Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Organizations Work to Diversify

CHICAGO (ELCA) Lutheran camp directors and other outdoor ministry staff from across the United States are positioning themselves to broaden and diversify programs and leadership for effective ministry. About 150 outdoor ministry professionals gathered for "Rock the Boat: Tools for a Changing World," an outdoor ministry conference the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) hosted here Oct. 24-28.
"Our outdoor ministry centers can be unique environments where we can model diversity, peace and justice in community," said Mark D. Burkhardt, director for outdoor ministries, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries.
Through workshops, keynote presentations, Bible study, an "urban hike" and visit to Hope Alive!, a volunteer program focused on improving the quality of living in the Cabrini Green public housing development, participants learned more about "what it means to serve a diverse society," Burkhardt said.
The Rev. Carole Burns, Messiah Lutheran Church, Chicago, and Burkhardt led a workshop on building diverse staff and boards to serve outdoor ministry organizations across the country.
Some board members "look alike," and "we often go back to the same sources and geographical areas to look for people" who can fill board vacancies, Burkhardt said. There is little diversity in where people come from, as well as the type of skills and experience camp professionals bring, he said. "Some boards are overpopulated with a certain kind of skill set," he said.
"Building a diverse board and staff is all about people and relationships," according to Burkhardt, and "we have to begin by confessing that we're uncomfortable with the idea of diversity, unsure about where or how to start."
Burkhardt and Burns suggested that staff and board members begin "by building key relationships with pastors and professional church workers" and by looking for people who have a tradition of serving, a commitment to children, or who can identify with the ministry's mission.
The ability to look at concepts, systems and relationships differently or with a "fresh new look" is an asset and skill, according to Burns.
"We can't assume that staff, who are entering a camp setting for the first time, immediately understand the systems that are in place," Burns said. Outdoor ministry organizations must be "more intentional about how new staff are trained," she said.
Burns suggested that camp professionals travel to large cities "to understand some of the challenges and contexts where some children" live in the city. She said it is important for children to develop friends and familiarity with camp staff before children begin camp. "It's not fair for children to enter an environment they do not understand," she said.
Burns is a board member of the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center, Oregon, Ill. She said she's "not a camper" but is committed to working with children.
Kristen Kesley, Camp Onomia, Onamia, Minn., a workshop participant, said, "Diversity should be part of the theology and mission of the camp organization."
The Rev. Joseph Barndt, co-founder and director of Crossroads Ministry, Chicago, reflected on the conference theme during his keynote presentation.
"The 'boat' that needs to be 'rocked' is the church. The symbol for the church is the boat and the subject in the boat is justice. What is the church doing about social justice? The ELCA has constitutionally called itself to become multicultural, [and that] is the issue we are most afraid of," he said. Barndt asked participants to think about "justice in the city as it is dealt with by people" who are engaged in outdoor ministry.
"The starting place for asking that question is the Bible -- an urban handbook, a farmer's almanac and suburban handbook," he said. "God is in the midst of the city, and the ministry of the church must be in the city."
Barndt offered three "biblical rocks" or assumptions for outdoor ministry professionals "to build a foundation in the city." The first, "God created us to be family. One creator-parent means that we are all sisters and brothers ... in this city and in the world. This relationship serves as the basis for all relationships," he said.
Second, "Jesus came to restore the family and called for justice work. We have to take back stolen stories and reclaim a justice-centered gospel," Barndt said. Third, "God made sure that everyone in this room is carried to the task [of reclaiming a justice-centered gospel]. God has called God's people to carry out the work of justice," he said.
According to the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, clergy organizer, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Los Angeles, outdoor ministry professionals "have a unique opportunity to change society."
"Our society has an acute hunger for escape," Salvatierra said in an interview. Outdoor ministry professionals "have an opportunity to turn escape into retreat in a Christian context, an opportunity to encounter God who [through] Moses set God's people free." She said camp professionals "can help people be inspired and empowered to go back into the world and change it rather than escape it."
"Camp professionals know how to retreat and heal the world. They need to understand that they can help bring people to create that healing" in the world, Salvatierra said.
"Camps have what people need to become forces for great change. [Outdoor ministry professionals] need intentionally to create positive experiences [that will] yield positive change, which is something they can do by connecting people -- an experience in itself for social change. They also need to create intentional collaboration with organizations that are doing social change," she said.
Salvatierra added that outdoor ministries professionals do not need to "anguish over diversity. They are not to do this alone. There are Hispanic, African American and other congregations and associations that are to be involved and engaged in mutual contribution. [Camp professionals] need to think in terms of partnership and build relationships. They need to change the way of [operating] in order to welcome all people. We are the Body of Christ."
The Rev. Cheryl Angela Stewart Pero, St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Chicago, led Bible study. She is also adjunct faculty for Chicago's Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education.
Some participants attended an "urban hike" led by Deloris Heard, Hostelling International Chicago, which serves the international and domestic travel community. The walking tour included a visit to the downtown area. Other participants visited Holy Family Lutheran Church and local residents in the Cabrini Green area.
In addition to these visits, participants engaged in an "open forum" to share ideas about the future direction of ELCA outdoor ministries, received a report from church outdoor ministry staff, and took part in three business sessions of the Association of Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Professionals.
There are about 135 outdoor ministry programs or sites in the United States and Puerto Rico. Most outdoor ministries operate as independent nonprofit corporations affiliated with the ELCA and maintain their own boards, staff and funding.
The mission of ELCA outdoor ministries is to "affirm and experience" interrelationships with all of God's creation in an intentional Christian community. The church's outdoor ministries seek to encourage spiritual growth for the whole person by providing encounters with Scripture, experience and care for the environment, witness of staff, and opportunities for worship, recreation and the development of relationships.

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