[Seek] Calumet Connections

Old friends and new have been sharing their stories of connection to a sacred place in a group on social media. This has me reflecting on our stories of connection to this special space. 

I first heard about Camp Calumet years before from my parents, who would encourage me to send my children every year. 

Then, one February morning, I woke up and decided I needed to register my three oldest children for Resident Camp at Camp Calumet. Usually this would be something I asked my children if they were interested in doing, but the thought didn't even cross my mind. I felt they needed to go. I had no idea how I was going to come up with the money, but had faith that it would all work out somehow. 

I also reserved a campsite for us for the weekend we were dropping them off - Saturday through Monday, July 4 and for the following weekend, when we would be picking them up. And I signed my two youngest up for day camp near home in CT. 

By the time our children were safely dropped off at Resident Camp, my husband and I were in love with Calumet and the people there. As we turned out of the Conference Center parking lot the next day after checking out, we turned to each other and expressed our sadness to be leaving and our need to stay for the week the following year. We were overjoyed when, on Thursday, we got an email from Camp inviting us to the Drama Camp performance our three children were performing in on Friday evening. A call to my husband convinced him to request Friday off from work and a call to my parents, who were vacationing at Calumet for the week, procured us a room in the Conference Center for Friday night. 

After picking up our youngest two from day camp on Friday, we immediately drove to Calumet. We picked up dinner, scarfed it down in our room, and dashed to Luther Hall for the play. Our children were surprised and excited to see us there, and we were delighted and impressed with the performance. 

Another weekend of camping resulted in campsite reservations for a week the following summer. We've been spending a week or two at Calumet every summer since. Our younger children have attended Day Camp as well as Resident Camp. Our two oldest enjoyed Wilderness camp, and our middle child spent four weeks in Leadership and Service last year...and would have been a Day Camp counselor this year, had there not been a pandemic. We've also gone to family weekends in the Autumn and Spring Cleaning Weekends. I have attended four retreats there with the School of Lay Ministry. 

This year, our Calumet experience has been a little different. I took four teens/young adults to Calumet for Quarancamp during the first of the two weeks we would have been at Camp as a family and our children would have been in Resident Camp. We return for three days next week ... this time with my husband and an additional child or two.

Nevertheless, every experience at Camp Calumet has been special, sacred, live-giving. The energy of the space soothes my soul. The people there lift my spirits. Calumet is a place where you can't help but feel and experience God's love. It is a place I yearn to be when I'm not there and live in gratitude for every moment spent when I am there. 

Camp Calumet isn't just a place, it's a people connected by deep faith and fervent love for one another. It is a place where love and welcome and faith are verbs lived out in community and encouraged in others.