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| Paddles boats and canoeing were first-time favorites for many campers. |
“I came here because I was bored.”
“I came here because my momma said I need to do something other than play football.”
“I came here to learn the ways of God.”
These real statements by real middle-school youth from Metro Detroit demonstrate the need for the Urban Methodist Youth Camp at Judson Collins Campground in Onsted.
In its second year of summer programming it is providing crucial tools to strengthen faith, life skills, fitness and community for a group of energetic, moldable youth often left out in the church camping world.
If growth is an ample measuring stick for the success of a program then the urban camp isn’t just a phase, it’s a soon-to-be craze.
After having 118 high school and middle school youth pack the camp in 2009, camp leaders decided to break it into two weeks of fun and instruction in 2010.
The first week of August brought in 88 high school students and the following week was filled with the voices and laughter of 96 middle school students.
“They really, really look forward to it and they need it,” said Audrey Mangum, the camp’s program administrator. “Some don’t know what to expect — some have never been away from their parents and families.”
It does the body good
While campfires and marshmallows have their place, Urban Youth Camp is far from a traditional camping experience.
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| The Counselor vs. Campers basketball game was a hit. |
Prior to camp each participant chooses one offering to spend an “intensive” two hours developing skills and participating in each morning.
This year the camp also offered Latino dance and drums, and drama, for people who are more artistically driven.
Every afternoon also offers time for capture the flag competition, scavenger hunts, crafts, an array of tours and more.
This year some of the high school students even had the opportunity to do an overnight canoe trip that took them across several lakes to the nearby Lutheran campground.
“Canoeing is something a lot of urban kids have never experience before,” said Judson Collins Director Sarah Ratz. “Last week this girl was crying and didn’t want to go, but we put her in the lifeguard boat and at the end she said she was glad she got to do it. It’s really awesome to see people overcome fears here.”
Cliff Stallings, the Judson Collins’ dean for 43 years strong and the chairman of the Urban Methodist Youth Camp Council, said the purpose of all of the activities is to help the kids bond.
Digging deeper
Those connections only begin with the fun.
The theme this year is “Transformation,” and Rev. Carter Grimmett (People’s UMC) was the pastoral leader/speaker for the high school camp and Rev. Dr. Darryl Totty (Conant Avenue UMC) was in charge of the spiritual growth of the middle school students.
Utilizing other talented pastors and leaders from the Detroit East and West districts, Grimmett and Totty helped inspire youth to become more disciplined and involved in discerning God’s call while also tackling tough issues like abstinence and pressing forward through difficult situations.
Donna Stallings, Cliff’s sister, facilitated abstinence/prevention talks with middle school girls and she said this week could be a real turning point in the lives of some youth.
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| Some of the camp leadership. All photos by Audrey Mangum. |
She said boys and girls alike are being transformed in powerful ways through this new life experience.
“Last week there were 16,17,18 year-old boys at the end of camp…just letting it all out, not afraid to release the emotions stored up inside them.”
Attention: Help wanted
As everybody’s mother or father probably once told them: “Nothing is free.”
One of the urban camp’s big successes is the ability to offer a weeklong experience for just $100 per camper, about $225 less than it would usually cost for a similar experience, according to Ratz.
Cliff Stallings said that is made possible through the help of the United Methodist Union who provided $25,000 in grant money to the camp this year.
Mangum is currently busy finding and writing local and national grants to help subsidize other costs and projects and Stallings said he wants to see a continually improving commitment to the urban camp cause.
“I would like to see the conference invest more in this camp,” he said, noting that the Lake Huron Retreat Center, used primarily by adults, has seen ongoing renovations and upgrades since 1999
Stallings would like to see the day where some of the 60-70 year old cabins are replaced or repaired and the 240-acre campground reaches more of its full potential.
“This camp is an ideal situation for Metro-Detroit area kids,” he said. “I’m convinced we can get some more youth down here, as well as counselors if we had some more renovated facilities.”
Grants and donations, which can be made online at www.judsoncollinscenter.org, are for more than just subsidizing costs for campers.
Mangum said nearly $4,200 was poured into transportation to and from camp in the two weeks and Stalling said the purchase of a “cheap bus or two” in the future could eliminate most of that annually.
In the meantime the five-person Youth Camp Council is fine-tuning its own new mission statement, which reads: “The mission of the Urban Methodist Youth Camp is to provide a Christ-centered, affordable, fun, overnight camping experience for youth from urban setting and with an interest in learning about urban life.”
The camp is a fluid mission of the Detroit East and West conferences and Stallings is urging more pastors and congregations to reap the benefits of the fruits being harvested.
“We want to recruit more United Methodist ministers in our group, (to join the council),” he said. “We’re finding that when you get pastors involved it’s easier then to get their congregation and members involved in something.”
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