Sacred Playgrounds Podcast Sacred Playgrounds

It's the season one finale of the Sacred Playgrounds podcast! It's going to be E.P.I.C. This episode is framed with an epic alliteration of four key things to remember and apply as camp begins for the summer. Think of them as broad-brush questions to ask, focal lenses to look through, key ideas to overlay. Are we being fully participatory? Do we create space to value input?

As staff enter into training and campers wind down on school-year things and gear up for summer things, be encouraged, this isn't just another summer - it's the summer that God has prepared for such a time as this. It's going to be epic.

Meet Amber Hill Anderson, a professional mediator and conflict resolution specialist, not to mention former camp staffer and current ongoing enthusiast.

Here's the reality, camp won't be all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes people see and experience things differently. Sometimes there are disconnects. At camp, we have a unique space to approach conflict in a healthy way, given a little direction. We're not just hoping to give campers a good week, but experiences and skills for a good life.

Amber and Jake will talk strategies and methods for intentionally managing conflict this summer, whether that's two staff members disconnecting, or a squabble between campers. You'll leave this episode with a few actionable tools that you or your summer staff can put to use when conflict arises.

Spoiler alert. The key ingredient in the secret sauce to an effective summer camp experience is a well-equipped, well-trained, faith-filled camp staff. It makes so much sense to give them the support they need to thrive. That's what Holy Ground: A Guide for Summer Camp Staff was created to do. It's a powerful, yet accessible guide and 12-week devotional designed to accompany summer camp staff through the journey they are about to take.

In this episode, we'll walk and talk through this resource, share the how and why it came about, and break down its three sections. This pairs well with the preview pages you can find by clicking the link below to download the sample.

DOWNLOAD A SAMPLE

Ready to take this step to support and equip your staff? Preorder your copies by May 1 to ensure we can get them to you for mid-May staff training.

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There's a path for summer camp staff to be well, really well, in body, mind, and spirit this summer. When they, and you, are supported in mental wellbeing, it lays a foundation for a season of less staff attrition, more energy, and incredible ministry. On this episode Jake sits down with Joy Hensel, a youth and outdoor ministry veteran with training and experience in mental health care.

Joy Hensel, MA, LADC, ADC-MN, is from Duluth Minnesota. Joy attended graduate school at Luther Seminary, the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies and at the Adler Graduate School. Joy’s background in youth and family ministry includes eight years in congregations, and as the Program Director at Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry.  Joy has worked as an outpatient chemical dependency counselor in a dual diagnosis program for adolescents. Currently, she is working as the grant program consultant for the youth ministry and mental health initiative with the Northeastern Minnesota Synod ELCA, is an Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and a full-time parent.  She enjoys opportunities to speak, teach and be a resource to congregations.

We've been promising a deeper dive on this topic, and our conversation with Joy provides really important insight and action steps for camp leaders to consider right now as you prepare for the summer ahead.

How Christian are you?

That's a real question, one that camp leaders get. It's a question that parents are wondering when they're making choices about the kinds of experiences to say yes to for their kids. They wonder what happens to their kids if they send them to a camp that's "too religious" just as much, or maybe more, than a camp that isn't faith-centric.

They say society is "getting more secular" in our collective understanding of the world. What that means for the Church, how we approach that as camp leaders is worth exploring. It's not time to be ambiguous about who we are, and Whose we are.

99%

We share some statistics and such on this podcast, and that's one we don't share very often. 99% of parents say that camp is a place to unplug from technology. What's even more interesting - the kids like it.

On this episode, we're giving a bit of a State of the Screen for 2022 - how is technology affecting children and youth and why does it matter. Then, we make the case that camp is one of the last places on the planet where youth and free from screens, and they prefer it that way.