Camp Meetings. . .

in the great outdoors can be an amazing experience.

John Wesley taught and delivered nearly 40,000 sermons in his fifty years of ministry. Many of these sermons took place in the natural world; under shade trees, in town commons, in fields, in the rain - even downpours as well as the snow. Wesley's evangelical heart caused most to believe he was beyond his years in his progressive thinking. As you can see in the following sermon excerpt, his understanding of living a life of Christ, not only acknowledged but valued the sacred in all of creation.

"But the great lesson which our blessed Lord inculcates here . . . is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God . . . but with a true magnificence of thought, survey heaven and earth, and all that is therein as contained by God in the hollow of his hand, who by his intimate presence holds them all in being, who pervades and activates the whole created frame, and is, in a true sense, the soul of the universe."— Sermon on the Mount III (1748)

It is clear that John Wesley valued all of creation and used whatever means he could to help God's people know and experience it as well. Camp Meetings was a way of reaching the wealthy, the impoverished, the marginalized, and the least, all on common ground.

We have opportunities in our Conference to still experience the rich beauty of good ole Camp Meetings. This week August 3rd -9th, at Rock Springs Camp Meeting you have the opportunity to experience this sense of "revival" know to Wesley and others. Rock Springs Camp is located in Denver and is rich in history, tradition, and beauty all it's own. Those we spoke with have been attending this week of camp meeting since birth. Generation after generation carry on the tradition, in fact, one person even took her one month old daughter because this week was so important to the life of their entire family.

Camp Meetings are typically rich in preaching, music, and fellowship. I encourage you to check your schedule, grab a lawn chair, your insect repellent, and head on over to Camp Rock Springs. There is a great line-up of preaching and singing for the week. I highly recommend the Friday and Saturday preacher, a pretty good friend of mine.

Come check it out and we will see you there.

gloria