Camp Fowler first to be designated as UCC Creation Justice camp

Being in nature brings many people closer to God, and the United Church of Christ Outdoor Ministries offers outdoor experiences that can complement people’s weekly worship in buildings of churches. Thousands of guests of all ages and backgrounds visit these camps and deepen their faith through encounters with God in creation — from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the mountains of California.

And now, the UCC has its first campground designated as a UCC Creation Justice Camp: Camp Fowler.

The designation comes after its application was submitted earlier this year, and Camp Fowler is now part of the Creation Justice Churches program.

Located in the South Central Adirondacks, in Lake Pleasant, New York, Camp Fowler is under the direction of the Rev. Kent Busman, who has been there for 38 years. The camp has been affiliated with the UCC for about seven years now, and it hosts about 600 or so campers who come from the New York and New Jersey areas primarily, though some come from as far away as Michigan, according to Busman.

In the off season, adults can attend retreats at their indoor facilities. They have hosted children from a local hospice center for grief counseling camps, college freshman orientations, and their camps have included people of many religious backgrounds.

“We serve our campers through three legs of a stool,” said Busman. “First, through building community. When you think about it, two kids in a canoe is a community. Secondly, simplicity. We slow things down. There are no screens, and we do all-day activities that help put heads and hearts back together again. And lastly, through caring for the world — creation both human and non-human.”

Bill Bourdon, director of UCC Outdoor Ministries, said Camp Fowler is a great example of what a Creation Justice camp should be.

“Through the wonderful leadership of Rev. Kent Busman, Camp Fowler has incorporated Creation Justice into everything they do and think about at camp. One of the stories I remember hearing about Camp Fowler is that there was a staff person who was focused on reducing her environmental footprint for the summer. So, she carried every bit of the garbage she created that summer in her backpack, thus quietly being a witness to creation care. The stories can go on and on — their composting toilets, the songs that are sung, and the lives they have changed,” he said. “Clearly Camp Fowler is a role model for us all.”

In the camp’s application to become a Creation Justice camp, shared by Rev. Brooks Berndt, minister for UCC Environmental Justice, they laid out the tenants of their Creation Justice covenant:

We commit ourselves:

• to embodying a ministry of justice and care for creation;
•  to hospitality and simplicity by exploring ways to provide care to an expanding diversity of peoples who are frequently underrepresented in nature;
• to caretaking the 245 acres of Camp property by partaking in composting and gardening, leading faith curriculum about our role as earthkeepers;
• and empowering staff and campers to embark in creation care.

Therefore we commit ourselves:

• to protecting that revelation and teaching campers to see God revealed in Creation;
• and to creation justice education as a practice of worshiping our creator.

This begins at a young age in order to live into Proverbs 22:6: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they shall not turn from it.”

Busman said the camp has worked hard to reduce its carbon footprint, redesigning its showers to be more efficient and use less propane and water, serving fair trade coffee, and selling organic cotton shirts.

The staff works hard to come up with games that are peaceful in nature — not “war games” that involve water guns or encourage fighting. They use solar electricity and eat healthy food that is composted and used in their garden.

Busman quoted famous naturalist John Muir, who said, “In nature, when you pull a string, you see that everything’s connected.”

At Camp Fowler, Busman said, “we see how everything is connected.”

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