Feb 27, 2020
By Damian Greene
Do you have a smell that quickly moves you to another time and place? Is it a pie baking, a forest after a rainstorm, a turkey in the oven, or a pine tree just after being cut? For me, it’s the smell of bug spray. Any bug spray can act as a portal to take me back in time to another place. It is loud and exciting, and young people far outnumber the adults. It is dusk, and it is hot. With the help of bug spray, I’ve been catapulted back in time to my church camp days. Come along on the journey…
Here I am surrounded by loud, excited teenagers. We are spraying on bug spray like it is our favorite perfume. We are headed to vespers soon. It’s my first year at camp—I have no idea what this churchy word means. Vespers is not something I have ever heard of. It turns out vespers quickly becomes one of my favorite activities at camp. Silently, we hike down a path to a nearby lake and perch on a large, beautiful rock, as the sun sets. While we are there, we sing praise songs, listen to Scripture being read aloud, enjoy some silent prayer and time for reflection. An adult counselor has a guitar that is used as accompaniment. It makes an impression because of the stark difference between this guitar and the church organ I am more used to. To me, it is a whole new way of worshiping. Although vespers is my favorite activity at camp, it is the Bible lessons that teach me the most.
This week, we are studying Psalm 139 every single day. As a junior high student, it seems intense, laborious, and albeit unnecessary. However, it quickly becomes my favorite Bible passage. Perhaps because I understand it so well. Or maybe because it is now so familiar. I learn from this; there is not a better time in life to learn and commit to memory parts of Psalm 139 than in middle school!
Another camp lesson is about communion. Pastor Dave Taylor and Pastor Dale Rood lead us in the celebration and remembrance of communion. I have taken communion with my Seventh Day Baptist church family of course, but I have never taken communion in a camp great room, or with almost all teenagers. There are no deacons here to serve it; no navy blue suits; no fancy, pressed, white tablecloths. The pastor informs us of the importance of letting go of unforgiveness prior to having communion. He gives us time to talk with others, and clear up unforgiveness. It is near the end of the camp week. We have been together day in and day out. We have had not quite enough sleep, and some of us are homesick. Of course, we had made friends, but we have also made our disagreements known. The pastor encourages us to seek out those we have wronged and ask forgiveness before participating in communion. There is not a dry eye in the place. I don’t know it now, but this is a lesson I will take with me to the communion table years later as an adult. Ever wonder why our churches announce communion a week ahead of time? I’m pretty sure it is to allow time to ask the people around you for forgiveness.
The bug spray is gone, but the memories remain. As an adult, I now reflect back on my camp experiences. I would like to say every bug spray memory is a positive one, but that is not true. As I reflect further, I am reminded of being terribly homesick. I had never been away from home for more than a night or two. A week felt like forever. Of course, this is no one’s fault. I felt loved, valued and respected by every camp staff member. Nonetheless, homesickness was a part of my camp experience.
The first year or two of camp I faced another challenge. In an attempt to know me better, the adults at camp kept asking who I was. As a middle school girl, I felt I asked myself this question daily. I realize now, these adults were trying to make a loving connection into my SDB circle. Who did we both know? Was my grandfather an SDB pastor? Was my uncle from Milton? Now, I realize that I should have said, “I am a first generation SDB,” or “You don’t know me yet, but you will someday.” Given my background, I had trouble comprehending what these adults were looking for. I came to dread the question, and had a great deal of angst when being asked, “Who are you?” As a small church conference with a long history, I think there is a lesson in this for us. New people who join our church families want to be known by who they are, not whose relative they are, or who they know. Next time you are tempted to ask someone who they are related to—don’t. Just love and welcome them for who they are.
Carl Greene followed by David Stall as they were heading into the main lodge at the beginning of Lewis Camp, Summer 1991.
Bug spray… It’s odd that something like that can transport me through time and space, and back to my childhood. Some of the lessons learned at church camp this summer will stick with them for their whole lives. Trust me—I know. As adults, our response should be to ask ourselves, how will I support SDB camps this year? What can I do? Can I give financially? Cook meals? Prepare snacks? Be among the brave who staff? What will you do to make sure a whole new set of teenagers have bug spray memories?
Damian Greene lives in Berlin, NY, with her husband John Greene. They are deacons at the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church. Damian has her Bachelor of Science degree from Russell Sage College in English and Elementary Education. She is the mother of four children, most of whom are now adults (insert cheering here). Damian is employed at Grace Christian School as a middle school teacher, in Bennington, VT. She enjoys hosting family and friends, playing board games, and cooking for church camp.
