Camping Sunday

Welcome, beloved, to a special Sunday worship service dedicated to the joyous spirit of our Camping Ministry. We invite you to set aside April 21 as Camping Sunday, where you and your congregation will embark on a spiritual journey celebrating the profound connection between our faith and the wonders of creation.

Please use the outline below as a guide to your service. Please also download the PowerPoint companion piece to use during your service.

PowerPoint Word Outline

Camping Sunday (April 21)

Music suggestions:

Call to worship based on Isaiah 40:21-31

We know that God’s power created the universe,
It stretched out the heavens, created a place for us, and continues to guide us.
God has no equal, no one can compare.
God has created every being and called them each by name.
There is nothing hidden from our God. Our God never tires.
The Lord gives power to the faint, and strength to the powerless
Those who wait for the Lord will be renewed. We recognize the importance of places for renewal.
Our camp and retreat centers offer space for the young and the old to come together in a community that follows God and celebrates creation.

Opening prayer:

God of all creation, we give you thanks for this community that has gathered today. We ask that you would help us care for one another, both in and out of this space. We are grateful for the creation you have blessed us with and those places that have been set aside that we might enjoy the beauty you have created. Amen.

Pastoral prayer:

Loving God, you know how much camp and retreats have meant in our Methodist heritage. So many people feel your presence when they are able to go to camp. May they reflect and grow in love with you. Send aid to those who need a camp experience and are met with roadblocks. Seek out those who need retreat and meet them on the path. Help us to cherish the spaces we have to celebrate your creation and to create communities for the transformation of the world. In your name we pray, amen.

Children’s moment:

Have each child make a paper chain piece. Pull out some of your own pieces of chain, already made; have one of the pieces be ripped. Ask the children what you should do about it. Talk about the ways we can try to connect to others or to nature but there’s something stopping us from being connected. We need to find ways to help repair the world around us so we can all be linked by love. 

Sermon ideas:

Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18
(4/21/24) This year’s theme for camp curriculum is “linked by love.” The gospel lesson is about going out and finding others to bring into community, to link them to love. The second reading also focuses on love of neighbor and how God’s love is within us if we care for the hurting and the vulnerable, linking ourselves to them.

Benediction:

May you go out from this place with the knowledge that you are connected to all the people and places around you. May you work to make those connections look like the kingdom of God.