"I left my backpack in the church"
Blog by Rev. Nick Jeffries, Director - Chestnut Ridge Camp & Retreat Center
It was time for day camp check-out when a young Mudpuppy camper ran by me in the field in Main Camp. I stopped him and asked where he was going. Hurriedly he responded, "I left my backpack in the church!" I started to say "What church?" But before the words could leave my mouth, his back was already to me, and he was running to the Morris Center to locate his bag. This quick comment from a 1st grader got me thinking. This guy thought that the dining hall was the church. After thinking a moment, it did make some sense. I mean, we do sing our worship and praise songs in there every morning. But it is also the place where we eat our meals, fill up our water bottles, store program equipment, divide up into activity groups, have rainy day dance parties, and answer phones in the camp office. My initial response was "What church?" and to think that this little guy had no idea what a church looked like. But perhaps he knows exactly what church should look like.
1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
It's a reminder that the church isn't a building; it's the body of Christ manifested in the community of God's children. At Camp Chestnut Ridge that looks like over 200 children, from Preschool to High School, playing, worshiping and breaking bread with one another. It looks like 55 college and older high school students giving their summer in dedication to serving these campers and sharing God's love with them. And because this group of people, this "body of Christ", is spread across 362 acres, it means that church looks a little bit different. Church does take place in the Morris Center where we sing praise to God, and also at the outdoor Lake Chapel where we hear the Word of God read and proclaimed. But church also takes place on the challenge course, where we learn to work together in peace. And at the farm, where we learn to be good stewards and care for God's Creation. Church takes place on the trail as we fellowship on horseback, or around the campfire as we share stories and songs. Because the church isn't a single building, but a community that shares life and faith with one another. Thanks to the little fellow who left his backpack, I am once again reminded of how blessed I am to live and work at a place and with people that can be considered "church".