Serving Those in Need

By David Beers

On June 19, an excited group of 28 people ranging in age from 12 to 50-something, headed out for a week of work and camaraderie in Camden, New York. Some had gone on this annual trip (organized and led by Reverend Erick Olsen of Church of Christ Congregational) before, while others were work camp newbies.

Work camp trips are open to all youth in grades six to 12, regardless of religious affiliation, just like the youth group that meets every Sunday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. “These trips are undoubtedly a highlight of every year for me,” says Olsen. “They provide a unique chance for all participants—youth and adults—to live our faith, to more fully connect with each other and to bring God’s love out into the world.”

Previous year’s work camps have taken the group to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston and Camden, New York. The last Camden trip was two years ago, while Boston was last year’s location. For the Camden trips, the work is supplied by the Cluster 13 Ministries, which distributes the projects, and arranges for the lodging and other logistics for the many church groups that come to work each summer. Cluster 13 was formed over 20 years ago by a group of area churches to offer various services to those in need.

The daily contact from the ministry brought supplies, arranged for lodging, showers, potluck meals, work projects and even a swimming hole. The Norfolk group slept on the floor of the Taberg Methodist church, with the men downstairs and the women upstairs, but everyone had air mattresses, and sleeping bags or bedding.

The daily routine consisted of a morning reveille of “Rise and Shine” by Reverend Olsen at 7 a.m. Breakfast and lunch foods were then laid out and everyone ate breakfast and made their bag lunch for the day. After a brief circle prayer, and sunscreen applications, everyone piled into cars to go to work. After a full day of work, there was free time in the evenings before a focused group discussion about the experience.

The big project for the week was building a new pole barn-style roof over a 1974 mobile home in a rural area of Taberg. Both homeowners are disabled, and in their 50s. The roof had been leaking for months and the deep snows of Central New York threatened a cave-in. The footings and support beams were built by another group last summer, so it was the Norfolk crew’s job to finish the roof with mostly recycled materials from demolition jobs.

Later in the week, some of the Norfolk crew went to work on another project—replacing the front porch on a house occupied by a family with four boys between the ages of four and nine. The house was located next door to the Taberg Methodist church, so the boys were often outside playing ball and Frisbee with the work crew in the church parking lot in the evenings.

Adult volunteer Sarah Foster says, “We built a roof for one family and made a house safer with a new porch for another, but what we really did was show them that people care. That is something that will last long after the roof begins to leak and the porch begins to sag. Their smiles and their gratefulness is something that will forever be imprinted on my heart.”

Many of the work days ended with a swim at a beautiful rock gorge. In addition to tossing the Frisbee, baseball or kicking a soccer ball in the church parking lot, there were Whiffle ball, kickball and Ultimate Frisbee games. The crew went out for ice cream one night, had an evening cookout and swim at Verona Beach State Park another night and went to a minor league baseball game in Syracuse the last night of the trip, which ended with a phenomenal fireworks show.

Some wonder why the work camps travel to be of service to those in need when there are plenty in need locally. By going away, the group is able to coalesce, and be fully present for the tasks at hand—there are no distractions, like email, phone calls, Facebook or household chores. As the result, the group is focused and engaged with the work, each other and the community they are serving.

Reg Denny, one of the teenage volunteers, says, “I cannot find another community of people who are as excited to help the world, and I am in awe that I get to be a part of it.”

If you are interested in being a part of next summer’s work camp, contact Erick Olsen at reverendole@hotmail.com.

Photo of the Norfolk work crew raising the roof on a 1974 mobile home in Camden, N.Y. by Elias Olsen.