Today was a jam-packed day to end the first three days of activities for second session. So many campers have already shown progress at their activities after such a short time - whether they have gotten up on waterskis or advanced to intermediate riflery, to name a few. After lunch, we announced the Green-White captains for second session. There are two captains from each village who are nominated by the counselors based on the leadership, sportsmanship and positive attitude they have exemplified in their cabins and throughout camp. During the session, the captains have the added honor of planning and leading their team in Green-White events.
In the late afternoon, we had our first Green-White event of the second session...North Star Ball! North Star Ball is similar to Capture the Flag. Each team starts with two balls on their side. When the round starts, the team members on offense try to get to the “ball circle” and bring a ball back to their side either by running it across the center line without getting caught or passing it to a teammate who then runs it across the line. The team that gets all four balls to their side first wins the round. Today, the Green team extended their summer lead by winning North Star Ball 4-1.
After North Star Ball, we had our first Friday Night Service of the second session. During Friday nights, we take a more reflective tone during mealtime; meals are quieter and there is no cheering, yelling or singing like normal. We have a delicious meal of roast beef, potato pancakes, applesauce and vegetables before we gather around the flagpole to begin our Friday Night Service.
The Friday Night Service takes place at the Council Ring, one of the most beautiful areas of camp. The Council Ring overlooks Clear Lake and every week we are treated to a beautiful sunset during the service. Every Friday Night Service has a different theme. One of our senior village campers is selected to be the leader of the service, leading the camp in some readings. One counselor will give a sermonette based on the theme, there will be songs performed by the camper and counselor choruses and, of course, the Keylog Ceremony. This week’s theme was “Community”, a timely topic as over one hundred campers joined the North Star community earlier this week.
One of our veteran counselors, Noah Byck, gave a sermonette about his own experiences in building friendships at camp and carrying those values out with him the rest of the year. Noah shared how he learned at camp the importance of caring for others and offering a helping hand. Noah shared a story about how during a lunch period at school a few years ago, he saw a boy he knew sitting alone. Instead of going to the table where his friends were sitting, Noah went to sit with the boy. His “friends” took offense to that and Noah found himself being ostracised by his friend group. The major takeaway from Noah’s sermonette was that while it hurt in the moment, he realized that a true friend supports you in your efforts to do the right thing and that the people he thought were his friends didn’t have the values he holds true to himself. Later that year, he came to camp and felt at home -- in the safe community we have at North Star that encourages doing the right things for the right reason, where everyone should be treated with kindness and respect.
