Dear friends,
Both of us are readers. We love to read books to explore new worlds and ideas and cultures and characters. Rudine Sims Bishop, an educator, wrote about books being windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Books can be a place where we see ourselves and our experiences reflected back to us like a mirror. They can also be windows, which allow us to see something we have never seen before. Books can also be sliding glass doors, that allow us to enter into someone’s experience or world or imagination.
I think about that metaphor a lot when it comes to creating a new camp staff every year. Campers should be able to see themselves reflected back in the counsellors like mirrors. Campers should also see and experience staff members who are different, a window into a different worldview. And camp can act as a sliding glass door, encouraging people to be together, recognize differences, and live fully into God’s beloved community.
We do not always meet this goal fully, but we work toward this every year. We are thrilled to have a beautiful, diverse, and committed staff this summer. They are wonderful role models of faith and fun, and we can’t wait for your campers to arrive and meet them!
Peace,
Theresa & Johnathon
