Bart Geissinger, Camp Washington’s Executive Director & James Williams, Camp Washington’s Summer Camp Program Director
Bart Interviews James
Bart: So in a minute or so, what is Changemakers? Specifically, what makes it different from a regular ol’e camp session, or service camp?
James: “Changemakers Camp is going to be a session that focuses on making use of our voice, on the many different avenues of how to care for our world, and all while still doing ‘the camp thing.’ We will get the chance to be on the Zip Line, go to the waterfront, and have a camp mystery, WHILE jumping into a deeply intentional session. We will do service, sure, but what makes this unique will be the attention to community action, to being connected to international perspectives (like hearing from our international staff), and doing something – even in this hard world. We will spend time at our Forge, working to transform the tools of gun violence into the tools of life like shovels and farm equipment. From there we will dive into the food system at camp and talk about compost, goats, and how food access, what we eat, and how we cultivate it, is a pillar of life and dignity in a changed world.
Our voice matters, and it is no simple thing knowing how to use it – we will learn that here. There will be nothing more important to learn how to be ourselves, how to get things that matter to us, and how to grow fully into the people we need to be.”
Bart: What special programs will campers get into? Anything special these kids will do?
James: “I’m so excited for this!! We will do a service activity – which means that campers will leave Camp Washington for the first time in a long time! Besides that, though, we will be spending some time learning about the broader world: we’ll have some of our international counselors share about their life experience and learn about how the U.S. impacts the world –we’ll cap that night off with some international food! There will be a space to do some ‘advocacy training.’ An example of this was what we did with our Youth Advocacy Council – I won’t share all the details, but the beauty of this session will be both deep connection, sincerity, and fun all in four days!”
Camp is a model of how to create belonging, of how to treat others, of how to make values a lived experience rather than just words. ~James
Bart: Why did you want to put on this programming? Why would a camp that’s about having fun decide to do something about changing the world?
James: “This is such a good question – and something I struggle with. I think the answer is that when I was a kid, and still now, I’ve wondered: ‘is it my business to affect the world I live in’ and ‘do I really have any power to stop any of this from happening again and again’? Summer camp was one of the first places I learned that the answer to both of those is YES. Camp Washington has always been about changing the world. If ‘fun’ was the only purpose of camp, we’d spend a lot more time with video games, going to amusement parks, and playing random tag games. People come to camp because how we live matters – camp is a model of how to create belonging, of how to treat others, of how to make values a lived experience rather than just words.
When you learn love in action at camp, even in a normal session, you go out and share that love with friends, family, and strangers. Changemakers is making the work we’ve always done explicit – we’ll lean into our Baptismal Covenant of ‘striv[ing] for justice and peace among all people, and respect[ing] the dignity of every human being.’ Who better to learn the skills to make justice (which is just love in public) real than the youth who will be impacted by whatever future comes? Our campers can and should change the world because they know what a world of love and belonging should look like.”
I KNOW that camp is important enough to change the world. I’ve seen it repeatedly in my tenure here at Camp Washington. ~Bart
James Interviews Bart
James: When have you seen campers start to make changes?
Bart: “I have noticed as campers become comfortable with the community—when they feel safe, valued, and affirmed—they begin to claim their voice as they wrestle with finding their own place in the community and how their voice has weight and can make a difference. This can be as simple as challenging norms and traditions, or perhaps suggesting new programs, new initiatives, or other aspects of our communal life at camp.”
James: What do you think youth’s role in the church could be?
Bart: “This is something I LOVE to talk about. The Church wants our youth to be involved, wants them to come to church, wants them in the community, and yet, so often is not willing or able to meet them in their journey, hear their challenges, hopes, hurts, ideas. We need to stop talking about the fact that they AREN’T coming, and start listening to ways that will value their voice and time and encourage them TO come. It probably won’t be on Sunday morning or participating in the ways we are used to experiencing their presence. We will need to move out of our comfort zone and invite (and honor) their ideas. At camp, youth have a pivotal role in all we do. Their opinions, feedback, criticism, and praise are solicited, discussed, and heard. The teaching is in having a voice, using it, and understanding that exercising it doesn’t guarantee change, but encourages conversation. Our YAC (Youth Advisory Committee) is comprised of High School youth who represent their fellow campers, meet quarterly, and work alongside camp staff to hear from the larger camp community to discuss program and change. I make it a point to educate our youth that CW is their camp and exists as a place of experimentation, growth, recreation, renewal, and so much more for them and all God’s people.”
James: Do you think camp is important enough to change the world? Do changemakers happen at camp?
Bart: “I KNOW that camp is important enough to change the world. I’ve seen it repeatedly in my tenure here at Camp Washington. Our youth learn that the world is bigger than just themselves, that they have a responsibility in our community and in God’s world, and that they make a difference. Many campers do not have a church connection, or if they do, they aren’t necessarily thrilled by it. Camp allows them a safe space to wrestle with God and their faith as well as their questions, hurts, disappointments. It encourages them to ask questions, to experience God in nature in ways that are new, and often on their terms. Our youth learn about global responsibility: planting, growing, composting, recycling, harvesting, and feeding. Through work at our forge, they turn guns into gardening tools and put them into the soil. Through sharing experiences with our international staff, they learn how the world is so much bigger than our corner of the vineyard.
Perhaps the best example for me is watching and experiencing transformation as a camper takes responsibility for their actions, their conflict, their questionable choices, and learning how to turn that around and return to Camp Washington with an awareness, purpose, and determination. I also know quite a few successful people; teachers, coaches, priests, bishops, musicians, parents, entrepreneurs, and artists who were each nurtured in a camp, and who credit camp for the person they are today.”
Changemakers Camps will run from July 6-9. You can register at: https://campwashington.campbrainregistration.com/