What Happened at Campmeeting?
Summer is a time for going to Campmeeting. Where did you go? To Gladstone, or the Redwoods, or Light Bearers? What happened at the Campmeeting you attended? I attended at Gladstone, July 19-23. What happened there?
The weather was perfect for tent camping and the many outdoor activities – not too hot, partly cloudy, but not too cold, either. For some, Campmeeting revolved around food and friends. I enjoyed the choice of either cafeteria food or the food court where there were a variety of choices like burgers, French fries, pizza, burritos, haystacks, and corn on the cob. The salads and smoothies were favorites of mine, with ice cream thrown in, too.
Who were the guest speakers? Each evening Elder Mike Tucker, of Faith for Today TV Ministries, presented a picture of Jesus by taking us to some of the most popular and loved stories Jesus told, like the invitation to the banquet (Luke 14:15-24), or the father’s love for his wayward son (Luke 15:11-32). The morning meetings featured Dr. Carl Coseart on Paul’s second epistle to Timothy. The speaker for the young adults was Pastor Manny Orteaga from Southern California, and the youth speaker was Pastor Paddy McCoy, WWU chaplain. Speakers for the earliteens and juniors were Zachary Parks, Dick Duerksen, and Gale Crosby.
Then there were the morning and afternoon seminars, with topics focusing on evangelism training, a devotional spirituality, how to understand your Bible, the Bible’s origin, Bible translations, and science and creation. I was especially interested to see some practical topics appropriately relevant to the times we live in, like how to relate to sex offenders, sexual identity, addictions, active shooter awareness, and the brain science of how seduction works. A special and unique presentation was that of Menachem Taiblum, a holocaust survivor from Poland, who challenged us to never allow such atrocities to be repeated.
So who said Campmeeting is boring? Not with a line-up of presentations like the above! I could not attend everything, but that is part of the appeal of a buffet, right? Too many choices. If you have never thought of going to Campmeeting, then I hope this report and reflection has pricked your interest. I encourage you to start planning now for next year’s mid-July Campmeeting at Gladstone, or any of the other summer campmeetings.