Jessica Gates is the Communications Associate for the Diocese. She is spending the week up at the Episcopal Camp, her first visit to the property. This week is the Music and Creative Arts camp program. ECC is located in the northwest corner of the state, on 186 acres of land touching Echo Lake.
Bishop Wolf arrived this morning and celebrated the Eucharist in the barn and then joined the group for breakfast. Apparently the Bishop has a history of making appearances at the Music and Creative Arts program. The kids really respond to her. Many of you may be used to seeing Bishop Wolf in formal settings so it may surprise some people to learn that the Bishop is incredible with children. She has a very gentle and unassuming way of approaching them. I watched a 9 year-old and a 14 year-old instantly fall in to a warm interaction with her. As for my toddler, how many people can claim they played peek-a-boo with the Bishop of Rhode Island?
Last night there was a big dance in the barn and they covered the entire floor with buckets of sand. Sand was everywhere. Originally the dance was going to be held at the waterfront, but unpredictable weather led to the barn location instead. Cleaning and sweeping took place late in to the evening so that the morning service would not be unnecessarily “gritty” for Bishop Wolf.
The dance was a success. Even the shyest of kids were out dancing. Most of the girls dressed up and the counselors joked that there was a toxic cloud of hairspray floating up from the girl’s cabins.
As predicted, the teenagers were horrified when visiting staff (or anyone over 20 for that matter) attempted to dance. Most staffers regulated themselves to the fringe and bopped their heads while keeping an eye on the crowd. A few staffers braved teenage disdain and showed off some fine dancing skills. Kudos to those brave souls!
The visiting staff has a dessert competition running each evening. Each team or person is trying to outdo each other. It is hilarious. The judging is done on ballots with a variety of categories (including categories like “color” and “aftertaste”). The taunting and bravado displayed are almost as important as the desserts. The first evening, two desserts were presented. Last night, five were presented. We could barely move. We have seen everything from gooey brownies to deep fried ice cream and there are still two nights left in the competition. We are all going to need to spend some time at the gym after this camp.
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