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Christ-centred. Creative. Canadian.
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Last week, my kids attended a summer camp run by the local United Church. It was their first experience at a day camp and we weren’t sure how it was going to go. My seven-year-old son, who is legally blind, gets anxious about new experiences and protested as soon as I told him about the plan. My five-year-old daughter, who had been bouncing with anticipation for weeks, promising to “help bro bro,” turned into Velcro at the first-day drop-off. This is what I was afraid of. What if they wouldn’t let me leave?
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I visualized giving up and taking them home to juggle emails and zoom meetings while dolling out snacks and screen time in unhealthy proportions. It’s a double shift that I’ve done before, and it’s exhausting. Sara Pot says that many parents of kids with disabilities struggle to find summer programming that works for them. Thanks for reminding me, Sara, that I’m not alone in that challenge.
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In the end, my kids’ time at camp went great! The staff asked good questions about my son’s disability and made space for him to explain how to include him during fast-paced games like tag or while learning songs with actions. At pickup on the second day, he held a pipe cleaner-pocked potato pet aloft. “I had the best day!” he exclaimed with pride.
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The staff running the camp came from all over B.C. They go to a new town every week to bring the good news of Jesus and to “draw the circle wide” as they sang in an opening song. Maybe some would call them missionaries, but I don’t think they would use that word. What do you think about the word missionary or mission trips? Isabelle Brown says short-term missions may have gotten a bad name in recent years, but they still play a vital role in building God’s kingdom.
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Whether your summer brings travel, caregiving, summer camps or staying home, I pray that you receive God’s providence and the support of your community near and far just when you need it most.
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Did someone forward this newsletter to you?
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BEING A CHRISTIAN IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE
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Palestinians who have faced evictions and demolitions met with Canadian church leaders to share their stories.
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Sylvia Keesmaat
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Why is it that so many Christians support the ongoing violence against Palestinians by the state of Israel? Why is it that there are so many Christian Zionists – in fact, more Christian Zionists than Jewish Zionists? There are a number of interwoven reasons.
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Many Christian Zionists believe the establishment of a Jewish state in modern-day Israel will hasten the second coming of Jesus.
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THE MEASURE OF A GOOD MISSION TRIP
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‘We have to be so careful of not being ethnocentric,’ says scientist and missionary Kafi Ealey.
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Isabelle Brown
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Damon Ealey thinks short-term missions shouldn’t be “used for anything more than vision and partnership.” By that, he means serving alongside people living in that nation, supporting local churches and building long-term partnerships. He says that if a mission trip is solely about saving and witnessing, then it can become a “waste of time” and “very ethnocentric.”
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CHALLENGING GEN X'S MEMORY
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Ronald Kuipers
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Angus does not look away from suffering in the world, nor from the failure of powerful institutions, including the church, to confront injustice. Raised Roman Catholic, he is especially honest about the church’s history of abuse and silence, failing to stand with history’s crucified, writing: “This, to me, is the greatest scandal and tragedy.”
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1950: THE BRIDGE CROSSING
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Didy Prinzen
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It was a Saturday evening. June 3, 1950. We were crossing a long bridge and entering Prince Edward County. At the wheel was Mr. John VanderVliet, the fieldman for Dutch immigrants. My father, mother, brother and I sat in the back seat, filled with anticipation and apprehension. Our beginnings in Canada thus far had been tumultuous, to put it mildly!
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THE SUMMER RESPITE GAP
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Sara Pot
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For parents and caregivers of loved ones impacted by disability and developmental challenges – who rely on predictable schedules, social routines and respite from caregiving – summer holidays can be challenging. Summer camps are great alternatives, but for neurodivergent children and kids with medical challenges like my daughters, the spots are limited, costly or both.
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Christian Courier is independent of a denomination, but broadly reformed. And maybe that sounds like something your church needs: a conversation starter and partner.
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We've launched an offer for churches to sign up for bundles of CC, with up to 50% off their first year subscription. Email Michelle Slomp to learn more: [email protected], or call 1-800-275-9185.
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