Crazy... Quiet

Last night was pretty spectacular. We called it “Senior Stakeout”; basically it was a big relay race where cabin groups took white t-shirts and decorated them in a theme with sharpie pens and tried navigate the camp while keeping “clean”. The Senior campers hid around camp and ambushed the cabin groups as they went from one relay to another… throwing colored powder (corn starch, completely safe) in an attempt to make them colorful. At the end of the night we gathered for a big dance party and the color throw.

This kind of thing is unique to camp. It is RARE that we do anything like this in the “real world”. For many of us, this is the only time we EVER do ANYTHING this crazy. It is unique to camp, thus we remember the night in a way that “sticks” in our memories for decades. It is good to have such moments in the summer, we intentionally put them into the calendar in an effort to make this experience delightfully different.

The Color Throw is not a tradition, but we have done it for three summers now. The components that lead up to the throw are different every year (at least they have been different for the past three years), but the big dance party in a cloud of color is now a cherished moment that is likely to be remembered. It speaks to a part of our camp philosophy.

We want camp to be different. For the girls to do different things than they do at home, to learn life skills in a different way than home, to embrace Spiritual truth in a different way, and to see themselves in a different way. We orchestrate many moments that are unique to camp and powerful because we experience them as a cohesive community of love. The color throw was a “wild” moment, tonight will be an equaly memorable “quiet” moment.

Opening Vespers is one of the traditions that all Greystone girls remember. It is a very quiet EP where centered around a few quiet components. The Story: I tell the old true story of light and love: “The Keeper of the Flame”. It is a very simple story about a couple who lived in the mountains near camp in the early 1800’s. The Verses: Every cabin group recites from memory a verse of Scripture that is about light. The Candles: We light our candles, demonstrating the beauty and power of light when it is joined together… a sight that is quite literally breath taking.

When you think that such a simple program, one that is so “boring”, is kept without change over the years… you begin to understand how camp works. Not everything is about wild and crazy (that would not make a very fun camp in the end… too much like an amusement park). Much of our camp experience is about stepping back and contenplating “important things”. Opening Vespers is our first such program of the summer and it will not be the last. Such quiet nights dovetail very nicely with the wild and crazy nights. It will be deeply appreciated, some might even tear up. The richness of camp begins to unfold as we sit together in absolute silence watching the light spread, then noting how fleeting such beauty is. The moment is gone in an instant, leaving a golden memory. Lovely and true.

We slept late this morning, eating a light breakfast in our cabins (fritata’s, cereal, milk, juice were put in bags and delivered to the cabins at 8:30). By 9:30 we were on schedule again and the morning activities are in full swing without missing a beat. We will do this routine every Friday of Main Camp and both campers and counselors LOVE it. An extra hour of sleep is a huge gift!

Thanks for reading… I hope you will all enjoy your weekend and confidently know that everything at camp is going fine. Temperatures continue to drop, the big change happens tomorrow (a ten degree drop in temperatures and rain throughout the day). Sunday will be a GLORIOUS day in the mountains.