Greetings from Loch Leven!
I’m Nicholas Selway, and I’m the Camp Manager at Loch Leven. I want to start off my first newsletter address with a BIG “Thank you!” to everybody that participated at Loch Leven! Our 2019 Summer Camp has come to an end, and I must admit, it’s bittersweet. It was amazing to have hundreds of people – Campers, Parents, Volunteers, Staff, and Alumni, spend some time at Loch Leven this summer, and I am sad that summer season is over. I am; however, incredibly stoked for what comes next!
With my first summer at Loch Leven under my belt, I want to share some of my initial observations. First, Loch Leven is a special place. Many campers are 2nd generation campers, and several of our campers were 3rd generation campers. On pick-up day, I had grandparents show grandchildren their favorite parts of camp. It was incredible to watch an experience transcend the generation gap!
My second observation is that Loch Leven has an incredible capacity for community. Our theme this year was entitled, “Peace Works,” and what we learned was a mix of world philosophies on peace, community, and spirituality. My favorite lesson from this summer, came from “Ubuntu,” which means “I am because we are.” We challenged our campers with this concept, and how we as community should strive for happiness, not by pursuing personal goals and wealth, but by taking care of our neighbors, our community. I saw this put into action during our junior camp, when a pair of friends were climbing our beautiful climbing tree, Mr. Majestic. One friend had mastered the climbing technique, and he was excited to make it to our hammocks, but his friend was struggling to keep up. Instead of climbing to the top to enjoy his goal in solitude, he stayed behind with his friend. This interaction was inspiring, and it solidifies my belief that Camp is an ideal place to build, teach, and practice community.
In other news, we are updating our policy for Regional Use of Loch Leven, to prioritize church and region retreats. On 1/2/2020, registration for the following year will only be open to those within the region. The priority registration will last until 3/2/2020. If you and/or your congregation is looking to spend time at Loch Leven, contact us through our website: lochleven.org.
I’ve lived here for four months, and I have experienced an amazing welcome from the PSWR community. I am definitely at home here, and I welcome everybody to come visit Loch Leven. There are going to be some very big things happening in the near future: Community Events, Family Camps, Outdoor Science Education, Summer Camp 2020, and more! Please stay tuned! If you are interested in visiting Loch Leven, do not hesitate to contact us! We can’t wait to see you!
I am going to leave you with a link to an amazing TED talk about Ubuntu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBUy7XmbB7M
Best,
Nicholas Selway
Camp Manager
