Choir Campers Sing, Grow in Relationship with Christ
Loucon Training & Retreat Center, located near Leitchfield, is part of the Kentucky Conference’s camp and retreat ministry. Its mission for summer camp is “to provide opportunities for guiding and nurturing children and youth in a relationship to God through Jesus Christ.”
Sr. High Youth Choir Camp is one of Loucon’s longtime opportunities for music, fellowship, and fun.
Carol Wellman has led the Sr. High Choir Camp for the past 16 years. Like the other camp deans, she is a volunteer who brings her talent and love for Christ and the campers to Loucon. Her co-dean is Valerie Keller.
The campers present a musical to the other camps at Loucon on Thursday night of their week at Loucon. For the past two years, the Sr. High Choir Camp has presented its concert to the residents at Grayson Manor Nursing Home in Leitchfield. This community outreach takes place on the Friday night of camp. Ms. Wellman said it is “a great experience for the campers—to interact with other generations the ages of their parents and grandparents.” On Saturday morning, the campers present their program for their parents and friends before they leave for home.
This year’s musical, Live Out Loud, is a collection of favorite praise, including “Here I Am to Worship,” “Be Glorified,” and "How Deep the Father's Love For Us."
Ms. Wellman described the process of preparing for the performances.
“The campers hear the musical for the first time on Sunday evening. By Tuesday afternoon, they've learned and memorized most of the pieces. This year there were nine songs and five skits. On Wednesday, we work on choreography and perfecting what we've learned. Our first performance (memorized and choreographed) is on Thursday afternoon. That's a lot of work to get done in just a few days.”
Many of the Sr. High campers make re-commitments to Christ during the week, and some make a commitment for the first time. Others have made the decision to go into ministry while at camp.
“This is exciting stuff and makes all of our hard work worth it,” said Ms. Wellman. “All of the camps have the same goal - to lead the campers to Christ. We just reach that goal through different activities.”
In addition to the Sr. and Jr. High Choir camps, Loucon offers sports, worship arts, and other specialty camps. All campers also have the opportunity to participate in regular camp activities like rappelling, swimming, folk dancing, crafts, and worship.
Ms. Wellman is grateful for her Loucon leadership experiences.
“It's just such a special privilege and opportunity to work with these kids and I consider myself most fortunate!”
Photos by Carol Wellman