Send a Christian to camp

Christian Century, July 14, 1999 by Ellen Charry, Dana Charry

The creation of this Jewish camping program was in many ways unique to the situation of post-World War II Jews. But their effort might serve as example and inspiration for others who seek to form their children in the faith today. The Camp Ramah model may be particularly instructive for mainline Protestants who have recognized that the culture is in many ways toxic for children and that an alternative to Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Wall Street is urgently needed. Passing on Christian beliefs and practices can be that alternative, and it now must be done intentionally.

Many parents look to the church to speak to their children about God. Yet church-school teachers are often unprepared for the task, or have little time and few resources to do their job. Within the churches themselves, biblical and doctrinal illiteracy is often widespread. Youth programs are often oriented toward merely providing wholesome activities--on the assumption that youth are already formed personally and religiously--not toward forging a Christian identity. Today, however, we cannot separate personal from religious formation, nor can we assume that either takes place automatically.

Meanwhile, the world outside the church is often indifferent or hostile to Christian claims. Much of secular culture, which is ready to take hold of youth, is vulgar, violent and materialistic. Assimilation into that culture is all too easy. Parents who give their children over to popular culture at age ten or 12 may never win them back. The time has come for an intensive intervention which helps children to identify themselves apart from the culture.

PERHAPS THAT intervention should be the creation of an equivalent of the Ramah camps. Could mainline Protestants do this? Mounting such an undertaking would first and foremost require a sense of urgency and seriousness regarding the situation of children and adolescents. It would also require the conviction that passing on the Christian heritage is a way to provide them with the strength and resources to become psychologically and spiritually mature adults who conduct their personal and public lives in the service of God and neighbor. It would require a commitment to educating the whole child.

A residential camping program dedicated to religious education may strike some as sectarian. After all, it sets up an artificial and well-protected environment in which not only distracting but also competing influences are screened out. In truth, this project contains a countercultural element. But withdrawal from the culture is a pedagogical technique, not the underlying message.

At the moment American culture presents enormous challenges for those engaged in Christian formation. The civic virtues of public-spiritedness and concern for the common good are often overwhelmed by powerful business and political interests. Popular culture plays on cynicism, despair and distrust. The civil-society debate over the quality of life and the social responsibility of business and industry often takes place without recognizing the role of religious traditions in shaping the moral character and psychological health of citizens. A Christian educational camping program offers Christians a way to form children as both Christians and citizens. The apparent choice between culture Christianity and sectarian withdrawal is a false one, as is that between being a citizen and being a Christian. While public-spiritedness does not require Christian values, Christian identity fosters good citizenship--though at times Christians are judiciously called to criticize the dominant culture.