By Jim Shields
That is our unofficial mantra for the summer. Summer at Highland Lakes is quite different when you have no camps or guests around! However, be assured that Director of Operations Rick Porter, Office Manager Sarah Wickersham and myself are quite busy. Re-painting, re-staining, adding picnic tables, repairing the lake dock, streamlining software for quicker administrative duties, and updating policies are just a few of the things that we have been able to focus on. Just trying to keep up with the COVID restrictions and guidelines has been challenging enough! Even with that, we are excited about what next year will be like, as we look forward to having more green space available and having the Activity Center completed. If you follow us on Facebook, you can see how we have literally moved a hill from one side of the Log Cabin to the other side in preparation for the new building! It is exciting to see this begin to take shape, and we are anticipating the additional programming possibilities it will bring.
Also after July 5th, (as of this writing…COVID contingencies can change…) we are able to provide retreats for individual churches or groups. Contact Sarah Wickersham for more details or to book a few days.
In the meantime, some thoughts to the tune of Sound of Silence….
Hello, Campground, my old friend,
I’ve come to walk in you again.
Because a virus softly creeping
Quarantined the campers from meeting
And the vision of a summer so simply plain
Still remains
But now the sound… of silence.
Now restless days I walk alone
Beneath the trees, on rock and stone
Where staff and campers joyously would sing
With lifted voices their praises bring
When my eyes were stabbed by
The sting of forlorn tears
Not seen in years
‘Cause of the sound…of silence.
And in the empty rooms I saw
No way to circumvent the law
Of social distancing by six feet
That stops all groups from trying to compete
In the challenges, and the program that we share
So no one dared
Disturb the sound…of silence.
“Yet”, said I, “Do you not know?
This too, shall pass, and we will grow.
Hear my words that you might take heart;
Hold on to faith, and don’t let it part
And the Word of God, like the sound of a ringing bell
To all will tell
There is an end…of silence.
And once again we will be found
On what we know as Hallowed Ground
With hands raised high in a sign of praise
To God our Father as He fills our days
And sing the songs of the summer
Displayed on the Worship Center wall
We sing them all
We’ll have no more ……of silence.”
We are thankful for your continued prayers, your volunteering of time and your financial support. Obviously, without camps this year we have lost a vital income stream. Please remember to give as a church through the Cooperative Program; we benefit as your camp when you give generously. If you would like to contribute directly to the Highland Lakes building fund or scholarship fund, please take the time to go to www.highlandlakes.org and click on the “Donate” tab at the top.
Jim Shields
Team Leader, Highland Lakes