Smoke Signals Blog

Releasing and Loving “The Other Side” 1

Releasing and Loving “The Other Side”

This is Session 1 of the Prince of Peace: Jesus and Peacebuilding from the Election to the Holidays webinar series. (Click here to sign up for session invites.) This session is about what we do with those in our lives who see things differently — even very differently. We do this using a paradigm from…

Story of A Tree 2

Story of A Tree

A fresh tree stump is like a magnet to me. I have to look at the rings to read the tree’s story. It’s at once humbling to look inside a living thing that is much longer-lived than yourself, but also encouraging to see how it weathered the ups and downs of life, the good times…

Camp's Political Endorsement 3

Camp’s Political Endorsement

I’ve been eligible to vote for 30 years, but – like many in my generation – I’ve never felt like a politician or party truly represented me. They may win me at one point, but they’ll loose me in the next. When I have voted, it always seemed I was going to the polls holding…

Prince of Peace 4

Prince of Peace

Camp’s mission statement says we offer people the opportunity to fellowship in “serenity”. Serenity literally means “clear skies” — a state of refuge from the storms of the World. Right now, our World does feel pretty stormy with a divided country going into an election and numerous disasters and conflicts abroad and at home. Because…

Mapping Spiritual Journey with NYC Leaders 5

Mapping Spiritual Journey with NYC Leaders

In order to know where you’re going, it’s a good idea to know where you are. One of the best ways to know where you are is a good map. The NYC LMC District is seeing growth in many of our churches right now, and opportunities for re-inventing and re-launching in others. But these are…

How Do You Define Mission? 6

How Do You Define Mission?

When somebody says “I’m on a mission”, what do you think of? If the word is said in church, what is the first thing that comes to mind? You may think of someone clutching a Bible in a jeep jostling down jungle roads. Or you cold be thinking of a caring staff at an remote…

A Special Request for Baby Vivian

Serving God, while the greatest of blessings, is no guarantee that everything will go well in life. Tragedy, difficulty, and suffering can find any of us at any moment, and when it does, the people of God are essential in helping us navigate the valleys of shadow with Jesus by our side. Ben Gosnell came…

You Can Always Come Home 7

You Can Always Come Home

In the pursuit of mission, I’ve moved around a lot as an adult. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t found a place since Mom and Dad’s house that I felt was mine — a place I could call home. If you find yourself longing for home, you’re in some pretty good company. It says in…

Map Makers Project 8

Map Makers Project

Camp is a big place and we have some big plans. But this raises a big question: Just where is everything? In the past, we asked around and maybe somebody would know. Now, we’d like to get all that information down on a map. We’ll use it to maintain the grounds, plan maintenance projects, and…

Welcoming Wisdom: Cabin 2 Opens in Promise Woods 9

Welcoming Wisdom: Cabin 2 Opens in Promise Woods

We’re very pleased to announce that Cabin 2 “Wisdom” is now open in Promise Woods for retreat groups and other guests. Wisdom is our 5th (of 6) bunk cabin to be completed and it sleeps 10 in the spacious bunk room and two more in the cozy bedroom. Like all of our camper-style cabins, it…

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