CURRENT PATHWAYS HAPPENINGS
Winding Down a Great Summer at Camp Emmaus Exploring the Theme “Water of Life”
When the last summer campers leave, about 700 campers will have experienced the joy and awesome wonder of spending time around the campfire, perched on a cabin bunk, out on a canoe, up on the climbing wall, splashing in Lake Morgan, circled up for Journey Time (Bible Study) and hiking out to an overnight camp out site. They will have felt the love and encouragement of the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed and lived out each minute of each day by an amazing camp staff and a whole camp-style Christian Community. They will have
experienced and drunk deeply of the Water of Life (Jesus). The Water of Life has been the theme for all Pathways programs this summer. Campers have been drenched and immersed all summer in learning, sharing, worshiping and living within a fluid camp lifestyle that left no doubt about the ultimate source of cleansing, refreshment, and life-giving power – Jesus the water of life! Thanks to all of the campers, parents, church leaders, congregations, women’s groups, donors and Pathways Summer staff for a really great summer!
Day Camps Have Become a Huge Part of Pathways’ Summer Programming!
Every summer the Pathways summer Day Camp program seems to include more and more congregations and campers! This summer 17 congregations/parishes and some 600 day campers will have experienced the laughter, excitement and energy that happens when a Pathways staff team comes to their community of faith pairing up with members from their congregation to provide a unique ministry filled with games, worships, arts & crafts, bible experiences, field trips and more!
A Great Night for Sharing Stories and Enjoying Camp! On July 20, members of the Path Keepers and Trailblazer Pathways Giving Clubs spent an evening at Camp Emmaus, sampling a bit of the flavor of camp in full summer swing and taking advantage of the opportunity to swap their own stories, experiences and memories from their involvements with Pathways camps.
The evening began with informal conversation on the deck followed by a
delicious supper served up by Donna and her kitchen gang. What an experience to share a camp supper alongside a dining hall full of Elementary and Jr. High Campers! After supper there was zany camp style after supper entertainment down at the canoe beach campfire ring. The evening ended back up on dining hall deck listening to songs written and performed by one of the Emmaus summer staff leaders, swapping more camp stories and listening to a Pathways update from the current Pathways Executive and Program Directors.
Among those present at this enjoyable mid-summer get-together were folks with a long and deep connection and commitment to this special ministry. Pathways depends on the ongoing encouragement and financial support of people like those gathered on July 20th who know the value of this special ministry, a ministry that has such a profoundly positive affect on the lives of children, youth and young adults. Pathkeeper members, in support of this ministry, give at annual levels of $120+, $250+and $500 +. Trailblazers contribute $1,000+, $2,500+, $5,000+ and $10,000+. All gifts, at whatever level people are able to contribute, help Pathways provide impactful Christ centered experiences while keeping the cost to campers as low as possible with a commitment to provide for all who wish to come to camp.
Anyone interested in learning more about Path Keepers or Trailblazer giving clubs are invited to go to www.PathwaysBibleCamps.org or contact the Pathways office for more information. Donations can be made on line or by mail. THANK YOU to Pathways giving club members and all who support this ministry in many ways!
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Those Pesky Woodpeckers and Staying Warm in the Winter Time…
Woodpeckers caused extensive damage to the Camp Emmaus Challenge Course this spring. Repairs have been made to most of the
course making it safe to use this summer. The “Leap of Faith” element was not usable this summer and will need work before it can be used next summer. The challenge course is a very popular and important part of the summer program at Camp Emmaus and is used by some retreat groups as well. It now looks like total unbudgeted costs for repairs will run about $5,000.
We have also had to replace one of the furnaces in the dining hall/lodge at Camp Emmaus at a cost of $2,500.
Is there a church, group, or individual donors who can help with these unexpected expenses, over and above regular giving to Pathways? Please contact the camp office if you can help, or you can just send a check with a note if you would like to make the staff and board of Pathways break into great big smiles!
Quilt and Fine Art Auction October 14Are you looking for a fun way to celebrate fall and support your Pathways Outdoor Ministry? Then look no further! Pathways has a fun packed day planned for Saturday, Oct 14 at Dilworth Lutheran Church, right next to Moorhead, MN in Dilworth! The fun begins at 10:30 AM with games and activities for all ages as well as the opportunity to peruse the art and quilts that will be up for auction. A lunch will be available starting at 11:30 with the Auction beginning at 12:30 followed by a celebrity pie auction and pie social. There will be live music, supervised activities for children and fall refreshments throughout the day. If you have art or a quilt(s) to donate please contact the camp office or bring your item(s), along with identifying information, to one of several drop off points: Zion Lutheran Church, Thief River Falls, First Lutheran Church, Bemidji or Church of the Good Shepherd, Moorhead.
Pathways Is Leading a Bus Trip to the National Youth Gathering in Houston
Pathways will once again be providing an extraordinary travel experience, complete with Pathways staff, to and from the 2018
ELCA National Youth Gathering next summer in Houston.
This special trek to the gathering will get underway in Barnesville, MN on Saturday, June 23rd where groups will be dropped off on the return trip, July 2nd. Stops along the way to Houston will include but not be limited to Brown vs Board of Education National Historic Site, Six Flags over Texas and a fun Beach Day on the Gulf of Mexico. For more information check out the Pathways web at www.PathwaysBibleCamps.org
All are invited to Fall Creation Education Celebration Retreat Sept 29 – Oct 1 at Camp EmmausThis new retreat gives Pathways’ Program Director Brooke Klemetsrud an opportunity to spread her wings and use her environmental/outdoor education
degree! Get set for a wild and fun weekend with Brooke engaging in nature activities such as learning or brushing up on your canoe skills, carving pumpkins, playing and learning some new things about God’s creation. This weekend is for families and adults who like to have a great time outdoors!
Chill, Read, Fish, Hike, Study, Plan…at Camp Emmaus Fall Reading Days October 8-11Come to Camp Emmaus for you own independent study/planning time while connecting with the beauty of the North Woods (and maybe catch a trout or two in our lake)
This is an opportunity for a low key way for pastors, church staff and others to accomplish some self-directed continuing education and unwind a bit while enjoying the beautiful Camp Emmaus north woods fall surroundings. There will be some relaxed times for worship and group sharing available. Participants can bring reading material of their choice. During these days there will be an optional fly-fishing and spiritual reflection track offered with expert fly-fishing instruction (gear provided) available. This time away will begin in the evening on Sunday and run through mid-morning Wednesday. For more information go to
www.PathwaysBibleCamps.org
Schedule for Upcoming Pathways Programmed Retreats
Fall Creation Celebration Sept 29-Oct 1 (families & adults) EmmausReading Day Oct 8-11 (Adults) EmmausHops & Holiness, Beer and Hymns Nov 17-19 (adults) MinneWaKanAdvent Retreat Dec 8-10 (Families and adults) - EmmausHigh School Winter Retreat – January 12-14, 2018 EmmausMiddle School Winter Retreat – January 26-28 EmmausElementary Winter Retreat March 2-3 EmmausJr High Winter Retreat March 9-11 Emmaus
More information and registration forms for Pathways programed retreats is or will be available on-line at the Pathways website.
Book Your Fall Church Retreat and Get Preference on Dates For Your Retreat!Up until September 1 Church Groups receive a preference over non-church groups on dates they prefer for retreats taking place this fall (Sept. through Dec). Churches have up until Jan 1 for preferential choice for retreat dates booked January-May 2018.
If your group would like to head out to either Camp Emmaus or Camp MinneWaKan this fall and combine time doing work projects and some fun at camp just call or e-mail the camp office and let us know!
From the Executive Director: Reflections and Learnings on Outdoor MinistryI hope to see Jerry and Lynde Manlove at their ranch when Enid and I travel out to the Black Hills at the end of the summer. Jerry has over the years taught me and so many other leaders in the Lutheran Church and in Lutheran Outdoor Ministry in particular much of what it means to be in Christian community and
to walk a path of discipleship. He is responsible more than any other one person for the shape Outdoor Ministry has taken in the Lutheran Church over the last 50+ years. You gotta like a guy who is tough as nails and can also easily tear up in his passionate embrace of life, people, the land and signs of God’s abundant grace all around him.
I want to share with you a quote from Jerry and another Outdoor Ministry legend, Ham Muus, from a piece they wrote years ago as encouragement for people crazy enough to work in Outdoor Ministry. I think it fits as a description of the summer we have had at Camp Emmaus.
God is at work in this common ground. Many people find healing, acceptance, and growth that they may not experience in the outside world. Eyes and ears are opened, hearts softened and the weary find rest. Questions are asked and wrestled with. Lives are changed. The spirit of
God runs amok, sowing seeds everywhere.
Good church camps are vigorously committed to people. We are out to tell people the good news: the gift of Christ is for you! Through word and sacrament we proclaim that you are indeed a child of God. You are God’s forever!
May you know you are God’s forever!
Blessings on the rest of your summer and may your pathways lead you to journey with the God who loves you and calls you to have life in all of its fullness!
Steve Peterson, Pathways Executive Director -\
PATHWAYS LUTHERAN OUTDOOR MINISTRIESCamp Minne-Wa-Kan & Camp Emmaus
218-987-2600 [email protected]
