When I was a camp counselor …

When I was the pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, NM. We had a time in the service, “a time with the children”. We had a few children when I first got there but they moved, or grew up, and it was really a time for adults. I still kept in the in bulletin with the original name, a time with the children. Well, we are all children of God right. Yes

So I started using the time with a story that would somehow illumine the upcoming sermon text. I realize that many of the stories had a slight comic but timely twist. Many of the stories I believe started… When I was a camp counselor. … and then some story from camp. I was most always been able to round come to a point that had a spiritual application.

Sometimes, to be hones, I wasn’t sure of where I wanted to go. I would let the spirit lead me.

Most of the time though I would have spent time i the prior week figuring out what story I wanted to use. Sometimes we sang, or read a psalm responsively and we got through t all together.

But I think by far the stories were what people liked best. Sometimes, often, people would come to me and quote a time with the children. A least as often as people would remember something said in a sermon.

When I was a camp counselor is the preamble to many of my favorite stories and memories, You could add in Junior Counselor. A myriad of them roll through my brain. Sometimes I can’t tell you the name of the woman I met last week, but I can tell you about the time we dared the guy who ran to dishwasher to put his arm, in as far as he could up to his shoulder, into the garbage can that was full of left over spaghetti. I think we paid him $3.00

Years later karma surfaced when a woman in my church who had brought her real silver for a dinner and couldn’t find a fork and blamed everyone for throwing it away. I reached into the spaghetti remnants and found the fork. Promise I got the giggles flashing back on our $3.00 bet. And, yes, I found the missing fork. I found a knife and a spoon as well. And she didn’t pay me $3.00 or even offer a thank you.

Not long ago on a Facebook page for camp Akita Alumni I found a post from a guy that was a junior counselor, and later a counselor with me. We are going to share some of the things that have happened in the last 42 years. Somehow it doesn’t seem that long ago because so many of my best stories begin..when I was a camp counselor…. And Mike is part of those stories.

There used to be a corollary that many of the people who became ministers had a meaningful experience at a church summer camp.

You know, When I was a camp counselor. How much time do you have?

Bobbie Giltz McGarey

@4.2020

God abides