Vacate Into Refreshment
21 July 2021
Dear Friends in Faith,
When I was little, the verb “vacate” was a bit scary. For instance, “When the alarm rings, everyone must vacate the building.” But over the years, I’ve realized the beauty of God’s periodic invitations for us to “vacate” our typical schedules, pressures, duties, or ways of seeing things for something fresh, to go on “vacation” with God. God so often invites us to lay down our burdens, leave our guilt, let go of our worries and move into God’s refreshment.
“Church Camp” was our worship theme this past Sunday, celebrating all the ways God blessed our kids’ faith development through our outdoor ministries. Striking to me was hearing our wonderful COS Director of Youth & Family, Melissa Jacobson, emphasize how many kids appreciated “vacating” a certain level of peer pressure for the more graceful atmosphere of camp. At least for one special week, church camps helped our kids vacate the need to handle social media 24/7 by turning in their phones to Miss Melissa. They vacated the “pecking orders” or their home communities for the ethic camp strives to convey that all are welcomed and can find a way to fit into Jesus’ camp community.
In case you missed church, enjoy a quick little taste of camp for yourself with these video links. Enjoy virtually a water slide through the trees, zip-lining into the water, and some of the amazing music camp always provides.
In these links, enjoy hearing our COS kids share in their own words what camp meant to them:
As Melissa shared in her sermon, thanks to YOU for making COS a faith community that offers financial, prayer, and logistical support so our young people can periodically “vacate” their typical surroundings to enter the wonder of God’s creation at camp. So much faith growth happens there.
We celebrate that:
- This is the 7th year in a row (including a Covid shut down) that a COS college student has served on an ELCA camp staff across the country. (Connor, Duncan, and Robert White, Lou Pfundt, Luke Wiese, Jamie Callison, and this year, Morgan Wiese. More than half of all ELCA pastors cite church camp as essential to their call to ordained ministry.)
- 13 high schoolers “vacated” to God’s refreshment at Awanita Valley Retreat Center.
- 17 middle schoolers “vacated” to Look Up Lodge in South Carolina.
- 27 elementary schoolers “vacated” to the joy of Lutheroad.
- 33 kids “vacated” to the delight of knowing that Jesus loves you “smore.”
Fantastic news is that church camp isn’t only for kids. The brand new ELCA camp in western Georgia that COS helped launch, Lutheranch, offers family camp opportunities and even weekends when grandparents attend with grandkids! Another intergenerational camp is Camp Luther in Ohio, where, I’m grateful, COS supports me serving as a chaplain each week, something I’ve done the last 30 years.
More fantastic news is God calls YOU to take regular “vacat-ions” with God all throughout the year. The “routine” we can be grateful for in our steady vocations, homes, schedules, and peers. But keep your ears open for the Holy Spirit invitation to “vacate” on a regular basis. Just as Jesus vacated his ministry schedule to hop on a boat for some renewing lake-time, you too should say yes to spending regular moments vacating your typical routine for God’s refreshing presence. Sure, maybe it’s to a new destination, but also in your garden or backyard, reading a devotional, learning about someone else’s perspective, taking a chance to serve in a new way.
With you, grateful for God’s love for us at camps and vacations,
Pastor Fritz