Hello everyone! The Program Team is now living comfortably at camp and we are so excited for this whole summer! We are readjusting to the many bugs and warm days. Most of the Summer Staff team will be arriving on May 31st, with a few arriving later during staff training. As we prepare for this upcoming ten weeks we ask for prayers and positive thoughts, along with bug repellent and sunny days. Preparing for summer has been so much fun already, but we are excited for staff tra

This story was the final day of Bible study during my first summer as a counselor, back in 2014. It has since become one of my favorite stories to return to as I have begun seminary. One of the distinctive features of this story for me is the fact that people from so many different cultures were able to share in this single, beautiful experience. Camp is a place where much the same can happen. This place brings together so many people from so many different backgrounds, all c

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Psalm 139 1-6 Take a 2nd with us. 10am to 2pm today (May 2nd) w

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. The first time I remember studying this verse was on a mission trip to Camden NJ, a struggling inner city area near Philly. We were painting at an after school site that frankly needed a lot more than just a new coat of paint. It could be frustrating at times

We've extended our early bird discount! Use code EARLYBIRD anytime before March 31. Join us for a Family Night this month to learn more about Summer Camp: March 3 at Shepherd of the Hills, Haymarket March 10 at Grace, Chesapeake March 24 at Muhlenberg, Harrisonburg #earlybirddiscount #summercamp #familynight #lutherancamp #churchcamp #outdoorministry #firsttimecamper #overnightcamp #traditionalsummercamp

Thank you - to all of our Donors, our Board of Directors, our neighbors, our friends new and old, to The Black Lillies, and to the hard working volunteers who made Saturday's big celebration possible. In total, we celebrated with about 130 friends on Saturday. Our Board of Directors met to plan and strategize, then we had dinner with neighbors and our generous donors to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. After dinner, The Black Lillies filled the Upper Room with music and ex

Then they said to him, 'Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" In 1991, after several years of volunteering as a counselor at Hungry Mother Lutheran Camp in Marion VA, I decided I wanted to move up to a bigger camp. I learned of Caroline Furnace and applied. After a few telephone interviews and letters back and forth in the mail I was hired. I reported for staff orientat

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Isn't it so cool that God made today and all of creation, is always with us and just loves us so very much?! It most definitely is! This is why "This is the day" is one of my absolute favorite songs that we sing at camp! This verse takes me home to Caroline Furnace because it is so easy to apply at camp. Camp is an intentional Christian community, so it is easier to take the time to stop and thank God

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of the Lord endures forever. This has always been one of my favorites and is a comforting reminder that God's got this, and that no matter what I do or fail to do, everything will be okay. For me, 2018 feels like it has been absolutely packed with seasons of life - it has been exciting, busy, stressful, fun, exhausting, and full of change and growth. And yet God's presence is there in the midst of it all. I feel incredibly b

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a fest of rich food, a fest of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. I have always loved mountains, just like the little girl in the book, Heidi, (for whom I am named) loved the mountains surrounding her home. I mo