Sign Music Camp Registration Made Easy

Sign music camp registration

[Music] i am the reverend diane bailey the senior minister at first church of christ in suffield and we are glad that you are joining with us today it is a special sunday it is silver lake sunday silver lake conference center is the outdoor ministry of the southern new england conference of the united church of christ it is where kids come together during the summer and actually throughout the year for fun and friendship and fellowship and to grow in their faith and to learn more about god's great backyard and so we welcome the reverend ryan geckenheimer this week to who will give our message and talk more about silver lake that even in these pandemic times they will be gathering for summer camp this summer so friends no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey you are welcome here if you believe a little or you believe a lot you are welcome here if you doubt a little or you doubt a lot or you're not sure what to believe you are welcome here let us worship god's beautiful world together to the officers and members of first church of christ suffield connecticut notice is hereby given of the annual meeting of the first church of christ congregational suffield connecticut to be held sunday january 31st at 11 o'clock am via zoom dated at suffield connecticut january 10 2021 jill wiganowski clerk of the church [Music] [Music] will you join me in the call to worship we gather together to celebrate god's beautiful heavens god has created the sun to bask in and the stars to gaze at we gather to celebrate god's beautiful earth god has created the grass under our feet and the sand between our toes we gather to celebrate god's beautiful waters the ponds lakes oceans and seas god has created the waters in which we swim boat and play god has created this beautiful planet and we are to care for it so that we can enjoy it let us gather together to celebrate a god who creates beautiful things and encourages us to enjoy it let us lift our voices this morning in our opening prayer creator god you have gifted us with this beautiful earth and with places like silver lake where we can gather to grow in our faith make new friends and enjoy your beautiful nature we are grateful for the many ways we can get to know you in the great outdoors and where we can be our true authentic selves we gather to offer you our praises through word prayer and song let our hearts rejoice as we lift up the beauty of your creation amen hi guys my name is emily and i was on camp family this summer i'm going to be singing everloving light with you which is a repeat after me song this means that i'm going to sing a line you will sing it back and then the chorus we sing all together the words to the chorus are because the lord took my life and they filled it with their ever loving light ever loving light oh the lord took my life and they filled it with their ever loving light oh the sun's coming up oh the sun's coming up on a bright new day [Music] i'm feeling all right i'm feeling all right cause the lord took my life and it built a bite there ever loving light ever loving light oh the lord took my life and they filled it with [Music] i'm feeling all right because the lord took my life and they filled it with their ever loving light every loving light oh the lord and at the end of the day at the end of the day i see the moon break through the moon breakthrough and it makes me want to say like i always do like they always do lord thank you for the day lord thank you for the day and thank you for the night and thank you for that and thank you lord for filling me up with hear this poem called a day in the life of silver lake we gather for breakfast who are the waiters the food is oh so delicious what allergies no problem lynn has something yummy for everyone off to the waterfront the labyrinth the field or a hike new best friends emerge as we make bracelets pottery or stained glass art lunch again thank you again lin singing and laughing our way through lunch we are ready for some quiet time in our bunks this doesn't come easily at first the excitement of what is to come bubbles up from within but as the week goes on we rest more easily then off to the waterfront to splush and to splash but no running down the hill that is one of the silver lake rules we are hungry for dinner and after there is little to compost we circle around to give god's thanks and praise for this beautiful place then on to campfires night hikes and gazing into the night sky back in our bunks we chitter and chatter until we float away to dream of another day on this silver lake sunday we come together to offer thanks for god's creation and for the opportunities that silver lake brings to our young people join me in prayer holy god we pray for the church and its mission that as sisters and brothers in christ we may be joined together in proclaiming the love of god in everything we do we pray for the ministries of the church we especially pray for the outdoor ministries of the united church of christ that these offerings of grace may provide a safe environment for all who attend camp we pray for all camp staff and counselors who will serve this summer that they may live out the love of jesus christ with energy and excitement as they mentor and serve the youth all summer long we pray for the mission of outdoor ministries in the church and all those who support it with their time and talents that we may continue to find new ways to offer these gifts to all who gather to encounter your love through camp we pray for this nation and the world that we may seek justice and equality for all people and that we may teach our youth these values in the ways that we work and play we pray for those who are suffering or in pain may you send your healing spirit to comfort and to protect them help us to remember that you are our light in the midst of darkness we pray these things and all that remain silently upon our hearts in the name of jesus the one who welcomed the little children and taught his disciples these words that we pray together our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen hi everybody my name is ally chu and i'm your camp photographer for this summer and i'm going to be leading you guys in the silverlake quadrilogy um so the way that the sub like quadrilogy works is we basically layer four songs over each other and it's gonna sound like one big chaotic fun mess um so you guys are gonna be singing singing three songs which are i'm gonna sing sing sing i want the saints go marching in and swing let's sweet chariot we're gonna start off with i'm gonna sing i'm gonna sing sing sing i'm gonna shout shout shout i'm gonna sing i'm gonna shout [Music] [Music] next is going gonna be swing low sweet [Music] chariot [Music] next is gonna be oh when the saints go marching in [Music] [Music] is [Music] carry me [Music] swing [Music] i bring greetings on behalf of the southern new england conference united church of christ and your year-round outdoor ministry silver lake conference center located in these beautiful hills of northwest connecticut in the town of sharon it is a joy and a blessing to be with you in spirit today to share the good news that is silver lake i am the reverend brian gackenheimer and have the privilege of serving as the executive director at your silver lake conference center have you ever gotten a letter from a friend or today perhaps it's more appropriate to ask have you ever gotten a text or a direct message from a a friend that you desperately needed a word of encouragement a word of hope a word that gave some light in the darkness it seems that even this is even more common at this time of year as we start the new year many of us are reaching out to our friends we have not been in touch with for a while and perhaps you're actually the one who's sending that word of hope well that's exactly what we have here from paul this is the close of his first letter to the church and church community in thessalonica paul had traveled there and shared the good news that is jesus the christ he'd baptized among the faithful he established the faith community and now has gone on to his next charge but he has not left the people there on their own he continues to write to them thankfully for us this letter somehow survived the years and has been included as a part of our scripture i don't know if you noticed but 2020 was a rough year and certainly 2021 is going to begin similarly and i think we need this letter more than ever it is as if paul is writing us today and not to a church over 2000 years ago he somehow knew that there would be times of life when leaders within the church will be exhausted when they'll be burnt out all of their well-designed ideas and programs will not work the same when everything we know has to be reinvented a time within the church when the youth leaders the christian educators the pastors the church leaders are feeling as though they are preaching to the wind and their deeds and words and faith are all falling flat we know their work is not in vain but when you go from a vibrant in-person faith formation and youth ministry program to empty chairs and no one on the zoom gathering it can certainly feel that all that love energy time and work is for nothing and yet we know even if it doesn't always feel like it that god can and will do amazing things with that faithful effort even when it seems that it is not working seeds are being planted the fruit that will be harvested will not ripen for some time it might not even be known to us but it is vital and it is life-giving in its own time paul uses a lot of descriptors in his letter i'm sure none of these descriptors apply to anyone in this faith community but in a lot of places there are faithful people who are discouraged exhausted straggling and struggling and even some who are weak and discouraged paul names those in our community specifically and doesn't warn us against them instead he says in verse 13 be patient with each person attentive to individual needs and then he goes on to say be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other look for the best in each other and always do your best to bring it out paul certainly had his flaws but wow could he be inspiring and get to the point how much do we need this right now of course we're going to get on each other's ear nerves in this time no one knows how to do this odd time well thank god literally thank god that we have never had to do anything like this in our lifetimes we are all trying to figure it out in the midst of doing so as we search for those grounds for our faith those steadfast holds we all have different ways to do that for some it is continual prayer for others it is immersion in scripture for some it is simply seeing the familiar faces on a computer screen each sunday morning for others it is the familiar music or having the message preached or maybe it is the life giving faith formation and youth group reimagined whatever it is it is all different and it all looks different than it ever has before another piece of our faith world that looks different while still being familiar is the ministry at silver lake silver lake persists at this time we are not able to safely welcome large youth groups and all church retreats instead we have made an important shift in this season to welcoming family groups this is a new and unique opportunity at silver lake our buildings are normally full with retreat groups but this year we are able to welcome your family a time to step away from the busy world and chaotic pace of zoom meetings remote learning and seemingly endless emails to be refreshed renewed and grounded a time to have your own retreat building incredible food delivered to your doorstep prepared by chef lynn and 60 plus acres to wander and immerse yourself in the beauty of god's creation a time to be open to the presence of god to explore god's call and to be with family we look forward to welcoming you to silver lake with all of our covet 19 safety protocol in place to share the quiet beauty of silver lake with you in this season of life that quietness however will not last long for we have envisioned a new summer program for silver lake for 2021 that will be filled with joy laughter love and fun for summer campers as you know we chose not to offer camp in summer 2020 we did not feel we could offer an authentic and safe program for our campers and now with another year of knowledge and learning with guidance from the cdc with extensive information from the american camping association and with knowledge learned from across camps in new england and the united states that ran successful and safe camps in the in this last summer we have reimagined camp at silver lake and will offer an amazing faith-filled and safe summer program in 2021. there are a lot of changes this summer exciting changes for starters registration will be dramatically limited right now we are only expecting to be able to receive 252 total campers rather than our normal nearly 1 000 campers another significant change is that camp will be two week sessions yes you heard that right rather than one week session silver lake will have two week session two weeks to enjoy everything that makes silver lake amazing more ropes more swimming more boating more of chef lin's amazing food more worship more love deeper friendships deeper faith more campfires and even some new and exciting things that would never ever happen in just one week of camp both of these changes are all about keeping our campers and our staff safe you can learn more about these on the silver lake website if you'd like these important and necessary changes also mean that camp in 2021 will cost more it means your campers need you more than ever first to help get registered because the limited number of spots will fill up this year and it means camp needs to cost more because there is more camp to experience and a lot less campers which also means your campers and the campers across the conference need you more than ever i know you as a faith community have done a great job of supporting your campers i invite you to consider increasing that support this year and even giving to the silver lake general scholarship fund to support campers across the conference that might not be in faith communities like yours that can offer that incredible support it feels like every year i say young people need camp more than ever and i do truly to believe that and this year i believe it is an entirely new ballgame educators scientists psychologists parents students themselves and probably even your own soul is telling you that you need to be outside to connect with creation you need the chance to safely engage with other humans the times and reasons to laugh to run to jump to swim to climb to simply play is more important than any time in recent history it's also about a chance to be immersed in faith humans are communal creatures and most young people are even more and communal and social that is the world they know and the world we have put them in our psalmist reminds us and implores us to join the chorus of all creation giving praise to god that might seem extra difficult right now and it is completely understandable at the same time when you say thank you when you are able to be grateful when you are able to recognize god in your midst you are transformed we are transformed it makes room for the spirit to move we are enlivened and we are able to better flourish and the psalmist reminds us that when we have no strength to do so all that is sings and celebrates god's love i don't know if you can hear it right now but the snow and the sleet are actually singing god's praise behind us singing that praise and saying thank you to god that's what we do at camp we are an intentional christian community welcoming campers wherever they may be on life's journey and offering them the unconditional love of god and in response the celebration the praise and the joy resounds paul is telling us to be gentle with one another to find the good in each other to support and encourage each other that sounds just like the welcome we offer campers when we start each session of camp at silver lake who doesn't want to live in community like that this is also the reminder that we all need right now as we figure out what it means to be church as we explore what is church really about who is god calling us to be as christians as people of faith it is also vital we figure out how to be a human community when we need to be a part to be safe and yet our souls long to be together let us live into paul's letter to the thessalonians i look forward to safely welcoming you to this kind of community at silver lake on your own family retreat and very much look forward to welcoming your campers to silver lake for a life-changing experience of the holy and for a once-in-a-lifetime two-week experience at silver lake conference center your year-round outdoor ministry blessings from the lake hi everyone my name's lydia i'm the a-team coordinator this summer and we're going to be singing sia humba so the words for this song we first start in swahili and we sing sia humba kukanyan kwenkos and we sing that a bunch of times and then we sing it in english which translates to we are marching in the light of god and then we sing it in spanish in la luz de dios and then we go back to swahili siahamba cucunan cuencos [Music] [Music] [Music] we are marching in the light of god we are marching in the light of god we are marching in the light of god we are marching in the light of god we are marching we are marching oh we are marching in the light of god [Music] uh it has been good to be together today in worshiping our god and celebrating all of nature this pretty planet spinning through space you're a garden you're a harbor you're a holy place golden sun going down gentle blue giant spin around us all through the night safe till morning light go in peace you