Nancyrose Houston

Dear Delegates of the Olympia Presbytery,

The feeling that comes to mind when I think about Sound View Camp is one of belonging and pure joy. I started attending Sound View Camp in sixth grade, thrilled to move on to being a Leader-in-Training (LIT) and then a staff member for three summers between 2010 and 2012. I am a recent college graduate, and have now traveled outside the country, but I can still easily say that my most treasured memories in the world are of Sound View Camp. As a young camper in the backseat of the car on the way to Sound View, my stomach would fill with butterflies of excitement and an uncontainable smile would creep onto my face thinking about which counselor I would have this summer, who would be in my cabin, and which songs we would sing and games we would play. That feeling never wore off, and it still returns every time I drive down the Key Peninsula Highway to go visit camp or help at a work party. I want Sound View to remain open for generations to come, so that thousands more campers can be touched in the way that I was. I have always imagined dropping my own kids off at Sound View one day, ready to have the week of their lives.

The theme of the upcoming Presbytery meeting is "Radical Hospitality," and I cannot think of a place in my life that exemplifies this theme better than Sound View Camp. Every Sunday night when summer campers arrive, Sound View staff members are waiting there to engulf the car and welcome the campers, whether they are first-timers or have been coming to camp for years. I was on both the receiving and the giving end of this treatment at different points in my relationship with Sound View. As a first-time Sound View attendee in sixth grade, I was reluctant. I had attended Buck Creek Camp for many years, and the recent closing of that camp by the Seattle Presbytery was a fresh wound. But when I showed up at Sound View, and my car was surrounded by smiling counselors, I felt the spirit of Buck Creek there. I finally thought that maybe I would be okay.

I was lucky when Buck Creek closed that there was another Presbyterian camp so close to my home. However, Sound View Camp is currently the only Presbyterian summer camp in Washington west of the Cascades, and many families are not able to drive hours and hours to drop their kids off at a Presbyterian camp. With the closure of every camp, there is always the chance of losing campers for good - because other camps are too far away, too expensive, or may not fit their values. The PCUSA benefits from having camps within our denomination because they equip young people with leadership skills that they then bring back to their churches when the summer is over. Participating in the LIT program at Sound View taught me how to be a servant leader and encouraged me to become more involved with my Presbyterian Church in Seattle - leading me to become a Deacon, write sermons for the annual Youth-Led Worship service, and volunteer with the younger children at countless events. Summer camps are one of the best ways to bring young people into the life of their home church, or get them connected with a church if they have never been a regular attendee at one before.

Sound View Camp demonstrates radical hospitality through giving people a place where they can feel welcomed fully as they are. Campers and staff alike often say that Sound View is where they feel most able to be themselves, letting all their wildness and their complicated-ness shine through. Because of this radical acceptance, Sound View has become a second home for thousands of people over the years. I know some friends who would even call Sound View their first home because it was a place where they felt acceptance and love in a way that they did not in their normal living situation. Sound View Camp also fulfills the social justice mission of the PCUSA by offering scholarships to children and families who otherwise would not be able to afford summer camp. Sound View has also partnered with groups such as the Tacoma Rescue Mission in the past, and should continue seeking these partnerships as a way to expand this valuable ministry.

In a time when green spaces are disappearing, it is more important than ever to keep Sound View as a natural sanctuary for kids, adults, and families who need an escape from the plugged-in world. Sound View Camp has been increasingly focusing on sustainability and environmental programs and the Sound View Board is hoping to continue and expand this focus in the future. During my years working there, I was involved with the creation of a permaculture garden, a composting initiative, and a nature program teaching campers about the water critters in Puget Sound. As our planet warms and threatens the lives of people and the existence of species, places like Sound View have an important role to play in teaching children about caring for God's creation, another focus of the PCUSA. Learning about sustainability at a young age can light the spark for a life of stewardship, and Sound View is in an excellent position to become more involved in this mission.

Finally, Sound View Camp is fulfilling the Olympia Presbytery's mission of helping young people to know God. Summer camp is indeed the ideal place to fulfill this mission. There are so many competing priorities in the lives of young people today - with the onslaught of the Internet and television and increased pressures to succeed in school - that faith can easily be pushed aside in the "real world." Summer camp is a place to unplug, take a breath, and listen for God in the waves lapping the shore, the munching of a deer and her fawn in the early morning, or the songs of praise being sung around the campfire. And when campers are shown the radical hospitality that is abundant at Sound View, they will learn to show it to others as well, welcoming more people into the family.

I join with hundreds of others in prayers that Sound View Camp will remain open for many more years as a welcoming place for people of all ages. God is at work there, and we should give Sound View a chance and see what God can help us do in camp's next thirty years.

In Peace,

Nancyrose Houston