A fantastic week of Camp has come to a close. Nine coach buses just left Cody headed for Braintree. ETA is 1:59 PM.

I want to thank all the Camp Families for another great week and hope to see you all again next year.

Camp Is Coming to a Close

Fridays at camp are both incredibly wonderful and so hard. It's wonderful to celebrate the amazing week we've shared together, and it's so hard to say goodbye.

We began the day with a delicious breakfast of French toast sticks and bacon (we can never have enough bacon!). Today's morning group program focused on strength bombardments. Strength bombardments give group members a chance to share with each other positive affirmations and words of encouragements. It's amazing to see how our campers build each other up and celebrate the amazing gifts they see in their peers. After morning group, we had an all-camp picnic (usually we have two seatings for each meal, but on Fridays we have lunch all together). We enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, pasta salad, chips, and watermelon. A feast! Then at 1:30, we started the hug line. This is an amazing tradition that brings all of our campers and staff to the field (around 550 people total!), and everyone hugs everyone else. Can you imagine getting 550 hugs, all in one day? It's so awesome! It also takes about 3.5 hours! We put some good music on over the loudspeakers, lather on the sunscreen, grab water bottles to stay hydrated (it can get hot out there!), and hug the afternoon away.

This evening, dinner was a camp favorite - chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese. Talk about "camp's greatest hits"! And take a look at this beautiful Lake Ossipee sunset:

After dinner, we prepared for a wonderful camp tradition - consecration. The junior high campers and staff gather in one building for their closing worship service, which gives each junior high cabin a chance to share a song or reading with the group. The senior high campers and staff gather in the Rec Hall for their consecration service, which is led by the senior class. After the worship service, they move out to the council ring for their closing campfire. Six members of the Class of 2018 were chosen by their peers to share a message at the campfire. They all did an amazing job! Here's a picture of the closing campfire, where you can see the candles each person received on the way out of the Rec Hall:

After the senior speakers finished, we gathered around the campfire and sang the Lord's Prayer together one last time (it's our nightly tradition at the end of vespers each evening). And with that, another week at camp has almost come to a close.

Tomorrow morning will be busy, busy, busy as campers pack, clean up their cabins, eat breakfast, and prepare to return home. In less than 12 hours, we'll be on the road back to Braintree High School!

The Sun Is Out Again!

What a day! It always feels like time speeds up as we near the end of the camp week. We awoke to a beautiful morning – and we had a whole day of camp-tastic fun! If you’re wondering what Morning Watch is like, take a look at this photo:

After breakfast (today we had scrambled eggs, sausage patties, bagels, and croissants), every camper and staff person gets a copy of the day’s Morning Watch. Then we spread out around the dining hall, finding spots to sit near the water, on the basketball court, or in the field. For ten minutes, we’re all completely silent. We read through Morning Watch and take time for personal prayer or quiet contemplation. It’s an amazing way to start the day.

Today’s morning group program was titled “Love You Some You,” with a focus on self-care. It was a great follow-up to yesterday’s discussion about mental health concerns. Today we encouraged our campers to think about ways they can care for themselves so that they have the resources (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual) to become the best people they can be.

For lunch, we had steak and cheese subs and chicken Caesar wraps along with chips. Today’s afternoon program was the annual cabin wars competition. The senior boys came out on top and took home the trophy. Dinner was delicious – spaghetti with meatballs. After dinner, we had our last chapel service (tomorrow we have consecration instead of chapel). And then tonight, the second dance of the week brought everyone to the tennis court for “Your Mom’s Prom.” Everyone dressed up and look fabulous for a night of dancing under the stars:

Tomorrow is our last full day of camp. It’s going to be a day filled with a mix of emotions – so much love and joy, laughter and delight, along with lots of tears as the most amazing week of the year comes to an end. But it’s not over just yet… There’s still lots of goodness to come tomorrow!

Camp's Got Talent!

Wow - what an evening! The Variety Show was awesome! We have so many talented campers, and some of our staff made guest appearances in songs and skits, too. After a very rainy morning, the sun came out this afternoon and dried off the grass enough for us to hold the Variety Show outside on the field. The Variety Show is always a great opportunity for our campers to show off their talents and share their passions. We also get to cheer for campers who step out of their comfort zones and step onto the stage for the very first time. It takes a lot of courage to get up and sing or dance or play or juggle in front of 550 people. Every participant deserved the incredible applause they received for their performances.

After the Variety Show, everyone made their way to the campfire for our third to last vespers service (how is it already Wednesday???). We're all headed off to dreamland now with hopes for a bright and sunny start to the day tomorrow. Sleep well, everyone! We'll catch up again tomorrow...

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

This morning we enjoyed waffles and bacon after a rainy walk to the dining hall. After Morning Watch in the Rec Hall, our campers headed back to their cabins to get out of the rain and ready for the day. Camp Cody has built two new quads of cabins over the last four years and lucky for us - they all have covered porches! All of our teens were able to meet in covered areas. Check out a photo of our Senior High girls quad:

Today’s theme in Morning Group was mental health. We know that many of our teens and their families struggle with issues related to mental health concerns. We hope that the morning group meetings earlier in the week established a safe environment for the discussions that unfolded today. It's a powerful thing when teens feel comfortable sharing their own experiences in a place where they can receive support from their peers and our amazing staff members. 

After Morning Group, our lunch was pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and tater tots (the tater tots were quite a crowd pleaser!). The sun began to peek through the clouds right after lunch, so we were able to enjoy Spree Time and Free Time outside as scheduled. Our entire camp is currently out in the field playing large scale games of Capture the Flag! 

We are looking forward to our Variety Show tonight. It is such a wonderful opportunity for our teens to showcase their talents, skills and hobbies! 

And if you want a look at yesterday's Senior Circle, here you go!

If you have any questions about camp (our schedule, traditions, how we get to eat such amazing food every day, etc.), feel free to leave a comment on the blog. We'll do our best to answer the questions that you submit. We CANNOT answer questions about individual campers. Please know that all your teens are in great hands!

Taco Tuesday!

What a great afternoon we had! Festa-palooza-stock was a great program that brought all of our campers and staff to the field for a variety of games and activities throughout the afternoon. Festa-palooza-stock began with two service projects. Some of the campers made kindness rocks by writing positive, uplifting messages on rocks that were then put on display around the tennis court. Before we leave on Saturday, we'll pack up the rocks and send them home with the campers. The other service project gave campers the opportunity to send letters to people who are struggling in order to help lift their spirits and encourage them along the way. (If you've never heard of The World Needs More Love Letters, you should check out http://www.moreloveletters.com/.) After the service projects, campers could choose from a variety of activities such as lawn games, tie dying, coloring, volleyball, soccer, open mic (we have so many talented campers and staff!) and a 3 on 3 basketball tournament (complete with the National Anthem). It was a great afternoon, capped off by a wonderful chapel service in which we sang one of camp's biggest hits, "Lean on Me." We have fun hand motions that we do to go along with the words of the chorus. Here's a picture of the hugs we give when we sing "I'll be your friend."

Dinner tonight was, you guessed it, TACOS! This meal is always a big hit with the campers. After chapel, we had a fun evening program called "The Legend of the Ossipee Prince." We worked together with our morning groups to compete in different games all around the field, winning clues along the way so that each team could identify the correct princess and then have the princess take them to the prince. Here's a picture from vespers tonight, where you can see all the glow necklaces we gave the campers so that we could keep track of everyone on the field:

The campers are tucked away in bed, and it's time for light's out in my cabin. Sleep tight, sweet dreams! See you in the morning!

Everything's Back to Normal...

Good morning! It's another beautiful day here at Camp Cody. We awoke to foggy, cool morning air, but the sun has come out, the fog has burned off, and the temperature is just right. After an awesome Backwards Day yesterday, we've returned to our regular schedule today. Breakfast was the ever-popular French toast and breakfast sausage. With their bellies full, the campers headed off to their morning groups to build off the momentum of last night's "morning group at night" program. Today, their conversations are focused on beliefs and values.

Today is a special day for our seniors, the Class of 2018. They've all been assigned to different Junior High morning groups, and today the Junior High morning group staff turned their morning groups over to the seniors. The seniors are getting a first-hand experience of what it's like to lead small group conversations. They're getting a taste of what it's like to be on staff. They'll also eat lunch with the Junior High campers, sitting in the staff positions in the dining hall. Then right after lunch, we'll hold Senior Circle. At Senior Circle, the seniors will decide together who will help lead Senior High Consecration on Friday night and who will speak at the closing campfire after Consecration. This is a big day for the Class of 2018 - a day when we ask them to step up as leaders and serve as great role models for the younger campers. 

This afternoon is Festa-palooza-stock, which will be a more relaxed program with all the campers gathered on the field for lawn games, fun activities, and the opportunity to just chill. At this point in the week, both campers and staff look forward to this extended time to relax, to enjoy each other's company, and to renew their energy for the second half of the week.

Hope you're having a great day, wherever you are! As John Fiander reminded us this morning, today is the 21st day of the 8th month of the 2018th year A.D. We only get to live this day once. Make it a good one!

Backwards Day Comes to a Close

We had a fantastic day today! Backwards Day is still one of camp's "greatest hits." The campers successfully solved the EpiClue mystery (it was Gene Simmons - dressed up with *a lot* of makeup on - who kidnapped the Pearson Twins by luring them to the tennis courts with Hoodsies). The kids stayed energetic and positive throughout the game. It was an awesome afternoon.

Breakfast for dinner was a HUGE success. The teens walked into the dining hall to the glorious smell of cooked bacon, along with eggs and hash browns. Yummy! 

After dinner we gathered for "morning" watch, which set us up well for morning group at night. Morning group at night is often the time when groups begin to go deeper in their conversations, building trust and risking vulnerability. The cover of darkness seems to help the teens open up. After "morning" group ended, we headed back to the Council Ring for vespers. The campers are all tucked away in their cabins now, heading off to sleep. Sweet dreams to everyone! We'll check in again tomorrow...

It's Backwards Day!

Greetings from beautiful Freedom, NH! It's a gorgeous day to be at Camp Cody! This year's theme is Camp Greatest Hits: 1958-2018. The theme celebrates the 60th anniversary of camp and brings back some of the most popular programs from previous years. Today, the campers awoke to some surprising news - it's backwards day! They also found out some shocking information that set them up for the day's programs. The set-up of the game was this - two of our staff members disappeared after the dance last night, and the entire camp has to work together in color teams for an epic game of Clue (hence the name of the game: EpiClue) to figure out who committed the crime, where it happened, and what tools were used. They're working right now during the afternoon program to solve the crime!

Because it's backwards day, we started the day with vespers and then a buffet dinner of chicken patties, watermelon, chips, and cookies. How often do your teens get to eat chicken patties for breakfast? And cookies??? So fun! The first part of EpiClue, the "evening" program, was this morning, as well as chapel. Lunch was a new camp meal (everyone at my table gave it two forks up!) of tortellini with sausage and spinach, peas, and rolls. 

Coming up later on this backwards day: breakfast for dinner, morning watch, and then the ever-popular morning group at night.

The weather has been amazing so far this week, and the campers are having a great time! Thanks for entrusting your teens to us. The campers are the reason that camp has been going strong since 1958!

The End of Day 2

Good evening, everyone! Day 2 at Camp Cody has come to a close. The weather today was absolutely perfect for our afternoon program - sunny and warm, but not too hot. Morning groups moved around the big field area at camp competing in different games or participating in get-to-know-you activities. With the regular morning group meeting this morning plus the afternoon program, our teens have gotten to know their morning groups really well today. Hopefully the groups are forming close bonds that will allow for deep and meaningful discussions throughout the rest of the week.

Dinner tonight was fantastic! We had a full Thanksgiving meal - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, and gravy. The whole works! It was awesome! After dinner, we gathered for chapel with a great message about the importance of stepping outside our comfort zones in order to try new things and truly become who God intends us to be. Here's a picture of the whole camp gathered for chapel today:

After chapel, everyone got ready for one of the week's big events - the first dance! The theme for tonight's dance was Neon Nights. As the teens streamed into the rec hall, they all received glow sticks. The rec hall was glowing with neon all evening long! Take a look:

After the dance, everyone moved outside to the campfire for vespers. The reflection at vespers connected with our theme for the day, which has focused on social situations and how the teens navigate the different social contexts they're a part of: school, family, friends, work, etc. After your teens get home, you ask them what it means to "find your Erin." When vespers ended, we sent everyone back to their cabins. After dancing the night away, hopefully everyone will get a good night's sleep tonight!

We're Here!

Hi everyone! Rev. Jennie here, reporting in from Camp Cody. My apologies for the delay in getting up our first post. Please know that everyone arrived to camp yesterday, safe and sound! We hope the campers enjoyed the luxurious accommodations on the coach buses this year. The buses seemed to make it up to Camp Cody in record time! We spent yesterday afternoon getting everyone settled in their cabins, connecting with morning groups for the first time, and fueling up with a delicious dinner (chicken, rice, veggies, and ice cream sandwiches). We had our first chapel service, led by members of the staff. The staff then put on a variety show last night to share some camp traditions, teach some camp songs, and get everyone laughing. The evening ended as we gathered around the campfire for our first vespers service of the week.

We awoke today to a beautiful morning! After breakfast (pancakes and sausage), we gathered for morning watch (everyone takes about ten minutes of silent time to read a reflection, think, pray, etc.). Morning groups had their first full-length meetings today, and campers also stayed with their morning groups for the afternoon program. Lunch was a hit - grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries! Tonight is the first dance (Neon Nights!), so it's going to be a great evening!

Thanks for checking out the camp blog. We'll keep the posts going throughout the week so that you can get a window into life at Camp Cody.

Camp is just 2 weeks away!!