By Noel, Summer Intern at Flemingdon Park
Worship is one of my favourite parts of the day at camp. At Flemingdon Park, we have a group of campers who have opted out of Bible time. This also means that they are not present during worship. It has been a unique challenge to share Christ with them, but God is surely working. The other day, one of these campers noticed the lyrics to “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” up on the wall and started reading them out loud. I got the opportunity to have a conversation with her about why we sing to our God and what the song meant.
The rest of our campers are also learning more about worship. This week, we explored the 'Whats', 'Whys', and 'Hows' of worship. When discussing how we can worship, the kids came up with the typical (but good) answers: prayer, song, and Scripture; however, they also came up with more creative examples, such as thanking God for kendamas (a wooden toy that a kid was holding). Seeing the kids realize how worship can be personal, unique, and relevant was exciting!
During one of our worship activities, the kids sat in a circle and we placed a chair in the center. We asked the kids to imagine that God was sitting in the chair to remind them that God is present with us in our worship. One of the kids then exclaimed excitedly, “God is right there?!” He sounded so surprised and delighted; I was refreshed and reminded of how powerful and precious it is that God is truly with us as we worship Him.
Most of our campers love to sing and dance. I believe that worship is a special way for our kids to connect with God. I love hearing the kids sing praise songs everywhere – in the hallways of the school, in the swimming pool, or on the TTC. It brings me much joy to see our campers engage with musical worship. How much more our Father must rejoice at the songs of His children! I hope that the kids learn more about God’s character through songs, that they would continue to enjoy God’s presence, and that their worship would extend beyond their songs and into their lives.
“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs . . . For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100: 2,5)
Noel is a first-time intern at Flemingdon Park. She joined TCM because she wants to be a part of God's work and shine the light of Jesus into the lives of others.