Senior Camp Reunion

The Irish RP Senior Camp Reunion took place the 10th-12th February. Rev. Peter Loughridge from North Edinburgh RPC was the speaker. Rebekkah Downie, Hannah Doward, and Edsel Yong from the North Edinburgh RPC went as did Grant Maclennan, Archie Campbell, and Matteo Plebiscito from the Glasgow RPC, and Hannah Hall from Stranraer RPC. We asked them about their time at Camp Reunion.

Peter, you were the speaker at Senior Camp Reunion this year. What were your talks on, and what would you say was one of the main points of your talks?

My talks were on selected passages from John chapters 13-18, which cover Jesus’ last night with His disciples before going to the cross. John records much more detail from that night than any of the other Gospel writers, so they’re very special and important chapters. I spoke from ch.14 on “The Father’s House”, from ch.15 on “Blossoming in the Son” and from ch.16 on “The Spirit’s Help”.

One of the main points was the picture Jesus gives in ch. 15 that He is the vine and we are the branches. We get all our life and strength and growth through Him. He bears His fruit, amazingly, in us and through us. So it’s vital that we stay connected – through the Word and prayer and Christian fellowship – to the main vine or else we’ll be dead branches. I remember a former RPCS minister preaching very vividly on the passage at Senior Camp Reunion when I was that age! It had a huge impact on me back then and that was part of why I wanted to go back to those passages for Senior Camp Reunion 2023.

What was the highlight for you of being at Senior Camp Reunion?

Lots of highlights! With all the campers, leaders and cooks included there were over 90 people, so it was nice for those of us from North Edinburgh to be part of a bigger gathering of God’s people than normal. Connected to that, the Psalm singing was special – particularly when everyone from camp joined the Cloughmills congregation for worship on the Lord’s Day. The closing Psalm especially that morning made the hair stand on the back of my neck! As a former Boys’ Discovery Camp officer, I also enjoyed catching up with (now) young men who I’d known as wee boys years ago. Leading the youngest guys discussion group and seeing and hearing how many of them are growing and moving forward with the Lord was absolutely brilliant.

But the biggest highlight for me as a dad and as a pastor was seeing how much our daughters (8 and 5) and three young people from our congregation enjoyed and were blessed by the whole Senior Camp experience. None of them have much experience of that size of a gathering of Christian young people! Everyone was so warm and friendly. It was just such a spiritually healthy and safe environment, which is pretty different from what some of our young people are used to in the community where God has placed us.

You have a long history of being involved in camps in Ireland both as a camper and as a leader. If someone was thinking of going to camp for the first time but wasn’t sure, what would you say to them?

“You have a long history” = you are very old! Thanks! But yes, Emma and I both realised that having lived in Scotland for 12 years now, many of the young people at reunion were primary school age when we left!

I couldn’t overstate how much I would want to encourage any young person to go to camp. I was privileged to grow up in a church with a lot of young people, and camps were still a great blessing and help to me as a young person. Obviously we hear good teaching in our churches all year round and that’s the most important. But I do think there’s something special too about hearing God’s Word in and a spending a weekend/week in that “healthy spiritual environment” I just mentioned. And, as an old bloke (!), I can testify that the friendships you make can last a lifetime.

Over the past few years I’ve also been able to see, as a pastor, what an impact camps have had on our church’s young people – who don’t have many Christians their age in our church (or, in some cases, in their lives). That impact has been huge and, in some of them, our whole congregation can see the difference in them before and after camp! So whether you know lots of other Christian young people or hardly any – GO TO CAMPS & REUNIONS!

And now for those who went as campers:

What was something you learned or that really made an impression on you from the talks?
Grant: One talk covered disappointments and how Christians should deal with this in their lives. The talks were very helpful as they gave me practical advice and reminded me that God is always in control.
Archie: The meaning of Abide. Although sounding strange, going in depth on a word that appears a lot in the Bible was interesting and useful.
Matteo: The talks were from John 13-17, with the theme “The Last Night”. One of the talks was about how Jesus is the One True Vine, and we are the branches. Sometimes we need to be pruned for our own good, and it’s not pleasant. What encouraged me was that Jesus was “pruned” as well. He had to suffer many hardships in order to save us, but in the end it was not in vain and all those trials only glorified him more. Similarly for us, these prunings will shape us and make us more ready for heaven.
Hannah H.: One of the talks was based on John 15, and it really stuck with me how Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, and that the Father is always pruning us to be more Christlike, and by removing things that stop us from being close to Him in our lives, it helps us to grow.
Edsel: The theme of the talks was “The Last Night” Jesus spent with His disciples, comprising much to meditate on. Jesus is both comforting in assuring His fearing disciples, and realistic in how the world will respond to us (and how we are to therefore stand firm). Above all, Jesus prays for us! Assurances and affirmations can only go so far without God ultimately caring and battling for us. Among all the topics covered, the one that had always stuck with me is the True Vine – the first time I heard Peter preach this back in Edinburgh, he brought a pear branch and passed it to me after the service to discard. I nonetheless kept the pear, and over the days and weeks, I see it slowly shrivel, much to the contrast of what it initially was, however healthy it seemed.

What was your favourite activity?
Rebekkah: All of them.
Hannah D.: Helping with and watching the team games and challenges both nights. I was on crutches so was limited with what I could do.
Grant: My favourite activity was on the Saturday evening and involved different chocolate eating challenges!
Archie: All were enjoyable but the team building one on Friday evening was probably my favourite.
Matteo: I enjoyed the free time, some of us went to the beach and played volleyball among some rocks. The Saturday night games were also really fun.
Hannah H.: During the day on the Saturday we were able to do a bunch of different things, and several of us went to the beach for a walk and volleyball, and it was such a good time and so fun.
Edsel: Being my first time in camp, I most certainly enjoy getting to know everyone. And being a reunion camp, I met with difficulty at first to know people in such a short period of time, nonetheless everyone had been very accommodating and welcoming which made me all the more excited for summer camp; we can then drop the introductions and just have fun together! I also enjoyed, massive thanks to the Loughridges’ hospitality, much sightseeing, from Belfast Zoo to the Hedges and the Giant’s Causeway. Where I not only stumbled upon Northern Ireland’s only wild lizard species, but rediscovered in person two major species I thought extinct: Barbary lions and Christians my generation!

What was your favourite thing about camp?
Hannah D: Meeting everyone and catching up with friends from summer camp.
Grant: I enjoy spending time with Christians and renewing friendships.
Archie: Reuniting with friends and meeting new ones.
Matteo: I think the best part was seeing people I had met for the first time last summer again. There were also some people I had not met before and that was good too.
Hannah H.: My favourite thing is getting to see my friends that you maybe haven’t seen for months, and being able to be open about your faith with people who are also Christian and have the same mindsets.
Edsel: As mentioned, spending time with everyone there is the enjoyable part, but what really gave me the shivers was when we sang the Psalms together. As different as we are, or as much as we get to have fun together, it’s when we raise our voices together to the LORD with all out hearts – that my mind is brought back to the reason we are together in the first place: for we love the LORD, and that passion is shared in good company. Looking forward to what summer camp has to offer!