Fellowship Camp Out – Fall Edition
What can we say? The team picked perfect fall weather for a camping weekend at Voorhees State Park; cool nights - just right for gathering around the fire pits - and sunny, mild days. THERE WAS A HUGE TURN OUT! Over 45 adults and youth camped at least one night, and on Saturday more than 50 of us hung out together in the great outdoors.
Who says toddlers are too young to include? Besides the Donaldson duo, we were graced and amused by Maeve Bailin, and Zoey and Liv Mattison-Tabry trundling around the campsite, and by how the older children played with and cared for them. This was truly a gathering of all ages.
What did we do? Well … a lot … and not much at all. Yes, there were activities like the night visit to the observatory for a look at the infinite stars. But, there was also a lot of sitting in companionable conversation or silence around the two warm fire pits.
There was a fun hike on a trail dropping steeply into the nearby Ken Lockwood Gorge and the Columbia Rail Trail. At the site of a rebuilt trestle bridge over the South Raritan River, we paused to learn the history of an 1885 train wreck at the location. We also scrambled down the embankment to sit on the riverbank, one of New Jersey’s most beautiful trout-catching streams.
Oh, and we ate. We ate well! Friday night the Myers family treated us to a traditional campfire meal of hot dogs, bratwurst, and sides. Saturday, Steve Parker fried up made-to-order breakfast sandwiches with the help of Alice Myers while Sheila Battaglia delighted us with her fresh-from-the-griddle hot pancakes. Saturday dinner was an incredibly fun Walking Taco dinner, thanks to Alex Devleeschouwer, Becki Tabry, and Tom and Leslie Moran. And to top it all off, Nicole Spaldo and Dave Battaglia baked a dump cake in a Dutch oven over the coals. Of course, there were snacks galore, you burn a lot of calories outside, including both savory and sweet S’mores toasted over hot coals.
It takes a village to have this much fun, and a hallmark of this weekend was the expectation of group service by everyone. Our older youth helped carry water from an adjoining campsite since the tap at our location was broken. Teams of members produced five meals for 40 to 50 people. Particularly dedicated members signed up to wash all the dishes, and yes, Diana, there were three sinks: wash, rinse, and disinfect!
What didn’t we do? Electronics. No one really bothered much with their phones. Instead, we sat, talked, relaxed, related. Even the youth were basically phone-free of their own volition. Too much fun just hanging out together or playing zombie tag in the evening.
Stay tuned for Spring! You just might be seeing the birth of a new Fellowship tradition! The Congregation is found in the collective Us, and over time we and it change in fascinating ways.
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