Got to Maine and Camp on Monday, the campers arrived on thursday, and I gave the first chapel talk on Sunday. Camp really is a special place. The people, the tall pine trees and the cool water of Panther Pond! here is a copy of the talk I gave on this first week of Camp:
June 23,
2013
Mike
Congleton
1. Call
to Worship
2. Song:
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
3.
Reading:
“It was at this point that Bilbo
stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did the tremendous
things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the
real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in
wait” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
4.
Timanous Prayer
5. Song:
Knocking on Heavens Door
6. The
Talk:
“Now it is a strange thing, but things
that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about and
not much to listen to; While things that are uncomfortable palpitating and even
gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a good deal of telling” J.R.R.
Tolkien, The Hobbit
What does this mean? It means, that we
should have the courage to try new things, to go out the door and dare to
follow our dreams. We have started a new
summer at Camp Timanous, We have left our comfortable homes in hopes of a great
adventure. So now that we are here at Camp it’s time to have that great summer.
Not many people can say that they had
an epic adventure staying at home. We have made that step and NOW is the time
to have that epic adventure! We are
embarking on this summer adventure together.
S/V Camp Timanous and the ocean before
us is this very summer of 2013. Like any sailing crew some are more
experienced, some are brand new, and some get sea sick….BUT we are all in it
together. An ocean of adventure stands before us waiting for us to navigate
it’s vast potential.
Many years ago when I got my first art
teaching position, my wife LG and I lived on an island. We couldn’t afford to buy a house and there
were plenty of comfortable apartment options to rent. We could stay in the
apartment under the calypso singer, or the condo in the clouds over looking the
cruise ships going in and out of the harbor, or there were also places right on
the beach. Instead of these excellent
options we decided with encouragement from our friends that we would buy a
sailboat to live on. We were not expert
sailors or even good ones, in fact I hadn’t done much sailing since Sailing the
winabout with Al Ryder back in my aides year at camp. But we found the courage to buy a 30 ft S2
sloop….and we made it our home. It was
very difficult at first in fact it was difficult throughout the 3 years we
lived on it. It was a very humbling to
admit to everyone whose help we needed, to tell them that I didn’t know how….I
didn’t know how to navigate the 30 ft boat to the fuel dock, or charge the
batteries, or run the refrigerator without using up all the batteries, or
priming the diesel engine when it stalled out or ran out of fuel, or tie more than
3 knots,….and the list goes on. But we learned, and we had some good times on
board our ship. Once when we were out sailing and charging our engine (the iron
jib) the engine stalled out…and would not start again. Now it is difficult
enough to navigate through the harbor with the use of the engine…but without it,
seemed impossible….We had no choice, so we found the courage and the confidence
to sail our beloved vessel through the crowded anchorage and onto our mooring
without the use of the iron jib. There are many stories like this and many
people helped us along the way but the times I’ll remember the most and retell
maybe even exaggerate are the scary and uncomfortable ones.
Your time here at Camp is an
opportunity to try new things, go sailing, or kayaking, or climb to the top of
the wall, or overcome your fear of the dark waters of lanes 5 and 6 on main
dock…. Your adventure might be swimming in Panther Pond At this moment you have
come to a crossroads…one way leads down to a comforting place that is familiar,
another is a new road that might lead to vast opportunities for adventure, and
the potential is limitless. Take the road
that leads you to adventure and new discoveries. I promise you’ll have better
stories to tell.
And now
for our last song we will sing The Weight, in honor of Jack the Dog who passed
away in November of 2012.
7. Song:
The Weight
