Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | Page 22

Evangelism on the Mountain
The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick Jr.
When it comes to themes of awakening and renewal, perhaps
no place speaks more powerfully than the Shrine Mont Camps.
Here, Bishop Gulick reflects on the power of these camps as a
tool for evangelism, as a place of welcome, as a reminder to
open our eyes to faith.
She was an occasional participant in youth group at a
parish in Richmond. Her mother’s friend, a very committed
Episcopalian, described Shrine Mont Camps to her, and
helped her find scholarship funds. And in the summer of
2013, her life in Christ Jesus began. Upon returning from a
session at St. George’s Camp, she said these life-changing
words to her mother: “Mom, I want to be baptized.” Our
campers’ lives are changed on that mountain every summer
as, baptized or not, they fall ever more deeply in love with
God, who loves the world and who loves them in Jesus Christ.

It is not just the campers whose lives are transformed.
The transformation and reclaiming of faith that occur in
the lives of the amazing young adults we hire each summer
are equally significant. It has been a profound joy for me
to do work with our staff during their week of pre-camp
training. In recent summers, topics covered included: What
do Episcopalians believe and why does it matter? How are
the Holy Scriptures used and treasured in a camp context?
And this past summer, I led sessions on how baptism and
Eucharist teaches us “whose we are” in a world that is always
trying to tell us “who we are.”

Imagine my joy when, in mid-summer, I received a call
from camp director Paris Ball asking me to return to the
mountain for the staff break. Three counselors told Paris
that as a result of our time together in training week, and as
a result of the way God had shaped their lives through their
summer of service, they wanted to be confirmed.

On a warm and sunny July afternoon at the Cathedral
Shrine of the Transfiguration, a member of the Church of
the Brethren, a former Baptist and a young woman raised in
the Episcopal church who had postponed her confirmation
twice before were presented by about 60 of their fellow
counselors. They renewed their baptismal vows and
received confirmation. These new, clear and passionate
Episcopalians were found by the love of God, because part of
the evangelism strategy of the Episcopal Church in Virginia
involves investing in the lives that come to the mountain in
Orkney Springs summer after summer.

The transformation of our college-age st Y