London!

Our first day overseas began with a tour of London. As leader of the Northeast group, this was Saturday, but the Midwest group that experienced travel delays was able to do a very similar tour of London on Sunday. As tired as we were and despite missing our friends from the Midwest, our self-guided tour was fantastic. We traversed London by Underground (the Tube) as well as the classic red double decker buses. We soaked up as many sights and as much culture as we could during our brief but intensive London visit.

Our first stop after we dropped our luggage at Euston station was Covent Garden. This open-air market was a delight of bustling activity with its many shoppes, street performers, bakeries, and souvenir booths. After lunch, we carried on to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The original cathedral church was founded on this site in AD 604. The high-domed present structure was completed in 1710. We explored the beautiful interior and many of our group traversed the 528 steps up to the Golden Gallery for the amazing view of the London skyline. We even had the opportunity to join in a unison community prayer at the top of the hour. Next, we hopped over to the London Eye to peer across the Thames at Westminster and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben). Then we were off to Graffiti Tunnel to gaze upon the street art and spray artists at work. We even had the chance to leave our own marks upon the graffitied walls.

Arriving at Purley

Finally, as evening approached, we sleepily dragged ourselves back to Euston where we ate a quick dinner and boarded our exhausted legs onto the train to Atherstone. A short 90-minute nap later we arrived at Atherstone station where we piled into a taxi van to finish the remaining 3 miles of our journey through the English countryside to Purley Chase Retreat Centre. Our Purley hosts, Anne and David, were there to warmly greet us with biscuits and tea. After a little conversation, we each found our way to our rooms for some much-needed rest.

After a sound and solid 12 – 15 hours sleep, we awoke to a bright, sunny Sunday marking the starting day of International Summer Camp 2025 (ISC25). Teens and staff leaders drifted in throughout the afternoon with our own group from the Midwest wearily arriving from London at the dinner hour. Once everyone was settled in, our evening began with a review of the rules along with some icebreaker games to help us begin to meet our new friends. We closed Sunday night with a vespers service before heading off to bed.

 

Essential Elements

Our International Camp theme for the week was the Four Essential Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. These 4 elements are not only material, but deeply spiritual. Religious and sacred texts focus on these 4 essential elements. They are the tools of the mystic, and they still speak to us and guide us on our journey. Each day of ISC25 featured a different element with sessions, crafts, activities, and discussions focusing on that element. Each morning opened with a brief matins chapel service followed by two sessions with a tea break at 11 separating the class time. Activities, games, and outings were held in the afternoon. After dinner, we gathered for a special evening event. Each evening closed with vespers. Matins and vesper services were mostly led by teen groups.

Earth

Monday’s theme, led by Jenny, was Earth. Jenny focused mainly on two stories, Mark 4:1-9, the parable of the Sower, and the Clay and the Potter from Jeremiah 18. Jenny reminded us that on earth we are a work in progress, being formed and reformed over and over. When we die, we are set and dried as the pot we have created. We are glazed in the spiritual world, then “fired” as a completed pot in heaven. In the second half of Jenny’s session, after 11 o’clock tea, we each got to work with earthen clay to form our own pots and unique creations.

For the Monday afternoon activity the teens formed into teams, chose a country to represent, and played zany Olympic games on the lawn. It was fun to see the teens dress up and paint themselves in the colors of the different flags of the nations. In the evening, we played games like cereal box and “find the peas” (that one might have been a bit too loud) before heading off to bed.

Water

Tuesday, Water day, was led by Andy. Andy discussed Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6 – 8) and led breakout discussion groups about water. We learned that water, in general, corresponds to truth. The story of Noah and the ark teaches us that a flood of falsity can come over us and we can feel like we are drowning. But with God’s help and the help of your friends and people you trust, you can build an ark to keep you afloat. In spiritual terms, just as water is essential for natural life, truth is essential for spiritual life. Truth, especially as derived from the Word of God, nourishes the soul, supports growth in wisdom, and aids in the process of spiritual regeneration. It acts as a medium for understanding divine principles and applying them to life, leading to spiritual purification and enlightenment. For session two, the teens broke into groups and performed skits that demonstrated the correspondence/spirituality of water.

In the afternoon, we strolled to the nearby village of Atherstone for shopping and swimming at the town rec centre. The visit to the local candy store is always a sweet treat. For the evening activity Meg hosted a fun quiz night (trivia). Is a bat really faster than a salmon?

Outing

Wednesday was our outing day. This was a big highlight of the ISC25 week. We took a break from our element theme and after morning matins, we took a chartered bus to Warwick, where we were enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at Warwick Castle. The castle was originally the site where William the Conqueror established a motte and bailey fort in 1068. The existing stone castle has endured sieges, fires, and rebellions and has undergone many restoration projects.

Warwick Castle

It now is the home to wonderful exhibits, displays, and activities including three highlights that we witnessed: the War of the Roses, which depicted the famous 1455 conflict between the House of Lancaster and the House of York with jousting, stunt horse riding, and sword fighting, the Falconer’s Quest, which included a display of numerous birds of prey swooping and soaring above and around us, and a show featuring the mighty Trebuchet, Britain’s largest siege machine, that Jenny dubbed the “throwy thingy”.

Our group had ample time to explore the castle grounds, view the many English historical exhibits inside the castle, and climb the castle towers. More than a few of us enjoyed “proper” English fish and chips and various ice cream desserts. After returning to Purley and eating dinner, Andy organized many of the staff members to present a murder mystery to the teens. Costumes were fully engaged and after much delightful banter and deliberation, it was discovered to be Brigadier Balderdash, with the sword, in the billiard room.

Fire

Thursday was the day for Fire! Steve, a veteran firefighter, and I lead the two morning sessions. Steve talked about his work as a firefighter and showed his firefighting gear and what he carried. He made a point to mention that he always carried a prayer in his pocket. One brave teen put on all of Steve’s equipment. She was surprised how much it weighed even without the additional air tank and mask. Steve explained the three elements of the fire triangle and how they need to be in perfect balance for fire to occur (heat, fuel, and oxygen). The absence of any of the three elements or the three elements in the wrong balance prevents fire from starting. Then I discussed the spiritual aspects of fire. Fire corresponds to love or desire, both positive (loving/heavenly) and negative (evil/hellish). The specific nature of the love or desire depends on the context in which the fire is mentioned.

To understand the specific meaning in any given passage, context is crucial. Whether a fire is beneficial, representing warmth and enlightenment, or harmful, representing consumption and destruction, aligns with the nature of the love or desire depicted in the scripture passage. I talked about maintaining a balance of the four loves, love to the Lord, the neighbour, the world, and self, and related it to the balance of the fire triangle. I went on to discuss in detail the inner meaning of the Bible story of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3). In this story, a bush on fire, is like an idea we have acquired that has developed in our minds over a period of time but has not yet become big enough to seem very important. The fire is the divine love that inspires the idea and moves us to go out and do something great for someone else. The idea is suddenly on fire! In the second part of our session

Steve took us outside and demonstrated some fire activities. Teens got the opportunity to hold fire in their hands! Fire can be scary, but Steve taught us that with the proper guidance and control it can be beautiful, useful, and exciting too. Both physically and spiritually, we need not fear fire but instead recognize it for what it is and ensure that we use it to our benefit, not our demise. The staff decided to give the teens a free afternoon off from our busy schedule to rest, paint their clay pieces that they made, and play frisbee, football (soccer), volleyball, and rounders on the lawn.

Holy Supper

Thursday night, Rev. David Gaffney led a meaningful outdoor Holy Communion service. This was followed by a bonfire where we shared campfire songs and enjoyed roasted marshmallows. We closed out the evening with a game of Lost Potato, a capture-the-flag-type game that Steve made up that involves finding, trading, and delivering potatoes to your home base.

Air

Friday, our last full day at the International Summer Camp, was all about Air. I read a few stories from the Bible about breath and wind, the words in scripture most akin to air. Air corresponds to thoughts and the intellectual aspects of the mind. Just as air provides the atmosphere needed for physical life, truth provides the intellectual and spiritual atmosphere necessary for the life of the mind and spirit. Wind can represent both the positive influx from heaven and the negative influx (afflux) from hell. For instance, when Scripture mentions Jesus calming the wind and sea (Mark 4:35-41), the wind symbolizes a turbulent, hellish influx that is subdued by Divine intervention.

Thus, wind in spiritual terms can denote the powerful influence of both Divine truth and evil falsities, depending on the context in which it appears in the Word. I discussed how we are not our thoughts, but rather our actions. We give influxes from heaven and hell “life” when we act them and make them our own. When we choose to act on the heavenly of hellish thoughts in our mind, they become a part of us and lead us down a chosen path. Our collective choices ultimately determine where our soul finds its domain and takes up eternal residence. I also led a short four-square breathing exercise that Charlie previously recorded for me.

Kites

The second section of the session on air was led by Andy. The teens paired up, built, and decorated homemade kites. Later that afternoon, we walked to a local park high above a quarry and flew our kites! More than one round of, Let’s go fly a kite, was sung during this activity. For our ISC25 closing evening, a party was organized. We cleared the dining room of tables and chairs, decorated, brought in snacks, and set up for a barn dance! Everyone danced, swung, and circled around the room to Harriet’s selections played by DJ Steve. The teens played a round of musical chairs too. The party went on for quite some time.

Saturday

Saturday morning, we said our goodbyes and began our long trek back to the States. The Midwest group had more travel troubles and our own group from the East managed overcrowded trains and closed Underground routes to Heathrow. Nevertheless, we all managed to get back home by Sunday evening. Now, as I reflect back on my time at Purley, I think of the amazing time we had together. I think about all the laughter and silly times we had. You see, the focus of this trip was never much about seeing London. Not that that wasn’t a grand experience. It wasn’t about visiting a magnificent castle, as exciting as that was. It wasn’t even about listening to Bible stories, learning about our church teachings, or discussing the correspondence of the four essential elements. Important as those things were, there was much more to this experience than sightseeing and learning. This event was about finding community, friendship, and love for one another. It was the actions of the teenagers and the young adults that stirred me to truly appreciate the ISC25. When I look back, I see dining room tables filled with campers from different countries mixing and talking together. I see teens, young and old, prancing about the lawn playing and laughing. I see small groups of youth planning, building, learning, growing, debating, and pondering. What I saw was a thriving community living in love and service to one another.

I witnessed the heartfelt care of staff members Holly, Erika, Heather, Kathy, Jenny, Steve, Andy, Rob, and Meg for the teens. I saw David and Anne coming out of retirement to serve Purley Chase and make this event possible. I watched Anne and her dedicated kitchen crew generously and graciously preparing three meals each day, always friendly, and always with fresh hot coffee every morning. I saw the care, mentoring, and leadership that the young adults showed to the younger teens. It didn’t matter what country they came from or how well or how long they knew them. It was beautiful to watch the young adults help and guide the younger campers. There are some amazing and thoughtful young leaders emerging at Purley.

Thank you

I had the opportunity to speak at the staff-lead closing vespers service on Friday night. Here, I had a chance to personally thank everyone for making ISC25 and Purley not just a camp, but a home. The love, attention, and care that everyone took to welcome in strangers from foreign lands was nothing short of miraculous. I could go on and on with examples of this, but there are just too many memories to list everybody and everything. I also spoke at that closing vespers service of the need to take the love that we found at ISC25 and bring it out into the world that so desperately needs our love and attention. This is our call and our mission.

All the teens, young adults, and staff members at Purley now have a place in my heart. I emerge from ISC25 a different person. A better person. I pray that everyone that came to ISC25 left as a better person too. For all of this I thank each and every person at Purley. You have all made a little nest in my soul and I am extremely grateful for the gift of being able to spend time with you. Until we meet again.

Kurt Fekete

Youth Director, SCNA

Thanks to Jenny for the photos!

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