Hello Camp Zion Families,

Well, it is ridiculously quiet around church this week. No one has been running through the lobby playing tag, cheering loudly when they win a game or belly laughing over something silly.  I miss the joyful noise that our Camp Zion campers bring to our building.

It has truly been a blessing to spend the last 7 weeks with your children.  They are smart, kind & funny people who have captured all of our hearts.  Thank you for gifting us the opportunity to spend time with each of them this summer.  What fun we have had playing games, dancing, acting, going on trips, reading stories, learning about God and creating a ton of fun memories together.

I was asked two questions repeatedly last week.

1.)  “What are you all gonna do with yourselves now that camp is done?” 
The short answer is…sleep in! LOL.  But in actuality our staff is busy all year long.

• Hope & Emily begin their junior year & Kendall begins her sophomore year at Jenison. While Olivia begins her sophomore year at Holland.  All four are involved in a variety of extracurricular activities and all four are members of the Zion praise and worship team. 
• Pastor Jeremy is our associate pastor here at Zion.  His role includes things like preaching on Sunday mornings, leading our youth groups, leading our worship teams and helping out with all of our community focused programs. He has a passion for making connections with the people in our neighborhood so please reach out if there is something he can help you with.
• Ms. Rachel will be enjoying these last couple weeks of summer with her family before returning to her position as a clerical assistant for Jenison Public Schools. Even though our camp season just ended she is already planning for Camp Zion 2024.  🙂  In addition to her job at JPS, and Camp Zion, Ms Rachel is also the Children’s Ministry Director here at church. That means she oversees all of the children’s programming at Zion for kids age 3 years old – 5th grade, during the school year. Obviously, Ms Rachel has a big heart for kids.

2.)  “Ms. Rachel, can I be a volunteer at Camp Zion?”
YES!!!
It is super exciting that your kids love camp so much that they want to come back and volunteer.  We hope that they will.  Currently we do have a couple of requirements for kids wanting to volunteer at Camp Zion.

• The soonest former CZ campers are allowed to volunteer is the summer they are entering 8th grade.  There is a BIG difference between being a camper at Camp Zion and being a volunteer at Camp Zion.  We’ve found that a year off helps with the transition between the two.
• We also ask that they be involved with Zion Youth Group during the school year.  This extra time spent with Jeremy, myself, and our other youth leaders gives our young teens an age appropriate way to learn more about God, Zion, service and leadership before choosing to volunteer at camp.

Although Camp Zion has wrapped up for this summer there are plenty of other opportunities throughout the year to get your families connected into Zion. More details about all of these can be found on the Zion website www.zionreformed.org

• Sunday Morning Worship.  9:30am each week.  Nursery is available for children age 0-2.  Most people enter at Door D and walk down the hallway to our sanctuary.  The child check in station is right along the way.
• Children & Worship.  These classes are available during the Sunday morning worship service.  Summer classes for children 3yrs old – 3rd grade are being held now. Fall classes for children 3yrs-5th grade begin Sept 10th.
• Middle School Youth Group (6th-8th grade) Sunday evenings 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm.  Regular classes begin September 17.  Our kick off event will be held on September 10th. More details to come.
• High School Youth Group (9th-12th grade) Sunday evenings 4pm – 5:30pm. Regular classes begin on September 17th. Our kick off event will be help on September 10th. More details to come.
• Camp Zion 2024.  I will be emailing you all with details next spring. 🙂
• Family Fun.  Our hospitality committee tries to plan several fun family events throughout the year.  As those event details become available I will pass them along to you.

If you haven’t done so already check out the Camp Zion Facebook page or Instagram (camp.zion) to see all of the photos we’ve taken this year.  I’ve been scrolling through them all morning – so many fun memories.

Thanks again for sending your kids to Camp Zion this year.  We had a wonderful time together.  I hope to see you all again before next summer.

Blessings,
Rachel

Hello Camp Zion Families,
Outdoor adventure week was a lot of fun with a variety of activities. I am still giggling about everyones faces during our Survivor Games eating challenges on Thursday. FYI your kids are more than willing to eat their fruits and veggies if it means winning a point for their team. LOL.

During our Bible lesson this week we used the cereal Honey Nut Cheerios.
That little honey bee character on the Honey Nut Cheerios box is super busy buzzing all around. Kind of like we are in our lives when we are flying from one thing to the next; school, sports, time with family, time with friends, appointments etc.  We have to be intentional about bee-ing still and taking time to spend with God.  Growing our friendship with God requires us spending time with Him. We do this through reading the Bible, talking to God (praying) and learning from others about Him.
________

Looks like next week is going to be a hot one.  Here is what’s coming up at camp.

Camp Zion 2023 – Week 6 – Race Week.
Monday:  Kick Ball & Pinewood Derby Car Painting.
Tuesday:  The Amazing Race.
Wednesday: Fieldtrip – Tarry Hall Rollerskating. Wear socks. You can bring your own roller-skates or roller-blades if you have them, but there will be some provided for everyone at the rink.
Thursday:  Pinewood Derby Car Race.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Ms Rachel

Hello Camp Zion Families,
Phew! Last week was a hot one, but we still had fun getting outdoors and enjoying all of our garden themed activities. Thank you so much to our parent volunteers who came on Wednesday to help chaperone our fieldtrip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens.

For our Bible object lessons last week we used a box of Rice Krispies Cereal.  Rice Krispies is a loud talkative cereal and remind us that we should be snap, crackle & popping with excitement to be talking to others about the love of Jesus.

Here is what is coming up next week.

Camp Zion 2023 – Week 4 (July 10-13) – Bird Week.
Mon: Service project & slip-n-slide. Wear your swimsuit and bring a towel.
Tues: Creation Station.
Wed: Teen Staff, Yes Day!
Thur: Critter Barn.

Enjoy the west of your weekend,
Ms. Rachel

We are very excited to introduce our Camp Zion 2023 Teen Staff.  Congratulations Hope, Kendall, Olivia & Emily!!!

Hope will be with on staff for six weeks, Kendall for one week, and Olivia & Emily for all seven weeks.  We know God is going to use these women in mighty ways this summer and cannot wait to see them shine through all of their camp experiences.