Christian Camps and Festivals

A friend of mine was in touch on social media recently. She was stepping down from the leadership of a Christian Festival that runs annually in Cornwall. It’s a free event and is open to families to camp onsite for the 5 day programme. It celebrates worship, the arts and creativity. It seeks to draw the curious, the committed, and to welcome the stranger into an experience of Christian community. It’s a place that over the years many have encountered the presence of Jesus and it has been a vehicle for the transformation of their lives.

That all sounds beautiful and, of course, it is, but behind these kinds of events is a team primarily made up of volunteers who give up their time, their holidays and make all the plans and preparations. They have to organise speakers, ensure that the event is run safely and comply with all the insurance regulations. They have to organise and run a programme and, very often, fundraise to keep costs down or to a minimum for participants.

As a child, I remember visiting relatives on holiday in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, and taking part in a beach mission called CSSM, which has run each summer for over 100 years. It was, again, staffed by volunteers and local families used to accommodate the 60 strong team who ran the mission. A local primary school served as the base and it was there volunteers cooked for the hungry team, meetings took place and each day was punctuated by times of worship and prayer as the programme ran. I took part as a team member for a couple of years in the early 1990’s and it was a very formative experience helping to lead Bible studies for children and young people, working with the team to set up and take various roles in leading worship, sharing life and faith together in community for a week.

Lots of parishes and churches run Bible Holiday clubs and summer schemes, and behind the scenes it’s a very intense effort, preparing crafts, food, snacks and running a programme that reaches out to the children and young people of an area.

Our diocese hosts residential summer camps in the Kilbroney Centre, near Rostrevor, and different weeks cater for different age groups. It was powerful to hear of the impact of these camps on one of our confirmation candidates.

The Church of Ireland has been behind the Summer Madness festival which has been running for over 30 years and again I remember as a curate taking groups to this extraordinary event. It featured Bands and speakers and seminars and worship and it again provided opportunities for life changing encounters of faith that have impacted so many lives for Christ over the years.

Recently, some of our church members attended the New Wine Festival in Sligo which, again, offers individuals and families the opportunity to experience a Christian holiday which allows for lots of relaxation in the context of Christian worship and Bible teaching. There are programmes tailored to different age groups, and those with special needs and learning difficulties are also provided for.

These are incredible events and, over the years, both as a participant and leader, I have benefitted from them. They have offered an opportunity to make new friends, to step outside my comfort zone and to be part of the adventure of sharing our faith with others and why it matters to us.

Can I ask you to pray for these events? To give thanks for the incredible volunteers and leaders who make them happen annually in all sorts of places. Pray for strength and health for them as they work long days and ask for God’s protection upon them. Very often people experience a real sense of opposition and challenge as they embark upon such work.

The blog and podcast will be taking a break next week, but look forward to speaking again soon.

Can we ask you to remember in your prayers the family of Jim Harrison, whose funeral will take place on Friday at 11.30 am in church.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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