooth, the beaches and wetlands of Magruder, the lush forest and ever-changing creek of Collins. Similarly, each camper and retreat participant is uniquely shaped by love. So much goes into each camp or retreat experience: the hospitality, the settings, the activities, the curriculum, and most especially the human relationships that are nurtured by well-trained staff. All of these are undergirded and inspired by God's love. And none of this would be possible without your donations. Thank you!

Please donate today! 
 

Go Camping E-News is a publication of Camp and Retreat Ministries, a collaboration of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon.

1505 SW 18th Ave
Portland, OR 97201
503-802-9210
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