Sunday Funday

Good evening! Today was our first full day of camp — and it was awesome! We started bright and early with breakfast. We eat our meals in two shifts because the dining hall isn’t big enough to accommodate all of our campers and staff. Each cabin is assigned to either first meal or second meal. For breakfast, first meal is at 7:30 (yes, we get the campers up early!) and second meal is at 8:15. Our first camp breakfast of the week featured pancakes, breakfast sausage, and fruit. Cereal, yogurt, and granola are also available at breakfast every day. There’s something for everyone. We begin every meal with grace, and then tables try to “earn” the right to go through the buffet line by singing at the top of their lungs to get the attention of the table callers. We should have earplugs available — it is SO LOUD in the dining hall! But this tradition also makes meals so much fun.

After breakfast, we have a camp-wide activity called Morning Watch. Everyone finds a place to sit where they can be quiet for ten minutes. We give out Morning Watch sheets with scripture readings, inspiring quotes, and prayer prompts. After the noise level in the dining hall during meals, it’s amazing to see how quiet camp can get for a full ten minutes. Many campers love Morning Watch because it gives them a chance to collect their thoughts and get ready for the day ahead.

After Morning Watch, we have an all-camp meeting (for announcements and an overview of the day), then campers head back to their cabins for clean-up before heading to their morning groups. Using our theme of “Once Upon A Camp,” today’s Morning Group discussions focused on children’s books and invited everyone to reflect on how our childhoods shaped us into the people we are today.

After lunch (chicken patties — always a camp favorite — watermelon, and chips), everyone had their first chance at spree time. During spree time, campers have to be outside their cabins. There are a variety of activities available: active options like volleyball or basketball, creative options like tie-dying or bracelet making, and relaxing options like nail painting or playing board games. Campers can also visit the Camp Store (which we’ve affectionately named “Garments, Gatos, and Gear” — pronounced as a true Bostonian would say it, of course). Campers can choose to do whatever they want during spree time, as long as they don’t return to their cabins.

Today’s afternoon activity was “Be Our Quest,” which brought morning groups back together to play games to earn Disney song clues and photos of Disney characters, which they then had to pair up. The team with the most matched pairs won! The weather was great for the game (sunny but not too hot), and everyone had a great time.

(Our staff dressed up as the Disney characters featured in "Be Our Quest")

After dinner (tortellini with sausage, spinach, and tomato sauce along with green beans, rolls, and vanilla cake), the Class of 2019 led tonight’s chapel service. They did an amazing job! Now all the campers are at the first dance of the week: “Once Upon a Previous Owner” (think thrift shop outfits…). 

(Old camp t-shirts hung up in the Rec Hall for the dance)

Vespers will come right after the dance, and then everyone will head back to their cabins for a good night’s sleep. Sunday Funday will soon come to a close… But we have another awesome day in store for tomorrow!

Aaaaaand, We're Back!

Hi everyone! We’re back! It’s Rev. Jennie reporting in from Camp Cody. I’m the Senior Pastor of Old South Union Church, and I have the pleasure of serving alongside my colleague Rev. Larry Gipson as one of the camp chaplains. I’m also the resident camp blogger, so I’ll be keeping you up-to-date throughout the week with all the adventures we’re having up here in Freedom, NH. So please check back in each day to see what we’re up to!

First off, let me give you the news you’ve all been waiting for—everyone arrived safely at Camp Cody. (Sorry that news is coming so late in the day. Hopefully you trusted that everyone made it here safely, even though we didn’t tell you sooner!) The buses made it up to camp a little before 2:00 p.m. Everyone spilled out of the buses and made their way to the council ring for a word of welcome from our fearless Camp Director, Tom Remsen. Then they found out (drum roll please...) their cabin assignments! Everyone headed to their cabins and had some time to unpack before gathering back at the council ring for introductions and announcements. Here’s a picture of our whole camp crew in the council ring:

The rest of the afternoon went quickly… Morning groups met for the first time and began delving into the camp theme for the week: Once Upon a Camp. Then we headed off to dinner. It’s always fun to see what the Camp Cody staff choose for our first meal of the week. This year was grilled chicken with either BBQ sauce or honey mustard, rice, asparagus, and brownies (Cody desserts are so good!). The salad bar was also open, as it is every night at dinner. After dinner we had our first chapel service, which was led by members of the staff. The evening activity was the opening campfire, which featured songs and skits put together by the staff. We had to shorten up the campfire because the rain clouds started rolling in, and we wanted to be sure to get evening vespers in before the rain started. And we juuuuust made it! Everyone went back to their cabins for an early evening. We can’t guarantee that an early evening = more sleep. We’ll see who’s ready to rise and shine bright and early tomorrow morning…

Have a great evening, everyone!

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!