By Rev. Marlene Urban-Funk, Program Manager, Camp Wrightwood

“Camp is my happy place.”

So many of our young people say this!  But what happens when we can’t always be in our “happy place”?

At Camp Wrightwood Winter Camp 2019 our children and youth grades 2-12 will learn more about emotional well-being and the role faith can play in emotional health.

What we know: Teens and children are not exempt from hard emotions. You only need to look at suicide and attempted suicide statistics to see that. We know that camp is a safe place for our children and youth to speak about their feelings, and to find a supporting community that will love them through joyful and painful moments alike.

What we wish: Wouldn’t it be great if every young person could have safe and healthy places to learn about and express their emotions? Wouldn’t it be amazing if they knew that in scripture there are stories to help them navigate a complex emotional world? I wish that every child knew the unconditional love of God that our campers get to experience. I wish conversations about emotions and emotional health were more prevalent in our communities of faith. I wish every young person in southern California had tools to understand, express and grow in their emotional selves.

What we need: From 10 AM on Saturday, February 16th to 11 AM on Monday, February 18th, 2019, youth and children will be able to spend 48 hours at their happy place sharing in an exploration of how to identify, talk about and live into their emotional selves.  We need them to come and find community, to find tools to recognize, communicate and own their emotions. We need willing, competent and caring staff who will be Winter Camp counselors. We need a more emotionally literate world, and we need to start with our UMC young people! Email me at murbanfunk@calpacumc.org with any questions or comments! Call us at Camp Wrightwood: 760-249-3453. Flyers are available upon request.

The time is now to step into God’s current of Transforming Lives!