Stories from Christian Creative Arts Camp 2023
The first week of summer (and last week of June) we opened our doors to host Christian Creative Arts Camp. We had fearless volunteers join us from New England: Anna Burden and the Vickerman family (Craig is Rector of All Saints Anglican and head of Anglican Diocese in New England Youth and Family Department). In them, God brought us folks who love kids, who get what goes into hosting a camp, who love the grace of Jesus, and who will try anything! Perfect! They anticipated what Sean and I needed – like helping to clean up so we could chat with parents and made the games and Gospel-storytelling even more fun. Plus, they brought oodles of fresh bread and a hammock, which we are still enjoying! We are so grateful for them.
the team
16 children joined us from preschool to 6th grade, over half of which do not attend a church. It really felt like a culmination of all the relationships over the last 2.5 years. Frankly, our girls have been the greatest bridge builders for us. As we welcomed kids the first day, they often ran out to cars to welcome their friends. God is using them just by being themselves! There were a few new kids who were brave enough to come too.
Every day we had kickball or another fun game to play. We taught the kids some songs, and by the second day the kids were leading them. I could tell this was new for many of them, but they jumped in. We sang, “He brought me to his banqueting table; his banner over me was love.” As we repeated the chorus, “His banner over me; his banner over you; his banner over us is love, love, love,” we held up colorful flags so the kids could run through a silky “banner of love.” They giggled and loved it. At the art show on the third day, we had their parents join them. One mother asked me to send her the song because her son sang it so much at home. She wanted to join him.
The Story (the backbone of the camp)
I began the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) by explaining that it is hard to believe God is real or that he cares about you. Many kids nodded. It’s easy to believe He is not real or that he doesn’t care or know about you. They also agreed. God knows this about us, I reassured. That’s why he sent his Only Son, Jesus, to show us just how much he loves us, to make God’s love real to us where we need him most. Jesus loved us when we were at our worst. It’s easy to love others on their good days. But it’s on our bad days that we need love the most. Jesus gave his life for you and me, and then rose from the dead to show he’s stronger than the worst we can do. His love heals our hurts and makes something beautiful out of our mess. Jesus told this story to explain how much he and his Father love you and me.
On the first day, the Vickerman family, Anna Burden, and Skylar acted out the story of the Prodigal Son. They used capes to color code each character: The Father was yellow; the younger son was red, the older son was green, the friends who leave the younger son when he goes broke were purple, the servant who explains the return party to the older son was orange, and the party the father throws the younger son was blue.
“What was your favorite part?” I asked.
“The party for the younger son!” most replied. Anna and Alethea had been doing “La Macarena,” which delighted the kids.
“That party is like the party that Jesus has for us in heaven where all the sons and daughters who know Jesus’ love and forgiveness will party forever! What do you think the party in heaven will have?”
Their replies surprised us:
“A pool of ice cream!”
“With cats!”
“And a zip line ending in the pool!”
I summarized: “A zipline ending in a pool of ice cream where cats are also swimming?”
“Yes.”
Well, the Lord has some imaginations to delight! I’m sure he will exceed them.
When I asked if anyone had ever felt like the younger brother, if anyone had ever needed to be forgiven for something, lots of hands went up. When I asked if anyone had ever been forgiven for those things, only a few hands went up.
One girl shared how she played with slime on her bed despite her parents’ restriction against it. Sure enough she got slime everywhere. “My mother showed me compassion,” she said, and forgave her. She remembers that. (Even though she continues to play with slime on her bed ;)
On the second day, the crew told the story again, but this time their feet were coated in paint, so their footprints were color-coded to tell the story. The kids helped. Some were the party that left the younger son alone. Some (most) were the party that celebrated the younger son’s return. It was very messy and took a while to clean off their feet. Rhyan, our oldest, noticed that the kids all paid attention, even with the washing delays. We were all struck by that. They were hearing something good, something true, something they wanted to keep hearing.
When we wondered about the story together, I noted that the Father loved both sons very much. Both sons were troubled. The younger son was selfish and rude. The older son followed rules but thought he was better than others and held grudges. He did not understand how much his Father loved him. He complained to his Father, “All these years and you never even gave me a young goat!” The Father replied, “All that I have is yours.” And the Father begged him to come in to the party. I asked the kids if they thought that the older brother ever went into the party? They all said, yes. The leaders all agreed too. We shared that we have been both the younger brother and the older brother at times. Jesus has brought us into his party. Older brothers have been telling this story ever since Jesus told them.
On the third day, we told the story with our capes on our footprints, the kids looked a bit bored until… Sean had had the idea to invite the kids to tell the story themselves. So, we did. They sprang to life. For the next 45 minutes they took turns acting out the different parts of the story. Each one knew the characters by heart and could play any role. Rhyan led the way as the narrator. Then other kids did too. I was particularly touched by one young artist. She asked me that afternoon:
“Have you ever been to church?”
I was tickled that I was that anonymous to her – I was Skylar and Rhyan’s mom who loved art and loved telling stories about Jesus. I replied:
“Yes; have you?”
“No,” she answered. Then she asked, “Is art your passion?”
“Yes,” I admitted and then added, “Art, and telling stories about Jesus. How about you? Do you know your passions yet or are you still figuring that out?”
“Still figuring that out.”
“You’ve got time,” I said.
She ended up narrating Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son and knew it all by heart. She was composed and compelling. When we did it for the parents, she wanted to play the part of the Father. She did.
Our favorite part of the whole camp was watching the kids vie to play the different parts of Jesus’ parable. They were funny and often had to figure out ways to split the parts so two people could play one. Jesus’ masterpiece sunk deep into their hearts and memories, and stained their clothes. They will know that Jesus told this story to show his love and his Father’s love for us, for them. They all acted out the Father running out, embarrassing himself to welcome his son home. They all acted out the homecoming, forgiveness party. They all acted out the way Jesus loves them.
The Personal Art Projects
They made art too!
Each day had a theme: loved, lost, found. Each day we did a piece of collaborative art, a journal, and a personal art project.
Loved.
On the first day, we said that Jesus loved us the way the Father loved his two sons. Jesus also said to consider the flowers of the field (in Matthew 6). Jesus noted that the flowers don’t do anything yet they are gorgeous; how much more important are we to our Heavenly Father! So, we painted a field of flowers… with tennis balls. Some kids had paint on themselves for the next few days. One girl confessed to me, “I really got my anger out on those tennis balls.” Yay! Art and Gospel at work!
Their personal project was to paint their own t-shirt that said, “Loved” on the back. It symbolized the “finest robe” that the Father puts on his son when he comes home. The kids were so proud of their work and wore them as soon as possible.
Lost.
The personal project for the theme of “lost” on Day 2 was oil pastel and watercolor. We noted how the Father came “running” to embrace his son who was lost but now was found. I explained how that was an embarrassing thing for an adult male to do at that time. In the same way, Jesus went through an embarrassing death in order to love us at our worst and bring us home. I had them use oil pastels to trace a grown up’s foot and put a nail scar on it to show that it was Jesus’ foot. It symbolized Jesus “running out” to welcome us home. Then they traced their own feet and any (all) of their friends’ feet who need Jesus’ love. Then they used watercolor to fill it in. They traced each other’s feet for a long time. The trees gave shade and they painted freely.
Found.
The personal project for the theme of “found” on Day 3 was to paint a place where you feel loved, perhaps where you feel God’s love for you. It might be a landscape, a favorite spot or a feeling. Or it might just be the act of painting whatever came to mind or whatever they saw.
The kids hung their artwork on our fence for the art show. One girl who was new to us all ended up getting sick with strep throat on the third day. She was proud of her art and sad to miss the show and pizza/pool party. She wanted us to display her artwork even though she had to leave early. Her friend took it home. I was touched that she was so invested in the camp. (Thankfully she is better now!)
The kids were proud to show off their artwork. Many parents came and heard their children tell them Jesus’ parable. They stayed for the pool and pizza party. We invited them all to join us in our monthly church service. Regardless, they have Jesus’ promises with them. He always keeps them.
Thank you!
Some shout-outs: Andrew Vickerman played endlessly with the kids. Alethea Vickerman had the gift to cozy up to any child who needed comfort. Anna Burden had the 6th sense of anticipating our need for set up and tear down. Anna and Craig were goofy with the kids yet locked in on how to convey the Gospel the best and make a safe space for kids to hear it. Rhyan and Skylar were bold enough to share this with their friends, risking possible rejection. None came. Each night we debriefed the day – our high, our low, our random thing, and a way we saw God work. Alethea suggested this format. Even Rhyan and Skylar were eager to share.
We felt supported as we poured into these kids.
Thank you for being a part of it too.
They are worth it.
Let the party begin – bring on the cats in ice cream!
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