Editor’s note: The following article has been published in The Daily Item newspaper on Sunday, Aug. 4.
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, the international ambassador of the Wesleyan faith, emphasized the importance of camp meeting experiences throughout the country as part of a sermon on Sunday, July 28, concluding the 100-year celebration of God’s Holiness Grove Camp Meeting.
“These sort of ministries are making a real impact beyond what our churches can provide,” she said. “There is something special about people of different ages worshipping together in an outdoor environment.”
That atmosphere — and the generations of families involved in making it a reality — is at the core of this camp meeting’s longevity, according to Lisa Jo Smith, the coordinator of the Central Pennsylvania Wesleyan Campground near New Columbia where the camp meeting has been held since 2007. The camp meeting’s original site was along Routes 11-15 in Shamokin Dam where the Monroe Marketplace currently sits..
“Camp meeting is about family — not just personal family, but the one you create when you come to camp meeting each year,” she said. “I really look forward to seeing that extended family each year during camp meeting week.”
Rodney Murphy II, whose family has a longstanding connection to the history of camp meeting, agreed.
“When I talk about God’s Holiness Grove, I actually call it family camp,” he said. “I can truly say that the relationships I’ve made at camp have been monumental in my life. Two of the friends I made growing up at camp stood by my side at my wedding and now my children call them uncle. Even though these friends aren’t technically family, this camp and the friendship and relationship I have built with these friends have made them so.”
The land for the original campground was discovered by the Rev. J. E. Wolf and the Rev. William E. Straub in 1919. The first God’s Holiness Grove Camp Meeting was held each summer since, a testament to the evolving leadership’s commitment to putting God first in each decision made over the past century.
“We let God lead — we don’t try to do it ourselves,” said Smith. “We pray a lot about doing what He wants each step of the way, and are careful to not make it about us.”
Leadership for the camp was developed in a way to keep God the priority, added Dr. David Babb, who has served as president of the camp meeting and headed this year’s 100th celebration committee.
“Part of the board composition includes clergy, with the rest represented by strong lay people who are part of ministries or other programming at their home churches. We understand that we are a Christian camp, and that ministry is very much a vital part of what we do and why we exist,” he said. “We are providing a ministry that people are seeking, that meets their needs and they are sharing that as families through the generations.”
Babb has seen that process first-hand.
“My wife first was part of camp meeting when she was a month old. Years later, our son was born on a Monday night, and we had him there the following Sunday. This is something families look forward to doing together each year, and that excitement is helped by an investment in our children and youth ministries during camp meeting,” he said. “Young people are an important part of the process, and it is our job to make sure that we do what we can to pass the stewardship of this experience to our children and grandchildren just as our parents did for us. That is our biggest need moving forward, to keep passing the torch effectively and making sure young people stay invested in the program.”
Jill Bradigan, who attended the camp as a teenager in the late 1980s, has seen her sons grow up via family camps and she gave back this year as part of a singing trio of musicians (Rejoicing Praise) to start the 2019 camp meeting on July 20.
“I love family camp ever since I went there while I was a teen. I loved working in the kitchen at the old family camp and staying in a dorm with great friends,” she said. “Most importantly, I gave my heart to God and got saved during a evening service when I was 13. Camp has provided the best times of my life.”
Smith, who ran the youth group with her husband, Bob, while Bradigan was a teenager, admitted that memories made with the youth continue to stick with her.
“It has been a blessing to see how important that group has become to each other. They still keep in touch with each other — and even with us,” she said. “They are part of that extended family that has become so important to us.”
Smith admitted that just as important to her personally has been the ability to reconnect with God during the camp meeting experience each year.
“I greatly value the time to get away from the busyness of the world into a quiet place where you can worship God with out all things of life going on around you,” she said. “It provides the perfect atmosphere for time between just me and God.”
And that is something worth sharing with family, Murphy added.
“It is so exciting seeing my children follow in my footsteps by starting new relationships at the children’s program. The importance of God and our relationship with Him have been passed down through the generations, this has been a big part of why our camp meeting is still going strong after 100 years,” he said. “I know the relationships I’ve made there and the awesome facility is why I keep bringing my family back every year.”
Outside of the week of camp meeting — typically the last full week of July each summer — the Central Pennsylvania Wesleyan Campground offers a variety of other ministries and camping opportunities from April through late October. For more information, visit www.centralpawccc.org.