Camp Sunday

Every January we celebrate the opening of Summer Camp registration with a Sunday dedicated to all things camp.  We encourage families to come to worship together, sing camp songs, outline all the different summer activities for youth and families and decorate the church accordingly.

This year I decided to move the camp decorations into the sanctuary rather than the gathering area.  In years past I have borrowed a canoe, hung a tent and displayed all types of pictures from past years on sign boards.  

This year I wanted to create a campsite at the front of our church.  And using some things we had lying around I thought it turned out pretty good.  

The tent is my personal tent and is a Marmot Twilight 2 person.  It is great for a lightweight hiking or canoe trip.  

The other parts of the display were as follows:  

1.  Fake pine tree - this was left over from Christmas and I hadn't put it away fully so it wasn't too hard to get out again.

2.  Green Astro Turf - We have a good sized chunk of astro turf we use every year for our Rockin' Rogers Days parade float.  I pulled it out to add more color as well as the illusion of grass (which we haven't seen for months in Minnesota)

3.  Props - I found a small fishing basket and a lantern from a previous Vacation Bible School set.

4.  Campfire - This one took a little brain power to make happen.  It is NOT a real fire.  I would have if I could have, but there is a little thing called "fire code" and "no large open flames" policy in our church.  

So I gathered some firewood from our fire pit out back and placed it around a small fan.  I attached fire colored crate paper (yellow, orange & red) to the fan.  To keep people from seeing the fan between the wood I shoved red tissue paper in the cracks.  I finished it off with a strong shop light to give it the campfire glow.  It looked very real from where the congregation was sitting.

In the end I think everyone felt a little warmer on the inside when they started to think about summer and being outside.  One of my favorite things to do is sit by the campfire until the bugs get too bad.

Some things I learned:  

1.  Setting the fan on the lowest setting is key to the fire's believability.  There is something about a hum or buzz emanating from "flames" that kills the illusion.  

2.  Draw attention to the decorations:  The pastors had the children's message around the campfire, it was so fun and the kids got a kick out of pretending the fire was real.

3.  Not everyone loves camping in a tent.  Don't be afraid to use things that represent summer and Summer camp that your congregation will connect with.  Maybe you could drive an RV through the sanctuary?  Know your audience and anticipate what will draw them in.

Final Thought:  Lent is here and we are doing some wonderful things here at Word of Peace.  I am looking forward to sharing them with you over the next month and a half. Continue to create, grow in faith and worship God through art.

God Bless,