Campfires & Candles



Alan Brown and I in 1979 @ QLC

There are few things in all the years I spent in student ministry that meant more to me than the many Friday nights I spent around the Campfire Circle at Quaker Lake Camp.  At the end of each week of camp all of the campers and staff would march deep into the woods and take seats around a massive campfire- no matter how hot it was in North Carolina that week.  We would sing a song or two, and Neal Thomas would explain to the campers what a sacred place they were in.  The camp pastor (which was my job at high school camp every summer from 1986-1993, and again in 2006) would offer a devotional thought. And then the group- whether it be a high school camp or a 7 & 8 year old camp- would settle into silence.  Piles of sticks would surround the fire, and anyone who wished to speak could stand up, say what was on their heart, throw a stick in the fire, and sit down.  Sometimes the statements were quick and fluffy- "I liked crafts."  Sometimes they were just to say thanks to the people who had make the week special for the camper who was speaking:  "I love Neal, Martha...OH, and God!"  And sometimes they could be deeply spiritual, revealing the heart of the speaker.  And always there was deep, meaningful silence.  I loved the setting, the silence and the bond of that place.  Just the memories can still make my eyes water...

So what do those memories have to do with Work Tour 2000, Union Church of Hinsdale or Dungannon, VA?  It turned out that the UC Work Tours had developed a tradition of their own over the years called Candle.  On the final night of the trip, the group would gather around a large candle and do many of the same things described above (there were no sticks involved...).  As the time approached for my first experience with this tradition, I heard students and adults talking about how meaningful it was and how every year it was the perfect closing service to their trips.  I was psyched.  We gathered late Friday night, and I tried to set the mood for the evening with a devotional.  Then David Knecht explained what would happen, and we settled into the silence.  For about 1 minute.  And then it seemed that for the next 4 hours (Yes, 4 hours!) someone was talking all the time.  Students stood as many as 10 times each, sharing everything that came into their minds about the trip.  Candle was not a worship service so much as it was a marathon!  That is not to say that the youth were not sharing from their hearts- they were.  It was just that for many of them there was a complete disconnect between their spiritual lives and what had happened that week in Dungannon.  For others it was like they had never considered their spiritual life.  I felt like I was reliving a 9 & 10 year old campfire, with kids running to the stick pile and yelling, "Swimming," throwing a stick in the fire and then returning to their seats- only to remember they had forgotten to thank their counselor and running to the sticks all over again.  Only a few showed any spiritual maturity, and as the night dragged on I found myself praying more and more for guidance, because I was once again realizing just how far this youth ministry had to go.  When it ended, I had everyone form a prayer circle and I prayed for the group and for the people we had served that week.  I just needed to turn it all over to Jesus before we left that Candle...

I'm back tomorrow with the story of an April Fool's joke on the trip home from Dungannon that cemented my place with the youth and left me feeling like there might be a future for me in Hinsdale after all!  See you then!

Because of Jesus,