Father's Day & Church Camp

2015 is my first Father's Day without my father alive. As I began to reflect on Father's Days in the past, I realized that church camp played a big role in how these were celebrated.

For many years, our church camp was located about four miles from our home. Even before I was old enough to attend church camp, I was attending the Sunday evening service at the church camp because our church cancelled its evening services so we could attend. Our Wednesday evening services were also often cancelled so we could attend the Galilean service which was an evening chapel service by the lakeside.

When I was old enough to attend, my week of church camp often began on Father's Day. The family would pack me up after morning services and get me to the church camp so I could have a good choice of bunks. Mom and Dad would stay with me until after the evening vesper service and then they would head home.

Later the camp moved to the campus of a Bible college outside of Senatobia, Mississippi. By the time I was 15 and had my drivers license, I began working at the church camp. My official title was "Canteen Manager." I often performed other duties as well. Needless to say, I was still leaving for church camp after church on Father's Day even though senior high week had passed.

When I was in college, I traveled on one of the music teams that went to various church camps. At this point, I wasn't even home for Father's Day. I had to call instead. We usually traveled to camps in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi. We also attended a denominational convention each year wherever it was located.

After my undergraduate college years, I only worked in church camp a couple of times. I went as a counselor/dorm mom and teacher for my church one year, and I was the dean of a camp one year when I worked in children's ministry at a church. (I think that camp probably began on Father's Day too!)