new church life: march/april 2017
stanwell tops camp, australia
Rev. Todd J. Beiswenger
I’m finding that the annual family camp has really become one of the highlights
of the year for me. I enjoy the feeling of community, mixing around with
different people at meals, along with the teaching and adventure activities that
enrich the experience as well. Here are some of the highlights:
On Monday David Moffat led us in a “Pokemon Go!” inspired session,
“Family Camp Go!” The idea was to figure out various puzzles that used
correspondences in the answers that led to the next puzzle. Knowing Bible
verses was helpful, but Google was always available to help out. It kept the kids
active, moving and engaged.
That afternoon we had the opportunity to tackle the “high ropes”
challenge. It was mostly a test of courage as you were harnessed into a safety
wire, but you still had to navigate around an obstacle course that was five
meters off the ground. While it is a bit of a challenge for the adults, it is a much
greater challenge for the kids as their legs aren’t long enough to reach past
certain obstacles. Nevertheless, two of our smallest campers faced their fears,
overcame their short legs, and managed to defeat the course.
Later that evening we played a new game, “Taylor Swift: Lyric or
Lamentations?” On the screen was a phrase, and each team had to guess
whether it was a Taylor Swift lyric or a quote from Lamentations. Our group
of teenage boys took home the victory. I suppose they all must have been
studying the book of Lamentations in their spare time; either that or they know
the music of a good looking blonde woman really well.
The next day Julian Duckworth led a theme of “On Your Knees.” He
demonstrated the usefulness of knees, noting how much we need that bend
in our legs to do so many things. The Word teaches us about the need to
kneel, and how kneeling before the Lord is for our humility. Yet he also took
the opportunity to teach about humiliation. He asked me to “volunteer” for
a demonstration. However, it was no simple doctrinal point that was made!
Rather I was ordered to kneel before Julian to show what submission and
humiliation look like. I’m sure there are of number of pictures of me kneeling
before him that will haunt me for years to come.
Next was the outing day that divided us into various groups. A quarter of
the camp drove to Jamberoo, a waterslide/adventure park. Others went to a
local wildlife park, some to the beach at Wollongong, and others had an easy
day of working on puzzles. After dinner Holy Supper was offered by the Rev.
David Moffat and Bishop Brian Keith.
Part of Bishop Keith’s job is to go around the world visiting and assisting
New Church congregations. His wife, Gretchen, loves to take pictures so his
travels are well documented. On Thursday morning he took us on a virtual
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