March 26

Clarissa LaPlante served on day camp staff and is currently a student at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Psalm 31:9-16

Upon first read, this psalm can make a person think some pretty depressing thoughts.

“My body and soul are withering away, I am in distress.”
This life is not worth living, there is suffering everywhere I look.
“Sin has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within.”
How am I to go on? The world isn’t getting better.
“I am despised by my neighbors; even my friends are afraid to come near me.”
Everyone has given up on me.
“I am ignored as if I were dead; I’ve heard many rumors about me.”
I can’t depend on anyone.
“I am surrounded by terror.”
There is nothing that can calm my fears.

If you stick with it, however, there’s hope:

“But I am trusting you; you are my God!”
You’re my hope, my light.
“My future is in your hands; rescue me.”
Take me out of this darkness.
“In your unfailing love, rescue me.”
I will praise you for your life-changing love!

Have you ever felt hopeless, lost, or alone? Ever looked around and thought that there is so much sin in the world that no one could ever save it? Surely David did. In this psalm he shows the truth of being a follower of God. You will still sin, there will still be pain in your life, and people may not like you. But we follow a gracious God. He is our fortress and our comfort in the storms of this world. God has given each of his followers a light to make the world shine. What will you do with yours?

Prayer: God, help us to not get bogged down by all the negativity of this world. Help us to see outside of our own situation, to focus on others. Let us look at the light we can bring instead of complaining about the dark. In this life we may get put down, taunted, and abused, but we know you are the rescuer, the savior. Thank you, Lord, for that. Help us to live as though we’ve been saved—as though today was the first day of our salvation. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 25

Jud Hoffman serves as a volunteer counselor and chair of Camp Fowler’s program committee. He is a special education teacher in Albany, New York.

Isaiah 50:4-9

Within one verse Isaiah mentions having the tongue of a teacher and being able to listen like a student. Any good teacher knows that sustaining the weary requires just as much listening as it does speaking!

The rest of the passage is Isaiah’s affirmation that God is by our side through the harshest of life’s challenges.

The season of Lent is the time to ask what words we use to teach others, knowing that our help is in God.

Ask yourself also if you are listening to God at your side, morning by morning.

Prayer: Lord, allow me to listen to you morning by morning, that I may have the tongue of a teacher.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 24

Melissa Brandes served as a Camp Fowler summer chaplain and currently volunteers as weekly chaplain. She is a Ph.D. student in Christian education at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Mark 11:1-11

The crowd shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” It is easy to hear these shouts as praise, but “hosanna” actually means “save now.” The people were crying out to this donkey-riding king for salvation. And they were probably remembering that King David’s son, Solomon, rode on a donkey when he became king (1 Kings 1:38), and that the prophet Zechariah foretold of a king who would come riding on a donkey to bring peace and salvation (Zechariah 9:9-17). The kingdom is coming! The king is here! Save us! Save us now!

Was it political salvation they sought? Or physical? Or spiritual? What did they long to be saved from? What did they long to be saved for? Today we might ask the same questions. What holds us captive as individuals, as a society, as a world? How do we steward the coming kingdom—the kingdom that is always in the active present tense, always breaking into the world?

As we ponder these questions alongside the shouting crowds, may God guide our reflection.

Prayer: Lord God, when we cry out to you for salvation, help us to see the places where your always-coming kingdom breaks into the world and beckons us toward freedom and peace. Give us the courage to follow you there. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 21

Becky Hudak served as the chair of Camp Fowler’s master plan committee, is a kitchen volunteer, and currently serves on the board of trustees.

John 12:27-33

In this passage Jesus has been sought out by the Gentiles, and this is his last public discourse. Jesus is both troubled by the weight of the sin of the world and keenly aware of his impending death. He doesn’t shrink from his father’s will but instead says, “No, for this purpose I have come to this hour” (v.27, emphasis added). He has come to glorify God’s name. He puts Satan on notice, saying, “The ruler of this world will be cast out” (v.31). Jesus is clear about his purpose: he has come to prepare the way for us. He says, “When I am lifted from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (v.32).

Christ’s sacrifice, so long ago, still holds both promise and instruction for us today. The promise is that he has paved our way by his death on the cross. We continue to face challenges that draw us away from God’s purpose and plan for his world, but we are also left with some instructions. I am reminded of Micah 6:8: “[W]hat does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” For me, this means to work at a food pantry, advocate for fair wages, provide children with a safe and exciting week at Camp Fowler, and give thanks each day for the incredible gifts I have been given by God. What does the Lord require of you?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your amazing sacrifices of love and generous gifts of grace. Help us to be bold and energetic in our service for you. Amen.
The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to:
Read the passage.
Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 20

Ian Michalski served as a day camp coordinator and summer assistant director for Camp Fowler. Currently he is associate instructor of Spanish at Indiana State University.

John 12:20-26

Oftentimes when we mention the Lenten season to friends or co-workers, they have various responses. They may ask what we’re “giving up” this year, or perhaps they will offer a comment about how ridiculous it may seem to endure some self-imposed suffering for 40 days. These reactions are simplistic and incomplete when it comes to what many Christians know about the meaning and importance of Lent. But I’d venture to say that many Christians themselves also share similar thoughts when Lent approaches: “What will I give up this year?” or “Here we go again; 40 days!”

Today’s text reminds us of what Jesus asked of his followers in the days leading up to his death. He asked for their death as well. The seed must die in order to allow for the creation of other seeds. As followers of Christ we shift our focus away from our lives—all things personal and immediate—and instead focus on serving God and participating in the work of redeeming God’s creation. If we want to benefit from this experience of following the teachings of Christ, we must be willing to let go of our personal attachment to things, behaviors, practices, etc. We must detach.

This discipline of spiritual detachment is not unlike what it takes to have an optimal experience at summer camp! At Camp Fowler, we encourage—and in some cases, require—that campers, staff, and volunteers detach from various aspects of regular life (material and non-material) before beginning their Fowler experience. Such things include cell phones, technology, self-centeredness, material excess, and unnecessary waste. And what we ask for in exchange are all things that fall within what it means to honor God and God’s creation and follow in the way of Christ: live in community, care for creation, and simplify our lives by shedding our dependence on technology, social media, materialism, etc. Again, this detachment is a discipline and a practice. It is not easy. It is something we must decide to do, several times over, just as we ask of those coming to camp each summer. But when we are able to engage in this practice, we allow ourselves an opportunity for experiences of growth, revival, and refreshment.

If we reflect on the meaning of the word Lent, we learn that it comes from an Old English word for “spring,” and the metaphorical connections abound. Spring is a time of new growth, warmth, and coming to live again, which bursts forth from the frozenness, death, decay, and stagnancy of winter. Episcopal priest and writer Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us that Lent is “an invitation to a springtime for the soul. Forty days to cleanse the system…forty days to remember what it is like to live by the grace of God alone and not by what we can supply for ourselves.”* By reminding us that to follow and serve God means to die to the lives we live, Jesus is inviting us to pass through a sort of springtime, renewal and rebirth—all as part of a redemption and renewal of God’s creation.

So, as we continue through the rest of the Lenten season, I invite you to ponder a few things. How have you traversed this Lenten “springtime” of your soul? What does this concept of death and detachment mean to you? What is God asking you to do, or perhaps refrain from doing, in order to be a better servant? Lent is an opportunity for all of us. It is so much more than giving up chocolate or putting ourselves through some self-imposed suffering. It is an opportunity for renewal and rebirth. Again, consider the wise suggestions of Barbara Brown Taylor to listen to the nudging of the Spirit and to “decide what you will do for Lent. Better yet, decide whose you will be. Worship the Lord your God and serve no one else. Expect great things, from God and from yourself. Believe that everything is possible. Why should any of us settle for less?”

* The Christian Century (“Settling for Less,” February 18, 1998, page 169) available online here: http://www.clericeric.com/clericeric/2010/02/barbara-brown-taylor-on-lent.html

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 19

David Walsh serves as a Camp Fowler volunteer. He is a former Fowler poet laureate and board of trustees moderator. Currently David works for New York State Information Tech Services.

Hebrews 5:5-10

Melchizedek’s Breath
1. High Priest
The tongue stutters across his name,
another in a long line of priests that show up
in the Old Stories, the King of Justice
who once received
a tenth of Abraham’s wealth.

2.King
But what mentor is such a High Priest,
that God would grant the Son
the same standing as a storied King of Peace,
a ‘priest forever’ whose life goes on,
whose breath never ends?

3. Suffers
The Son is human, knows the Plan,
gives anguished voice to prayer and tears
to the One who could save him,
to no avail. His perfection is reached
through a path of
obedience,
worship,
suffering…

4.Salvation
God speaks of Melchizedek in the same breath
as the Son, and that Word is pressed
on the life of He who reaches perfection,
He who can save forever all who follow Him,
He who, through death, breathes life in all people.

Prayer: The human Christ cried out to God, railed against the plan, and sought harbor from his God. But his suffering brought his human life to perfection and demonstrated the path to salvation. Lord, show us the way—breathe life into our souls. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 13

Nate Hileman serves as a wilderness guide at Camp Fowler.

Ephesians 2:8-10

When I went to church when I was little, I had a mental image of a “Good Christian” in my head the whole time. The “Good Christian” was a pretty cool dude. He had five kids, and two used cars, and he wore snazzy shirts, and he tithed, and he read his Bible, and never got angry, and prayed every night, and things were never hard for him. Unfortunately, I never felt like that guy. I thought I was supposed to be like that “Good Christian” when I grew up. I carried a picture of him in my head for years. To be fair, that guy has a pretty sweet life, and I’d be lucky to end up like him. But when it comes down to it, I’m not that guy. No one is that guy, because no one is perfect.

As I was growing up, one of the most discouraging things about my faith was the idea that I had to be this perfect, snazzy, “Good Christian.”

But as we read in this passage: “For by grace you have been saved through faith”…

…if you ask me, the most important word in that sentence is “you.”

God Incarnate did not enter this world to make sure that the “Good Christian” was doing well. Jesus did not come here for the perfect people. Jesus came here for you. You don’t have to be perfect. That’s the beauty of the thing. You just have to be you. No one’s perfect, but that’s okay. We’ve already been saved.

(In an effort to be inclusive, if you do happen to run across a perfect person, you should invite that person to your church’s next ice cream social. It’s polite.)

So, give yourself a break. You don’t have to impress Jesus. He’s already taken care of everything. What a gift! By his grace, you have been saved through faith.

You have been saved.

Prayer: Dear God, thanks for loving me even though I don’t have it all together. It means a lot to me. I’ll try my best to be the “Good Christian.” I probably will fall short, but I’ll do my best. Thanks for having my back. I love you, God. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

March 11

Jan Hoffman served one summer as the interim director at Camp Fowler. Jan currently co-pastors First Reformed Church of Scotia with her husband and helps lead some of Fowler’s contemplative spiritual retreats.

Psalm 107:17-22

The Psalmist describes sickness, even unto death, but the Lord gave forgiveness and healing. The context isn’t one of thanksgiving, it’s one of wandering in the desert, and God’s people are whining more than thanking! Sometimes we forget that the antidote to grumbling is gratitude (so writes a favorite author, Jan L. Richardson). How do we give gratitude in the Lenten desert?

I have been a part of Camp Fowler most of my life: as a child at summer camp, as a chaplain leading kids at summer camp, and as a retreat leader and participant. I go to the camp by the mountain lake to get redirected and realigned, for rest, for a time to remember where I am and whose I am. When I’m wandering in the desert, it’s easy to whine; I often forget to thank God for the many blessings of healing and forgiveness in my own life. When I spend time at camp, in any season, it’s easy to remember to give thanks. I hope you have a similar place in your life.

As the Psalmist here reminds us, may this time of Lent be one of gratitude as we look for the one who came with healing in his wings.

Prayer: Lord, in all the seasons of my life, may I offer thanksgiving with songs of joy. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.