This past week, I spent about 36 hours at Camp Agapé.
For those who don’t know, Camp Agapé is one of our outdoor ministry sites here in the NC Synod, and it holds a particular place in my heart. I spent multiple summers there serving as a camp counselor. It shaped my faith so deeply that when the time came, it’s where I chose to be ordained. These days I serve on the camp’s Board of Directors, and since July I’ve had the honor of serving as Board President. Most of that work I can do from right here in High Point — but every now and then, it’s good to simply be present.
It had been a busy summer, and I hadn’t yet made it out to camp. So with this being the final week of summer programming, I went. I had staff to meet with and board responsibilities to tend to. But there was something else, too.
This summer’s camp theme was “At God’s Table” — a focus on the radical welcome we receive at God’s table. That meant communion was part of the big Thursday evening worship, and I was signed up to help lead it. I never turn down the chance to preside at the table at camp. When I was ordained in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we weren’t able to share communion together — so every time I get to break the bread and lift the cup in that place, it means something.
But here’s the thing: what struck me most that night wasn’t anything I did.
It was the prayers. Each cabin had written their own — shaped, I’m sure, by the daily Bible studies that carried the week’s theme. And I was so moved by what these young people prayed that I wanted to share their words with you, just as they wrote them.
One cabin prayed:
We pray for a table that welcomes. We pray for a table that loves. We pray for a table that laughs.
Another:
We pray for a table that welcomes. We pray for a table that accepts. We pray for a table that loves.
Another:
We pray for a table that loves. We pray for a table that laughs. We pray for a table that listens.
Another:
We pray for a table that loves, cares, trusts, respects, and observes. We pray for a table that loves, laughs, and thanks.
Another:
We pray for a table that is accepting, that loves unconditionally, and that is kind.
Another:
We pray for a table that welcomes everyone. We pray for a table that makes everyone feel included. We pray for a table that invites everyone, no matter who they are.
Another:
We pray for a table that helps, loves, and invites people who feel like outcasts.
And one more:
We pray for a table that includes sinners and outcasts — a table that needs help. A table that invites everyone, and nobody gets left out. A table that laughs and distracts everyone from their problems.
Maybe it’s because these came from the hearts of children and youth. But I felt I had to share them — and I hope they might become your prayers, as they became ours on Thursday night.
Because we are all part of this Table work. As Christ welcomes, forgives, provides, and sustains at the Table, we are blessed to be called to extend that same table fellowship to others in Christ’s name. Whether it’s our weekly communion in worship, the meals we share, our new Dinner Church, or some other holy moment around a table, I am grateful to these young people — and to camp — for reminding me just how special the table we share really is.
And here’s a chance to live it out. This Sunday evening, our Dinner Church gathers again — this time at Emerywood Baptist at 6:00 p.m. It’s exactly the kind of table these campers were praying for: one where everyone is welcome, where bread is broken, stories are shared, and where nobody gets left out.
Come pull up a chair. There’s room for you.
(Picture of me presiding at communion on Thursday, as I cannot post pictures of the campers.)