Arizona seniors mix religion, laughter, at day camp
Aug. 23, 2006 News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh * (615) 742-5458* Nashville {504}
NOTE: A UMTV report and photographs are available with this story at http://umns.umc.org.
By Allysa Adams*
SUN CITY, Ariz. (UMNS) -- Camp isn't just for kids. In fact, at the Willowbrook United Methodist Church here, the 30 people participating in a week of day camps are over 60 years old.
This is the 10th summer the Sun City church has hosted day camps for seniors. This year, all of the week's activities revolve around the theme: "Laugh, love and live well."
"We need to have a party," said the Rev. Linda De Atley, associate pastor of the 360-member congregation, "and why not make it a party that's fun as well as educational as well as spiritual and (that offers) food for thought?"
The day begins with a joke contest. One camper submits his entry: "Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember Moses started out as a basket case."
There is more laughter as the 30 seniors watch an episode of "The Lucy Show." This particular episode has all the slapstick comedy for which Lucille Ball was famous, but it also has a lesson.
After the show, campers break into discussion groups to talk about idolatry, the image of God in us, and how everyone has intrinsic worth because all are made in God's likeness. It's clear from the discussions that this isn't your typical vacation Bible school.
"We're looking for something deeper," said De Atley. "We're taking off the layers of the onion that reveal more nearly who we really are and who we're meant to be."
"We always need to be reminded about the importance of struggling and striving and growing in our faith," said Marilee Reitz, who has been coming to camp for a few years.
But spiritual reflection doesn't come at the expense of fun. Mary Bailey laughs as she watches some campers ham it up in a skit called the "cup of life," in which the performers act as pieces of china as a metaphor for life.
"We can mix religion with the laughter," Bailey said. "It's really wonderful. We're not stern."
"As a kid, we always went to summer camp," said Bette Mann, who's in her 10th year at camp. She remembers the camaraderie from youth camps and has found the same at Willowbrook. During a game of human bingo, Mann and other campers mingle quickly to fill their cards with signatures. They are having so much fun that only a few disappointed sighs are heard after someone from the back of the room yells, "Bingo!"
"You kind of get together with a lot of lovely people, and we just grow," Mann said.
Willowbrook doesn't have all the activities of a summer camp for young people. You won't find swimming or archery, but it is still camp. The campers sing songs they will never forget, do craft projects and forge friendships by interacting with a diverse group throughout the week.
"There are people who are at camp today who are facing surgery and who've been in a world of hurt," said De Atley, "but they're enjoying camp today because it's a chance to just forget about themselves and maybe sing songs and learn something from their neighbors."
On the last day of camp, there's a picnic, bubble blowing and, of course, the finals of the joke contest. No doubt, the week will end with laughter.
*Adams is a freelance writer and producer in Phoenix.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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