IN-FORMATIO BLOG

I don't know about you, but I have always liked this time of year. I look back, and I have started afresh in late August or September a new chapter of my life (or in my child's life) for most of my 57 years. I started Kindergarten when I was 4 years old (turning 5 in November), and thirteen years in a row, I started a new grade. Then it was college, four years beginning in late August.  I had jobs for most of that time, but the school year determined my rhythm. I followed college with seminary, and was enrolled in some kind of class for eight semesters straight.  I also worked, studied in Washington, DC and even ran a camp while a student.  The school year was what gave my life structure. After seminary, I went to graduate school, and not only was a student, but taught and did research while on the school calendar.  Even when I started working full-time in local churches, I was still officially enrolled until I was 35, and had finished that last degree. C...

Back in April, Rose and I took a short vacation to London. I had been there overnight a couple of times in my life, but never really got to see and explore the city. I wanted to get a feel for my Methodist roots, so London was a great place to start, and we took a side trip to Oxford while we were there. John Wesley began his life in Epworth in Lincolnshire about 170 miles north of London (our next trip to England will include that excursion). He was basically homeschooled by his mother Susannah for the first part of his education, and at age 10, he was enrolled at Charterhouse in central London.  We walked by that area on our trip but did not take time explore Charterhouse and surroundings because we spent that Sunday at Wesley's Chapel and his old home place (about a mile away). We followed that Sunday with a trip on Monday to Oxford, about an hour train ride from London. It was here that I began to feel the roots of the Methodist movement. Wesley spent about five yea...

My son called me on Monday to tell me about his week at Wilderness Trail .  I think this is his 12th year to be involved in that ministry either as a camper or a staff person. He spent three years as a counselor, and was an assistant director his last year on staff.  The past two years he has gone up to lead hikes for a week at a time. I spent time as a Camp Director, and have spent many days as a volunteer in summer camps over the past 40+ years of my life.  I know the power of camping and outdoor ministries. I am writing this while camp meeting is going on at Rock Springs Camp Ground in Denver, NC. In the next week, Ball's Creek Camp Meeting will be in full swing. Both camp meetings and church camping have been instrumental in the life of the church for over 200 years. The best that I can tell, the very first camp meeting in America was held in 1794 on the grounds that Rehobeth United Methodist Church occupies now.  As I write, I look out on a plot of la...