Camp Is Just Around The Corner
SUMMER IS QUICKLY APPROACHING
Boo-Whoop! Camp is just around the corner! With summer quickly approaching, we are so excited to kick off Merrie-Woode’s 108th season and welcome our campers to our Place of Rarest Beauty. As campers experience new challenges and adventures at Merrie-Woode, we will keep families connected with daily photographs and frequent posts on the Tajar Blog, sharing more about the “Why” behind our many activities and traditions.
We are intentionally starting this year’s blog posts with Merrie-Woode’s Mission and Values. They are at the heart of who we are and why we do what we do at Camp. Everything we do at Merrie-Woode relates back to the Mission in some way. It is so important that our entire community knows the fundamentals of the Mission Statement.
Merrie-Woode is a sanctuary of rarest beauty which inspires a lasting awareness of God’s presence. The Mission of Camp Merrie-Woode is to use that setting to nurture the physical, intellectual and spiritual growth of girls and young women through traditional camp activities and outdoor adventures. In this friendly, non-competitive community of simplified living, each individual is valued for who she is and who she will become.
While camp days are full of challenges, new friendships, learning new skills, and reaching higher levels of proficiency, the campers’ spiritual growth is often the most impactful part of the Merrie-Woode experience. On the final Sunday of each session, the entire Camp comes together to watch our oldest campers perform Follow the Gleam, a play about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest in search of the Holy Grail. Each knight returns and reports to King Arthur about the outcome of his search. Through their stories, the campers learn that the Holy Grail is only revealed to those who live lives of unselfish service. Each camper and counselor processes out of Chapel carrying a single candle that she then floats out onto Lake Fairfield, signifying the Spirit of Merrie-Woode that she will carry back into the world.
This idea of carrying the Merrie-Woode spirit back into the world is further emphasized at the end of our Closing Campfire. On our final evening together, as we stand around the swim dock before singing Taps, we listen to the words of Dammie’s Prayer:
God of the Hills, grant me Thy strength to go back into the cities without faltering, strength to help my neighbor who has no hills to remember.
God of the Lake, grant me Thy peace and Thy restfulness. Restfulness to carry the tired one whom I shall meet everyday; content to do small things with a freedom of littleness, self-control for the unexpected emergency, and patience for the wearisome task; with the deep depths within my soul to bear me through the crowded places, and the laughter of the sunny waves to brighten cheerless spots in a long winter.
God of the Stars, may I take back the gift of friendship and love for all. Fill me with a great tenderness for the needy person at every turning. Grant that in all my perplexities and everyday decisions I may keep an open mind.
God of the Wilderness, with Thy pure winds blow away my pettiness; with the harsher winds of winter drive away my selfishness and hypocrisy, fill me with the breaths and depths and the height of Thy wilderness.
May I live out the truths which Thou has taught me in every thought and word and deed. Amen.
These words are committed to our hearts each summer, carried with us as inspiration and a reminder that the gift we receive of our time at Merrie-Woode should be used in the service of others.
We look forward to sharing more Camp traditions, songs, stories, and memories with you during the upcoming weeks. As we count down to Opening Day, we will highlight all of Merrie-Woode’s eleven Values: Wilderness and the Outdoors, Simplified Living, Challenge, Play, Spirituality, Integrity, Community, the Individual, Friendship, Our History, and Service. We will take a look into how these Values show up in daily life at Camp.
We are counting down the days until summer begins!
Chug-a-wump and see you soon,
Robin and Frost
