June 28, 2026

It is nice to interrupt the daily routine on Sunday. At Greystone, we sleep late (9:00 Reveille, optional Stumblers run on the River Trail at 8:30), get cleaned up (cabin and camper alike), endure a “white glove inspection”, go to church, eat a big lunch, enjoy a long Rest Hour followed by free activities, end-of-day picnic, and a concert on the lawn. It is a great day!

I am sure you have a Sunday routine that is beloved in your family; most people do. The New York Times even has a weekly feature that highlights celebrities’ Sunday routines. I read it with interest! Everyone (famous and ordinary, believers and agnostics) enjoy this blessing. It is how we are wired. Our minds and bodies need time to recharge… a whole day once a week is the minimal standard. Everyone knows that work without rest is not possible; the question is how to spend that break time. The Bible tells us to make worship a priority on that day. It is a top ten rule for living, and it is nice when we joyfully anticipate it every week.

Joseph Sevier appreciated the blessings of a worship-centered day of rest and adjusted our camp schedule accordingly. He made it a day that was much loved by the campers, who talked about those surprisingly moving moments for the rest of their lives. A very old alum visited the camp about 30 years ago and mentioned Sundays as one of her enduring memories. She said that the campers would gather on the lower road below the Dining Hall and walk together with Dr. Sevier and the counselors to the Pavilion, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” a cappella. It was a parade that was a lot of fun and honoring to God.

While we do not duplicate that moment any longer (I don’t think they did it after camp got bigger than a hundred campers), we continue a routine that prioritizes worship. Our church services are excellent because of our community. The minister, campers, and counselors are very used to each other and are growing close, REALLY close. This relationship empowers the Holy Spirit in worship. Andrew Goyzueta is back at Main Camp this year, building on relationships that were started in 2024. Andrew is a very good speaker who puts a great deal of thought into his deceptively simple Morning Assembly devotions. He will probably make our theme verse (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 3:5-6) the theme of our Main Camp sermons (it is also the theme of his Morning Assembly devotions). Check it out if you are a sermon junkie like me!

Andrew is very smart (he is the RUF minister at Davidson, so intelligence is required) and has a soft heart. He is a part of “the bubble,” and his words have impact. Such a person preaching makes going to church different for many of the girls… for let’s face it, church can be boring; but that is not the way church feels at camp because of the people.

We delight in these quirky, funny, happy, smart, insightful, sincere people of all ages who come to camp each summer. We get to know each other quickly, packed like sardines in every circumstance that life throws our way. We delight when we see a friend lead us in worship songs, prayers, confessions, and (of course) the sermon. The counselors and I join Andrew in this honor, and the various voices are a lesson in themselves. Camp bases its worship service on a traditional Presbyterian style (complete with a call to worship, confession of sin, assurance of forgiveness, prayers of the people, offering, sermon, and benediction) in a very unusual setting (today, the FORT). Another counter-intuitive choice that surprisingly works (why not make it more like a devotional or a less buttoned-up tradition?). You would think the girls would consider such an hour tedious (Presbyterians are rightfully considered “the frozen chosen” for a reason), but campers think it is pretty great. God blesses our worship and provides a “sweet, sweet spirit in this place”. The Holy Spirit is said to be present whenever believers gather to worship, and each Sunday we experience this blessing. It is a good experience.

Today will be a cloudy, humid, warm-but-not-hot day with scattered showers. Rest Hour will likely be rainy, perhaps even with thunderstorms, but one never knows around here. Mountain weather is unpredictable. Tonight, we will have our first summer concert, the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Thanks for reading the blog and sharing your girls.