Pastor's Corner: Camp songs are forever

"Oh, the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord,

"For giving me the things I need: the sun and the rain and the appleseed.

"The Lord is good to me. Johnny Appleseed, Amen!"

"Does that little song ring any bells? Many of us learned this mealtime prayer at church camp or Vacation Bible School. There are different versions - when I sang it for the first time with my husband's family, that final "Johnny Appleseed" caught me off guard! No matter how many "amens" you sing at the end, the most important lesson of the song remains: praising the Lord doesn't have to be stuffy or serious. It can be lighthearted and faith-filled.

I think that's one of the best parts of Vacation Bible School. It doesn't matter what church or denomination is putting on VBS: there are always fun songs. They get your whole body involved, just like David in 2 Samuel 6 when the Israelites brought the ark to Jerusalem. "David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals." King David was a dancer!

There are times when full-body and full-throated praise are good and holy, and VBS is one of those times! Your child or grandchild is welcome to come to our ecumenical VBS from Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28, 9 a.m. to noon, with drop-off and pick-up at St. Jude's Parish Center across from Pepin Park. It's free, and you can come on Monday morning and sign up then.

You don't have to go to church to come to VBS. I know some people in their 30s who don't go to church anymore, but they could still sing you a camp song they learned 20 years ago. I know some folks who are double that age and can still reel off a camp song from more than half a century ago. Songs have such staying power!

Of course, even within the camp song genre, there are some songs that are raucous and silly and some that are more reflective and calm. This, too, is a gift for campers: modeling for them that we can bring our full range of emotions to Jesus. Children's inner lives are just as complex as adults', and putting emotionally rich songs into child-sized formats helps them express more of what's already going on inside them.

I learned one of those beautifully rich camp songs when I moved to Montana. It's called "The Montana Blessing," from Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp, with the second verse written by a former pastor of First Lutheran Church, Pastor Brad Ulgenes. May this blessing follow you throughout your summer, and beyond.

"May your vision be as boundless as the breath of our skies;

"May your souls have the strength of our mountains;

"May your lives be as peaceful as the gently falling snow;

"And your days be as many as the trees.

"May your service flow as freely as the rivers of our land;

"May your kindness be as golden as our wheat fields;

"May your faith be as strong as our Ponderosa Pines

"And your love be as broad as our prairies." Amen.

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Pastor Megan Hoewisch

First Lutheran Church