This past week I was in the beautiful state of Virginia at Craig Springs CAMPDD Camp, working with youth interested in art, drama, dance, music, and culinary, all of us sharing out gifts and interests to worship God and be in community with each other. During this week we broke boundaries, stereotypes, and labels that this world puts on us and connected closer with our Divine Creator. Connecting deeply and authentically to who has God made us to be and how do we fully live into our full, unique, beautiful, messy selves! We used our imagination to create a world where everyone is cared for, loved, and celebrated! We worshiped God, not just through songs, prayer, and scripture reading, but also with love and relationship building, with listening, empathy, and courageous conversations!
Sharing just one word that could describe my past week would be, thankful. The feeling of thankfulness that you feel deep in your gut, deep in your soul. The thankfulness where you can’t stop saying to God, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” The feeling of thankfulness that sprouts from the unending love that God promised us with his child Jesus Christ. The love that is so strong, it almost hurts because it is so powerful! It is weeks like this past week I have had at camp that make me understand the poetic and celebratory scripture of Psalm 100. *text has been edited to be gender-inclusive*
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is she who made us, and we are hers; we are her people, the sheep of her pasture.
Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and their courts with praise; give thanks to them and praise their name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
This week had me shouting prayers of thanksgiving, quite literally, and it is weeks like I had at Craig Springs that reminds me that peace and justice work is not just about workshops and educating, but it is also about love, care, relationships, and thankfulness which keeps us powering through!