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Goddess Great

by Harmony Button My one and only experience with church camp was on a sleep-away youth group retreat. The camp was in the Adirondacks, at the edge of a lake. I was new to youth group, having aced my...

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Camp Elohim

by Julie Riddle When I was seven, my family moved to northwest Montana, near the town of Troy, where my parents had bought property and began building a log house. A few years later, I accepted Christ...

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Hydration

by Cara Strickland It was my first time sleeping away from home. I was nervous, but excited. I had heard stories about camp and expected it to be a wonderful bonding experience. I knew one other girl...

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These Bodies, This Table

by Jonathan Hiskes I heard Edward speak only two times. The first time he wailed like a ghost. To be honest, he looked the part too: Pale eyes, moonlight skin, receding silver hair. He cinched his belt...

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Going South

by Jo-Anne Cappeluti The last time I went to church camp was the summer I was 15 (almost 50 years ago). I anticipated the most far out week, but it turned out more like that Spike Jones song about Camp...

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Purify My Heart, Among Other Things

by Ana Quiring During the summer, we would sit on the diving board and have restrained but fraught conversations about which was better: Calvin Crest Christian Camps or Sugar Pine Christian Camps....

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Uncovering Shame

by Lani Caraway I am thirty-four years old. I have birthed two children and bested cancer. I live in a body wracked with pain and plagued by numbness. Stretch-marks, scars, and bruises color my skin. I...

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Acts of God

by Sarah Glady My camp burned down the year I moved back to Arizona. I hadn’t been there since I was eighteen, but it burned anyway, ignorant of my intentions to return. I went to Montlure for ten...

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The Boys in the Band

by Annie Stillar I first went to camp in 1992, the summer before starting 2nd grade. I didn’t know much at seven years old, but I knew camp was all about status. The 6th graders ruled the roost and...

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Pining

by Sandra Marchetti I held his wrists as we stood near the campfire and I whispered, quite seriously, “If I can do it, so can you.” That was the last time we spoke at teen camp. I had a history of...

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Bowlful of Light

by Karen Bjork Kubin It was during the Hard Time. I bought myself a pair of earrings, and to an outsider maybe that seemed like a simple act, but to me it was a symbol of who I wanted to be. I bought...

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The Table

by Elena Sorensen “My leg hurts bad so get off the table!” A pause. “Also, no offense, but you look like a rabbit.” I gazed at Carly Karlson. Blonde, Swedish-Lutheran stock. Daughter of Flat Rock...

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Chasing Bears

by Harrison Birkett Over the course of my first summer I saw seven bears. I remember, because I counted. Most of those times I didn’t see anything more than the big, furry shadow of the beast as it...

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Summer Camp Altar Call

by Josh Mosey Eyes closed, head down, I waited. I heard shifting chairs, shuffling feet. I risked a peek at my shoes. The kid to my left was gone. To my right, there stood a boy from a different cabin....

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Growing Pains

by Denin Koch I fumbled for cash, returning my debit card to my wallet. That way my parents wouldn’t see this purchase among the other charges on my online checking account. They wouldn’t approve. The...

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Campfires and Rain

by Gary R. Hoffman I went Camp Aurora, in southern Missouri, as a camper with some members of my church youth group. When I was in college, I got a summer job there and worked for two summers–the first...

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Five Miles From Home

by Brenda Kay Ledford My lifelong dream was to attend summer camp. I could hardly wait for school to end so I could go to Truett Baptist Camp in Hayesville, North Carolina. Although the camp was only...

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The Summer of Camp Sacajawea: 1980

by Christine Redman-Waldeyer By the time I attended Scout Camp, I was painfully shy. I’m not sure when it kicked in, but I wasn’t always like this. In fact, in second grade, I was often called out for...

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Churching at Flirt Camp

by Katrina J. Daroff I’ve worked at the same camp every summer since I was sixteen. I’ve done everything from serving in the kitchen, to leading silly songs, to being a cabin leader, to organizing and...

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He Is Everywhere

by Karen Curran My favorite place to spend time during adolescence was at the home of my friend, Alta. While my parents had restrictions on what was allowed when friends visited, Alta’s home had no...

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