CHANGE…BUT YET STILL THE SAME
By Stephanie Claspy
How many of you remember what a milkman was? For those of you who don’t this is 100% true, I am not making this stuff up. A man actually used to show up at your house (sometimes in the middle of the night) and leave milk for your family in something called a milkbox that sat on your front porch!!!!
Does anyone remember life before cell phones? Houses used to have 1 telephone and families often had something called a party line. I am told this was a line shared by up to 5 other families and you had to wait for the line to be free before you could use it. You could even listen in on their calls without them knowing it!!!!! Does anyone here remember those days?
I know we all remember the days of gas prices being much lower but how many of you actually remember when you could fill your tank for $5????
Television I am told consisted of usually 3 or 4 channels and was only in black and white and you actually had to get up and walk over to the TV to turn it on and off and change the channel. There was no cable or internet and most houses had some type of antenna on top of their house.
We have all adapted to the way we get our milk, buy our gasoline, watch television and God help us, what would we do if we couldn’t locate our cell phones????
So, are you a person who invites change and adapts to it? Or are you one who resists change and despises it? Change is inevitable and how we deal with it can often define us. Sometimes we adjust to change very easily and after a short while we can’t even remember what it was like prior to the change taking place.
Every family faces changes as the years go by. For example, I am only 20 years old but not so many years ago, I was peddling my bicycle as fast as I could trying to keep up with my 2 big brothers and be just like them (this included playing ice hockey). Today my brother Chris lives in Pittsburgh and Manages a bank. Ryan who used to terrorize every teacher he had from elementary school, to middle school, to high school, just finished Grad school and believe it or not, is looking for a job as a teacher….. My dad a few short years ago had hair…. And it was dark. Today? Well let’s just say his hair is thinning. My mom never dreamed she would have to battle breast cancer while raising her children. Thank God, that is a battle she has been winning for the last 10+ years. And my Grandma Claspy a few short years ago was full of life and laughter. When I was young she would gladly hang my drawings on her refrigerator and tell all her friends who the drawings were from. A few years ago she developed Alzheimer’s and soon stopped speaking and for that matter didn’t even know I was her grand-daughter. In January God took my Grandma home.
My stories are not that much different probably from most families. Everyone deals with the changes life has in store for them. It is part of who we are as a people. So why am I up here in front of you today talking about change? Yes today is camp Sunday. Traditionally the Sunday following the conclusion of camp, the Staff takes part in the service. This year it only seems appropriate to make change part of our discussion. So where do I begin? Since the conclusion of camp last Summer the following changes were front and center of our Summer Youth Camp. First, my brother Ryan stepped down as Director. Yes I am a bit biased since he is my brother, but he was an amazing Director. He had a passion for this camp and would not take no for an answer when it came to camp. He left some incredibly large shoes to fill. In addition, we had a large turnover with Staff. Over 70% of this years’ staff was either new or in a new position. If you don’t think that created some challenges, I can tell you it did. Another change was that of changing the name of the camp. After several years of discussion it was agreed that the word Evolution may not have been the best choice when deciding on the name for Camp a few years back. So a new name / “Experience the Journey” was born. So let’s recap…. We had to find a new Director to fill very large shoes, had almost entirely new Staff to lead the campers, and hope our name recognition wouldn’t suffer with a new name for camp…. Oh, I forgot one other minor change….. Our budget was cut by more than 50%.
So where do you start with all these changes square in your face? There is only one place to start. GOD. No matter how drastic the changes are that we are faced with, God doesn’t change. He is the one constant in all of this. Sometimes when you look around and nothing seems to look familiar, that is the best time to remember the most steadfast friend we have and who is always there. He never gives us more than we can handle as people. It isn’t always easy and it isn’t always clear to us but that is the beauty of how we grow as Christians. So let’s take a look at how God has been a constant this year for Experience the Journey.
Yes, I am a new Director, but I had a huge advantage of seeing first-hand how Ryan did certain things / as well as all the behind the scene work he did prior to camp. Much of the staff may have been new or in new positions this year, but even Brian Jensen was a rookie Preacher once upon a time. This year’s Staff was amazing and no doubt had the Holy Spirit working through them with these kids. Sometimes when so many are new, a group can bond together towards a common goal. This year the staff came together in amazing ways. The name change???? Well the name may have changed, but the message remained the same. Jesus is front and center in all that we do and HE gets the Glory. Our mission continues to be introducing these kids to more and more about Jesus.
That brings us to the budget. The CE Committee had some rather difficult discussions and decisions to make, and our purse strings were tied somewhat. We were facing turning campers away and cutting back to one week and eliminating programs as a potential budget solution. In the end, we were forced to cut a few corners and look for some ways to cut some costs or do things a little different. The economy has been tough on a lot of people so I decided I did not want to get up in front of you and do a minute for mission asking for money. Instead I asked Mary to just put a note in the bulletins each week letting you know if you were able to sponsor camp in anyway, we would be greatly appreciative. Well....the response was amazing. Without a pressured sales pitch, you supported camp financially at a record level. No camp programs were cut, the camp remained a two week event, and to these kids, they probably had no idea anything changed…. (except I am a little shorter than my brother and a lot better looking). The best part though was that every family that applied for a scholarship received one. On behalf of all the campers, the CE Committee, the Staff, and myself…. Thank-you!!!!
But before I give you all the credit, I truly believe God (that one constant) was hard at work here. He continues to do some of his best work through all of you here at First Presbyterian.
Finally, as I was preparing this message and thinking about change, I thought back to two years ago when Ryan stood up here and asked all the kids under 21 to stand. He told all of us that these kids (including myself) were the future of the Church. That same message has been and will continue to be delivered to every generation of youth. Yes the names and faces of our youth change as time goes by, but this church has been very blessed over the years with how some of our youth have grown into adults. It has been the commitment to them that all of you have shown as you have nurtured them. Not so many years ago many of you remember when Miles O’Shea and Pete Hosick were roaming these halls heading to Sunday School? Times change… Sort of!!! Miles is still roaming the halls of education but now that is at MASH where he is using his talents to teach the youth. I understand Pete Hosick is working on his Doctorate and planning to teach our youth at a University level. Having strong Christian Men in teaching positions, sounds pretty good to me.
And how about Mike Kilburn? Has he experienced change in his life? Not so many years ago he was in an orphanage in Russia. God brought him to Meadville PA and the Kilburns and to First Presbyterian, and now he pays back his good fortune by serving in the Armed Forces of our Country. No make that HIS Country…..
And let’s not forget Joel DiAngi who was just a big kid himself when just a few years ago he was assisting our youth group. Today you can walk across town and listen to him preach to his own Congregation.
There are so many more success stories of our youth here at First Presbyterian. They all experienced changes growing up here but they too found God to be a constant in their lives and he continues to be that today for them as they work to make the world a better place.
And for me…. Yes my brothers and I have grown up and our lives have changed. But we are still family and remain close. My Mom may have gone through the toughest battle of her life a few years back, but I now know where my strength will come from when I need it. And yes my Grandma Claspy may be gone, but God promises she is now at peace and I will see her again.
With so much change in the world it is such a comfort to know that God will always be that one constant.
Thank you for helping all of us at Experience the Journey deliver the love of Jesus Christ to these children. AMEN.
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