Page 15 - Presbyterian Connection

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SUMMER 2023
Camp Sunday with
Cairn Family of
Camps and Dixie PC
The sunrise at Glen Mhor site, part of the Cairn Family of Camps in Baysville, Ont.
of faith in us all.
Camp offers children and
young people, as well as older individuals and families, a place to experience what it feels like to be immersed in a life of joy- ful, extraordinary faith. At camp, from morning to night, life is in- fused with faith. As Camp Sunday at Dixie demonstrated, for those who don’t know, the camp day is filled with prayer, praise, learning about and experiencing the love of God.
Beginning with the well-known camp song “Rise and Shine,” Robynne led our time of worship, which was full of joy and rejoicing. Our time together was inspired by scriptures from John 8:12, where Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” along with Matthew 5:14–16: “You are the light of the world... Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Creator in heaven.” We laughed and learned together. Did you know that the word pho- tography means “writing with light”? We enjoyed beautiful pic- tures of camp and campers en-
joying the gorgeous Glen Mhor and Iona campsites just outside Baysville, Ont., near Huntsville on Lake Echo. We spoke with God in prayer. We sang fun camp songs, beautiful well-known hymns and meditative songs of prayer. For a morning, we were at camp.
This summer, it is our hope and plan that more people will get the chance to experience camp- ing ministry at the Cairn Family of Camps, or wherever their closest PCC Camp is located. We hope and pray that this year people of all ages will once again be a part of summer camping programs, which, at the Cairn Family of Camps, includes Glen Mhor sum- mer camp for those ages 5 to 16, as well as Integration programs for those 17-plus, Iona Wilder- ness Tripping for those ages 9 to 16, and Family Camp over the August long weekend for families of all sizes and ages.
Camp Sunday was a great re- minder to all of us at Dixie that summer is coming! We are look- ing forward to experiencing a faith-filled summer at camp. Hope to see you there!
Learn more at ilovecamp.org.
By the Rev. Karen Pozios, Dixie Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont.
On Sunday, April 16, for the first time since the pandemic shut down, Dixie Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont., held its first Camp Sunday, welcoming Ro- bynne Howard, Camp Director from the Cairn Family of Camps, to lead worship.
We are a camp-loving congre- gation, with a strong history of involvement in camping ministry. However, the pandemic interrupt-
ed our ability to welcome camp to join us in worship, which had been one of our most anticipated events each year. While we have continued to be connected to camp and to enjoy camping min- istry in all ways that were possi- ble during the pandemic, what a joy it was to say to Robynne the same thing the staff of the Cairn Family of Camps says to every- one who comes to camp: “Wel- come home!”
Camp Sunday worship is a way for congregations to experience and celebrate camping ministry. It
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is a way that in this time when we are all working to resume our vari- ous ministries, we can introduce or reintroduce camping ministry to our congregations.
Camping ministry is something that we at Dixie believe in deeply. As well as being the minister at Dixie, I am also a volunteer on the Board of the Cairn Family of Camps. Both of my children at- tended camp and one has been on staff. The coordinator of our Sunday school at Dixie is a camp mainstay who will receive her cel- ebratory canoe (a wooden outline with her name on it that will hang in the lodge) this year, marking her 30 years of attending camp. Many of our young people have attended camp and quite a few have also served on staff. Some mature adults, individuals and families attend Family Camp and other “all ages” or “adult only” programs. Camping ministry has had an enormous impact on the faith formation of our congrega- tion. However, after the three years when camping ministry— along with everything else in our lives—was different or not pos- sible, we are now working hard to restart our involvement at camp in order to reignite the delight of camping ministry and light the fire
Camp Sunday photo from Sunday, April 16, with the Rev. Karen Pozios and Robynne Howard of the Cairn Family of Camps leading worship.
Welcoming New Refugees to Brockville
By the Rev. Marianne Emig Carr, First Presbyterian Church in Brockville, Ont.
First Presbyterian Church in Brockville, Ont., in partnership with local sponsorship group Brockville Freedom Connection, sponsored Somali refugee Nasro
Adan Mohamed in October 2019 through the Canadian Blended Visa Office Referral Program. When Nasro arrived, the group discovered that she had left her husband and daughter, Liiban and Afnaan, behind in Uganda, based on erroneous advice that it would be easier for them to follow Nasro once she arrived in Canada.
Through First Presbyterian Church and the PWS&D Refugee Sponsorship Team, Brockville Freedom Connection sponsored Liiban and Afnaan through the IRCC Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program in January of 2020. Covid effectively shut down the world in March of 2020,
creating significant delays in the processing of their sponsorship application.
Finally, after three years of Covid delays and IRCC bureau- cracy, the family were reunited in Ottawa on March 8, 2023! Brockville Freedom Connection has since been busy helping Li- iban and Afnaan settle into the community with Nasro, including finding a rental house, helping obtain Social Insurance Numbers and health cards, connecting with a local family doctor and dentist, applying for Canada Child Ben- efits and the provincial Healthy Smiles plan for Afnaan, and help- ing Liiban find employment.
The Freedom Connection spon- sorship team was also thrilled to find out that Liiban and Nasro will be welcoming a new little Cana- dian in late 2023! Many thanks to the PWS&D Refugee Sponsorship team, the sponsor volunteers, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, and the community of Brockville for helping to make this family’s dreams of a new life in Canada a reality.