Dean s Discourse. WELCOME TO YOUR CAMP 60s More or Less a NEWSLETTER (Periodically published at the whim of the editor.) Issue #13 Post-Camp 2017

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1 WELCOME TO YOUR CAMP 60s More or Less a NEWSLETTER (Periodically published at the whim of the editor.) Issue #13 Post-Camp 2017 Dean s Discourse Well, Camp 60s is over for I think we all had a great time and would like to give you some of the highlights. Fifty-four campers enjoyed the week learning about Half Truths presented by our own Chaplain The Rev. Julie O Brien, based on a program developed by Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of a mega-church in the St. Louis area. As usual, we met on Monday afternoon as strangers and parted on Friday morning as family. See the next page for a break-down of our week s activities. Our spiritual needs both program and worship were met by our Chaplain, The Rev. Julie O Brien and our Asst. Dean, our very own Deacon, Rev. Chuck Milhoan. With morning and evening worship, talent shows, get acquainted activities and crafts we had a very full and fun week. The campers left relaxed, refreshed, and renewed. Set your calendar now for Winter Renewal, in February, and summer camp, in July 16 th 20 th, My love to you all, Lee Brunson From the Chaplain: Greetings All! It was a joy to be with you at Camp 60's this year. Your participation in this year's program, "Half Truths", was fantastic - thanks for your thoughtful and thought provoking discussions. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers until we meet again. May the eyes of your hearts be open to recognize the presence of the Divine around and within you, always. Blessings, dear ones. Julie+ Dean, Camp 60s More or Less

2 As you can see, by the attached Program, we changed things up a bit more free time (for chit-chat or traveling to town). Gladie Herndon and Dale Herren led the Monday evening get-acquainted activities, which included gazing at the baby pictures the campers were asked to bring. We had fun, all week, trying to guess who s mugs belonged to those precious baby faces. Gladie and Dale also led a three afternoon seminar on The History of Church Music. From what I heard, a TREMENDOUS success. All comments were very complimentary. So thanks, Gladie and Dale. Tuesday and Thursday evenings, we had worship services led by our Chaplain, The Rev. Julie O Brien. A Healing Taize service and a Eucharist service (at which our Place of Peace craft projects were blessed). Julie also presented the Half Truths program and led spirited discussions regarding the topics. All in all, a great program, which everyone seemed to enjoy. And then there is Rev. Chuck Milhoan! What can I say? Camp 60s would not be the same without him. Being my right-hand man is not an easy job but Chuck does anything that needs to be done and NEVER says NO! Along with everything else he handled he led morning worship, before turning the time over to Julie for the morning program sessions. What a wonderful asset he is to me and Camp 60s. The evening programs included our famous talent night, a sing-along and thank you s and kudos (for my benefit, actually,) so I could recognize the assistance of others making camp so spectacular not bragging I just had terrific help with the programs. Last but certainly not least, is our craft project, led by our Crafty Guru Hartley Bennett. All campers were given and 8 ½ inch plate with a base of Plaster of Paris in which to recreate our own presentation of our personal Place of Peace pictures below. What a great bunch of artists! The Rev. Julie O Brien blessing our dioramas Beautiful hand crafts of our campers

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4 Get ready, get set and (oh, wait a minute, I m getting ahead of myself registrations are not open, yet.) Plan on joining us for the fun. Lots of chatting, games, getting to know each other and great food. Winter Renewal registrations will open after New Year s Day, And, while you re figuring out what to do with you tax refund, registration for Summer Camp will be open on April 15 th, Those who attend Winter Renewal will have the opportunity to register for the summer session at the Renewal (with a $50.00 deposit). One of the last things we did during our Thursday evening Thank You s and Kudos was to give a loving sendoff to our Chapel Rock Liaison, Leslie Glenn. We will always be grateful for the loving kindness she showed to us special attention to our housing requirement, treats and snacks, all those little touches which make us feel special. Anyway, we gave her a suiseki with a plaque honoring all her service to us. Suiseki (Sui = water, Seki = stone) is the study and enjoyment of naturally formed stones as objects of beauty. The art of Suiseki involves the collection, preparation and appreciation of unaltered naturally formed stones.

5 Another year of Camp 60 s More or Less has been completed. Reports from those who attended indicate that they experienced friendships, old and new, crafts, music, talent, skits and other activities to fill their time and satisfy the need we all have to gather. There were morning and evening worship opportunities offered each day. As usual, the meals were great and the accommodations comfortable. Chapel Rock as a place to stay offers a sense of the real presence of God. This year we were graced with rain every afternoon. While not everyone might have the same opinion of the presence of rain, I really enjoyed the change of pace, the moisture and the fresh air. Personally, I felt that I had adequate time to just do nothing, to hang out with no requirements, no tasks, to choose to do as much or as little as I preferred. Plan to attend next summer when camp is scheduled in July. If you were not able to attend this year, please plan to join us. If you were present we hope that you will return. Come and join all the other kids at camp and leave the busy world behind to treat yourself to a great experience. Crafts Update! The excitement of creating a personal special place inspired campers to design unique and wonderful environments within 8 diameter plastic saucers. Each camper received a saucer already filled with a ½ inch layer of hardened plaster of Paris. A vast array of small objects such as stones, plastic trees, colored sand, and bark and big bottles of fast drying glue were available. Many artists brought inspirations of their own to use and share. The variety of landscapes created was equal to the numbers of those involved. Ingenuity was paramount: stone cabins in the pines, rocky waterfalls, dense forests, pristine mountain lakes and, always places to visualize sitting and meditating. When the works of art were all assembled for a blessing by the Reverend Julie O Brien, everyone was delighted at the results. What will come next year? By popular demand we will revisit coloring books with a bit of a twist. Every camper will be requested to bring a favorite book with the willingness to share with someone else. Again colored pens and markers will be available but participants are encouraged to bring their own. A little known fact regarding Camp 60s is that there is no budget for extras such as craft supplies. Every year Lee Brunson and Hartley Bennett have dipped into their personal resources to purchase the materials used. As the crafts have become more elaborate so have the expenses risen. We need a little help from our friends and that s where you come in. If YOU have an idea for a future craft and would be willing to sponsor and help with its implementation, please contact Lee or Hartley and we will help you get the ball rolling.

6 This is the picture of Camp 60s If you would like to see your best friend standing next to you, all you need do is spread the word. Remember, Camp 60s More or Less depends on you to spread the word. (And, next year, if I don t remember please everyone take one step forward so those on the back row can be more easily seen. I tried but did not have everyone step TWO steps forward.) Each year, Jeanette Sasmor writes a short article for her church newsletter about Camp 60s More or Less. Here is what she wrote and I could not have expressed it better. During July each year, the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona s Camp and Conference Center at Chapel Rock in Prescott opens its doors to one of the most unique camp experiences for campers who are 60 years old, more or less. This year, 54 campers from around the state of Arizona registered and participated in 3 days and 4 nights of learning, sharing, creating and generally having a good time in a peaceful environment with great food. Two of St. Andrew s congregation, Jeannette Sasmor and Cookie Carpenter, attended and both are looking forward to going back next July and are available to answer questions. The learning part of the camp was divided into two parts: 1. Half-Truths based on a program developed by the nationally renowned Rev. Adam Hamilton. Led by Rev. Julie O Brien, camp Chaplain, we discussed several sayings that people believe come from the Holy Scriptures, and at best are only partly true. Exploring how these sayings can impact a person who is already suffering distress was very enlightening. Many could add personal experiences that provided examples of how the half-truths impacted them. The discussions were very lively. 2. The second part of formal learning focused on the History of Church music. The camp s musical directors, Dale Herren and Gladie Herndon, did a superb job of not only identifying the composers and the style of church music starting back in the 6 th century to the present, but also explaining how the context of the different times history, art, architecture, beliefs, and literature shaped the performance of each era. The presentation was peppered with many examples of the different musical styles, courtesy of YouTube. They also were able to point out how many of the works of the historical composers are still a part of our present day Hymnal. In addition to the formal events, there was a camp wide crafts project. This year, we, the campers, were asked to imagine a place of tranquility for relaxation and meditation and then create a tableau inside a flat dish to represent our special place. The results were simple to elaborate. The creativity of the campers, with the help of the camp s craft guru, Hartley Bennett and camp Dean, Lee Brunson, created personal examples (using everyday items) of what tranquility means to each of us. They were displayed on the final evening for all to see and were blessed by The Rev. Julie O Brien at our Eucharist service.