I’m writing you today to tell you a little bit about Winter Camp 2017 for our youth at PC Woodbury. Seven adult volunteers and 22 students will be leaving Friday, January 6th from the Church parking lot to go to Harvey Cedars Bible Retreat and Conference center,. St Paul’s Presbyterian Church has hosted Winter Camp for West Jersey Presbytery churches, and will do so again this year. St. Paul’s, Wenonah, and PC Woodbury have been the churches participating, but there may be participation from other churches this year as well. Below is some information from the winter camp website.
“What is Winter Camp? Winter camp is a weekend retreat for 6th-12th grad students. It’s an experience designed to challenge, encourage, and empower groups and individuals. Each aspect of the week is designed to draw students out of the everyday, over committed and ever challenging culture we live in. From quiet times where students will devote time to reading the word of God and reflecting on some questions, to small group discussions, to recreation and worship gatherings, students are challenged with authentic questions, teachings, and relationships.” www.epicwintercamp.com
The theme for this year is “Boundless” and the theme verse will center around Psalm 139; the idea that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Sometimes life keeps us from reaching out potential as people and as Christians. We have regrets about decisions we’ve made, and sometimes feel shame when we think about som of the actions we’ve taken. There might even be times where we regret the person we see in the mirror. This is not the last word though. Praise God, that we are not define by our past or our insecurities, or failures. We are defined by God, who has created us to be Boundless!
The trip has come to mean many things to our students. It’s a great time to reconnect with God, and it really kick starts the New Year. By attending Winter Camp, I have seen our students grow closer to God and to each other. It also allows them to build new friendships with other students, so that they get to know others in the West Jersey Presbytery. They will see these friends they meet on several other trips such as 30 Hour Famine, Mission trips, Church gatherings, as well as Triennium. The youth working in West Jersey Presbytery really believe that we are better together, and we try to network, and intentionally plan as many trips where our students are connecting and interacting with each other as possible. We ask that you would pray for us, that as we go on this weekend retreat that student’s lives would be changed from encountering God and that they would be Bold and Boundless!