Youth Changing the World: A Social Justice Summer Camp
There are many stories in Scripture about God’s people crying out when tragedy dealt their holy community a blow, such as the fall of beloved city, desecration of a holy place, the death of a leader or prophet, drought, disease, and tribulation both big and small. A lament is the expression of the ache in our souls, our cries of outrage, our overwhelming feelings of hopelessness. It can be an important part of the grief process after a catastrophic event or prolonged adversity. Lament is the time when we express our sorrows, make our petitions of prayer, and ask the questions we cannot answer. “Why oh why, God?” We need to lament. It is cathartic. We release our laments so that we can free ourselves for the gathering of spirit and of energy. Spirit and energy are catalysts for ideas and actions that will lead us towards restoration.
“All of a sudden in 2021, it seemed as though everything we did in school to try to embrace diversity of race, gender identity, and even the environment were seen as pushing an agenda.” – Lisa Macurak, retired (2022) Social Studies teacher and St. Paul’s UCC (SPUCC) Social Justice Camp leader
Our community, like many across the nation, is facing efforts by some people to remove books from the schools, such as LGBTQIA+ inclusive books and books that deal with racism. A recent flag policy was created by the local Board of Education to remove rainbow flags from school walls and teachers’ desks. Teachers are being told what they can and cannot teach, despite their professional training and education.
At St. Paul’s UCC, our Anti-Racist Leadership Team gathered for a meeting in the late winter of this year and we uttered our laments for ourselves, for our children, for our school system, and for our community. We allowed the time for lamentation and came out of it with an idea….a way to turn towards hope and action.
“How about a social justice summer camp?” Everyone at the SPUCC Anti-Racist Team meeting was immediately excited about the idea. Idea upon idea poured out in an effort to address a gap, a need we see in the local education system and in the community. We want children to learn about “social justice issues that are truly plaguing our nation and be able to teach the truth to young people. [They] are capable of learning our true history, not a white-washed version.”
Despite some minor intimidation from a local group, SPUCC lived out the idea and the Youth Changing the World Social Justice Camp was held for one week during July. The campers were rising 6th – 10th graders. The curriculum was created by SPUCC and Carroll County Kids for Equity (CCKE), an independent grassroots student-led organization. A social justice issue or concern was the topic for each day including racial justice, LGBTQIA+ justice, environmental justice, and poverty. Camp facilitators led by SPUCC member, Lisa Macurak, were SPUCC members and CCKE high school students. The community presenters and sponsors were numerous including, NAACP #7014, Carroll Citizens for Racial Equity, PFLAG Westminster-Carroll County, Community Media Center, Poor People’s Campaign, EcoWarriors, Carroll Arts Center, Be Kind Project, Baltimore American Indian Center, Green Valley Samaritans, Ting Inc., and KT World Communications. The week was free of cost for the campers, as we didn’t want cost to prohibit participation. Donations from SPUCC members and individuals in the community covered materials and lunches for the campers.
Campers learned about and actively discussed social justice topics in the morning, then engaged in action in the afternoons. Each camper had the opportunity to earn up to 40 community service hours. Campers engaged in philanthropic efforts and were able to donate over $800 to an organization of their choosing, which turned out to be Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans (Good Shepherd UCC, Arizona). On the last day of the camp, campers went on a field trip to Annapolis to tour the Maryland State House, learn from an alderwoman, visit the Benjamin Banneker Museum, and go on a boat tour of the harbor.
Then in August, campers, campers’ families, facilitators, presenters, and community sponsors got together for a “reunion”to watch a film at the local Carroll Arts Center theater and view video from the camp, including several anti-racism PSAs created by the campers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thn2x_i77CI
We are already looking forward to holding the camp again next year using what we learned this year to improve, as well as incorporate the campers ideas and suggestions. Women’s rights and animal rights are issues they want to address in future camps.
The camp idea was exciting, but daunting at the same time. We had worries. Would enough young people participate? Would we have enough funds? Would we have enough time to pull it together? We were thrilled to discover that we had so many young people interested that we had to create a wait list. Organizations and individuals wanted to support the camp and their generosity provided the funds. Many people came together to make the camp possible and we had to cut parts from our curriculum because we packed so much into our days.
We continue on at St. Paul’s UCC as God’s people seeking justice in our community, amazed by what can come of a lament that sparks an idea!
Rev. Erin Snell is the Social Justice Minister at St. Paul’s UCC in Westminster, MD. She works full-time as a children’s librarian in the local public library. Erin is involved in many community organizations, including the local NAACP chapter, PFLAG Westminster-Carroll County, and Carroll County Coalition of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project.
Erin has two children, one is a college freshman and the other a high school senior. She lives in Uniontown with her wife, Joy, 16 chickens, and 4 silly goats.
