From/to
Freedom has a partner, and its name is responsibility.
It’s easy to insist on all the things we should be free from.
But then we realize that we also have the freedom to act, to lead and to confront our fear and our selfishness. Once we realize our own agency, freedom begins to feel like a responsibility.
The freedom to make a difference.(1)
Last month that is what we practiced at church camp: responsibility. Intentional Christian Community, or any intentional community, is something you have to want. It’s a balancing act. It’s a different kind of freedom. It’s a responsibility. And that is one of the lessons from church camp this summer as campers and volunteer staff learned about how creation speaks to humanity and God is made known.
The adults that volunteer directors and counselors are the strength of our outdoor ministry program. The children and youth lived with our Covid-19 procedures with grace and acceptance that this was required for church camp to happen this year. They altered their own behavior on behalf of the community. They practiced individualism within community. We cannot say “thank you” enough to the campers and our adult volunteers. You’ve set an example for the rest of us about how to be intentional Christian community.
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Note
1) Seth Godin, “From/to.” July 4, 2021.
