When I first got the directorship at Baptist Park Camp I set three or four attainable but immediately noticeable goals for change at the camp that first summer.  One was the appearance of our tabernacle, where we have our evening worship services, among other activities.  An earlier director had decorated this large-former-sawmill- turned-place-of-worship with album covers from various Gospel and contemporary Christian musicians.  The next director, who preceded us, left them up, too.

I always found them tacky.  Not that I have anything against Amy Grant or Jars of Clay, and I must confess I was pleased to see that Larry Norman had a place of prominence.  But I always felt that this décor represented the worst side of contemporary American Christianity.  Celebrity has replaced sacredness, pop culture has replaced praise and worship, Hollywood has replaced holiness.  I decided these album covers had to go.

I had the idea that, since my wife Susan was the craft lady, we could decorate the ‘Tab’ with banners that represented each session of camp.  So, each summer since 2005, she has worked with volunteer groups of campers to create banners that commemorate their week of camp, and over 70 currently hang from the rafters of this rustic old building. 

Many have the theme scripture of that particular week; We have several with the verse from Timothy “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in faith, in love, in life  and in purity.”  Some are cutesy.  One week our theme was ‘Cartoons’, and the banner from that week features “Beauty & the Beast’s”  Lumierre with the verse “Let your light so shine before men.”  A few contain inside jokes.  In 2008, Sue spent most of the summer in Biddeford taking care of her mom who had just had open heart surgery, and I had the girls at camp alone.  There were some tough moments.  Our staff banner that summer has the verse “It is not good for man to be alone.”  My favorite is last year’s wilderness camp, which contains the reference Deuteronomy 23:13.  Look it up; it’s very fitting for wilderness camping!  Some don’t contain Scripture at all, just the dates and titles of the camp week.  All are uniquely decorated.  2006’s Middle School week has an awesome picture of Aslan for our still- talked-about ‘Narnia’ theme session.  Others are tie-dyed, 3-D and finger painted, among many other varieties of design.

I love looking up at the rafters to see these banners and, remember the events of the various sessions of camp.  Many of our staff do this too, looking back to when they were campers themselves.