Green Lake Lutheran Ministries, June 4-5

I was back in familiar territory this past week with my visit to the camps of Green Lake Lutheran Ministries. The corporation of camps includes Green Lake Bible Camp and Shores of St. Andrew which are near Willmar, MN and Camp House outside of Two Harbors, MN. I was at the two camps near Willmar.

In my last call I served a parish that was part of this corporation of camps and had the privilege of serving on its board for a number of years. I have great respect for the staff at these camps and the leadership, care, and creativity they bring to outdoor ministry; it felt good to be among old friends. I also ran into a former youth who is working at one of the camps this summer — his third. His name is Adam and he will be a Sr. at Gustavus Adolphus College next year. It was a proud pastoral moment for me to see him at camp.

All three camp's staffs were engaged in training when I arrived. You could tell they were nearing the end of training by the way they interacted with one another. Over the two week period they seemed to have bonded quite well. Their energy seemed quite high. I heard many positive comments about them, and I'm excited for the campers to begin interacting with and learning from them this summer.



As usual I had the opportunity to hang out with them during breaks in the schedule, and at meal and worship times. I had some good conversations with prospective seminary students.

By this Sunday most of the ELCA camps will be running full tilt until mid-August. Please keep the staff and campers in your prayers. Working at camp is a life and faith changing event and can't be experienced anywhere else. These are awesome outdoor ministry sights. As a church, we truly have a rich treasure in our camps. Please do all you can to support them this summer and throughout the year.

Read more about ELCA camps and retreat centers.