It has been a difficult year in the world of camping programs. The tragic July 4th floods that occurred last summer were devastating. So many lives were lost. Homes were destroyed. The Guadalupe River Valley was forever changed.
The tragedy also served as a catalyst for extensive legislation. New laws in Texas are helping camps across Texas become safer places for campers and staff to explore all that camp has to offer.
I am proud to report that the Laity Lodge Youth Camp and Family Camp teams are working hard to prepare for this summer. We want to foster an atmosphere of safety and hospitality for our campers, guests, and staff.
“Camp safety is essential to our mission and purpose. ”
In some ways, this is not difficult work because it aligns with who we are. Our mission is to “cultivate wholeness in people and institutions for the transformation of communities.” We believe that wholeness is cultivated in individuals through restored relationships with each other, ourselves, creation, and God. For these relationships to flourish at camp, people must feel safe—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Camp safety is essential to our mission and purpose. It is one of the pillars on which we build our hospitality. It is embedded in our value of stewardship: We take care of everything and everyone entrusted to us.
In other ways, this work is very difficult. We can never stop evaluating the “why” behind all that we do, and we must be open to alternative ways to accomplish that “why” when necessary. We must be willing to adapt.
Fostering an atmosphere of safety and hospitality for our campers, guests, and staff requires that we are grounded in purpose and adaptive in practice.
Interestingly, the same is true for how the Lord restores relationships. The Lord is adaptive in his pursuits. He forgives a woman caught in adultery and then urges her to “leave her life of sin.” He calls Zaccheus down from the tree and shares a meal with him in his home. He rebukes Peter and later challenges him to “feed his sheep.”
The Lord is grounded in his purpose of restoration and adaptive in his practices of pursuit.
“We are grounded in purpose and adaptive in practice.”
This summer, like every summer, we seek to follow the Lord’s lead. We promise to remain grounded in our purpose of cultivating wholeness and adaptive in our practices—so that everyone will feel as safe as possible.
It is going to be another great summer in the Frio Canyon. See you soon!
Cary Hendricks
Executive Director
Laity Lodge Camping Programs
