Pictured Rocks Backpack Trip | July 6-13, 2013
[fsg_gallery id=”2″]Island | Week 3, Grades 8/9
July 7 – 13, 2013
Mainland | Vanguard 6/7/8 Pictures
Jeff Root, youth pastor from Glen Elyn Covenant is here this week as our speaker. We are enjoying all of the beautiful weather and having a ball with kids from all over Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Here are photos from this week!
Sojourners: Senior High Week 2013
As always Senior High week is full of energy, excitement, laughter, and quiet moments connecting with God. Here are some of the awesome moments so far!
Island | Grades 7 + 8, June 16-22
The first week of Island camp is off to a great start! Here are some photos to enjoy from the week so far!
Mainland | Pathfinder/Explorers, June 16-22
The week of the smallest campers has gotten off to an exciting start! Maria Zahasky is giving the morning devotions, and the kids are enjoying all things camp including Braveheart, Rotation Areas, Cabin Group Activities, Singing, and the delicious camp food!
Here are some pictures from the week!
Enjoying “Joia” as a Staff, Preparing for Summer
There are often times in the life of a camp staff when strategy meetings need moments of great JOIA. So it happened one afternoon when the long winter doldrums were getting to everyone. To add spice and flavor to our time, former Point and Harbor staff person, Carleton Johnson, shared with us a sampling of a product he is marketing. Carleton and another associate started a business called Boundary Waters Brands selling a beverage named JOIA, a blend of three ingredients, a fruit, a flower, and a spice. Two examples of this refreshing all natural soda are: Blackberry/pomegranate/ginger or Lime/hibiscus/cloves. There are six varieties in all. The business which began in Minneapolis, has since arrived in other locations of the country like Seattle, Los Angelas, Portland, Denver, and Chicago area. To read more about JOIA, an informative website can be found at www.joialife.com. As for Point staff, we lift a bottle of JOIA to you, Carleton, for doing just that in our small little U.P. world. Blessings to your growth.
2013 Men’s Retreat
This year’s Men’s Retreat was, once again, a beautiful time for men from all over the U.P, Wisconsin and Illinois to come and fellowship, worship, and grow in their faith. Pastor Eric Sparrman shared messages (download his talks below) on “Questions that Jesus asked us” encouraging the men to think about their faith from the perspective of Jesus’s questions to his close followers in the New Testament.
Eric Sparrman Talk #1 “What do you want?”
Eric Sparrman Talk #3 “Who do you say I am?”
The men (plus Caleb Strom!) from Ravenswood Covenant won the Broomball tournament in overtime vs. Iron Mountain Covenant. The skeet shoot was a fun time as always (including an automatic skeet thrower!), frostbite golf was in full “swing”, the polar bear dip was chilly and refreshing, but most importantly over 120 men drew closer to Jesus in small group conversation, reflection, and were encouraged in their faith. Enjoy the pictures and sermon’s. See you next year!
New Wishlist Donations!
We continue to be overwhelmed and excited by the generosity of people giving through our Wishlist Donation page. In the last month we have received gifts of: a bench grinder, chain puller, extension cords, many kitchen goodies(food processor, a NICE knife, spatulas, etc), new archery equipment(Bows, and armguards), and a CHICKEN SUIT (something that will come in very handy in skits this summer)!
Thanks to all who gave. Stay updated on our lastest dreams and wishes at the Donation Wishlist. We are always thinking and dreaming of new things that could be useful/updated in the ministry of camp and it is through the donation of things small and large through the wishlist that we are able to expand our effectiveness in hosting, caring, and programming for people to come and experience new life in Christ and be encouraged in their next step of faith.
Enjoy the photos!
One Life Retreats 2013
We just finished our two busiest retreats of the winter! With over 37o people coming through camp through both weekends, it was an energetic and exciting time to connect with students, leaders and God in the beauty of the Upper Peninsula’s winter wonderland. God moved in significant ways in the lives of students and leaders alike. Check out the pictures to see the exciting things we did throughout the weekend. We are already looking forward to next year!
If you attended One Life and are eager for more opportunities to connect with God at CPBC, think about going on a Wilderness Trip or coming to Senior High Week. Both are amazing opportunities to connect with others and God.
The prayer room(pictures in the slideshow) was an excellent experience for students to connect with God and each other in a beautiful, contemplative space. More resources on the spiritual disciplines that the prayer room was based can be found at: http://www.covchurch.org/resources/breathe-material/
Meet The New Covenant Point Babies!
The are several new additions to the Covenant Point family, and we are blessed to share pictures of the little ones who hopefully will one day grow up to be campers, and staff at the Point.
Drezen Tallas Frasier was born Jan 10th to Lindsey (Detterbeck) and Nathan Frasier in Castle Rock, CO. He is welcomed by big brothers, Trajan (5) and Tareq (2) and very proud Grandma Jane Frasier.
Miles Deering Fish, was born to Katy and Kyle on Dec. 11, 2012. This is the first grandchild of Bill and Lynn Fish who have been living at camp for over 20 years! Bill and Lynn are very excited for trips out to Utah to visit little Miles. Kyle and Katy are obviously very excited about the new addition to their family.
First Ever Men’s Winter Ski Expedition
This past weekend seven men ventured to the porcupine mountains for a three day/two night expedition into the backcountry to stay at a rustic log cabin in the woods. Below are reflections of men who went on the trip and pictures of the beautiful nature we encountered throughout the weekend.
“The men’s winter expedition was a great experience! It was a good blend of exercise, fellowship, spiritual reflection and sharing, and A LOT of fun. We even got a chance to listen to the Packer game (boohoo). It was awesome to be able to enjoy God’s creation and spend time “roughing it” in a nice cabin in the mountains with a great small group of guys. We were able to get to know each other much better and grow in the Lord too. Dustin, Colby, and Paul led and fed us well and overall did a super job! I hope I can do it again next year. ” – Ed Lindwall
“I had a great time with a bunch of honest to god good guys. Regardless of everyone’s personality and background we all meshed together for a stress free male get together. I’ll be first in line to sign up next winter.” – Lloyd Jacobson
Staff/Alumni Porcupine Mountains Ski Trip
A beautiful weekend skiing in the Porcupine Mountains off Lake Superior was the perfect way for former and current staff to connect in an intimate setting. Dustin, Covenant Point’s outdoor ministry director, led the trip with our intern Johanna and brought along former staffers Trevor Mayo and Claire Nelson. Throughout the weekend they visited vistas, ate good food cooked on the woodburning stove, had great chapel times of sharing and worshipping, and caught up on life.
Dustin and Colby head out this Friday for the first Men’s Winter Expedition. There is still one open space, so sign up if you are interested!
Yurt Construction is Finished!
Here is a video of our recent construction of our back forty Yurts. We are still working on fully winterizing them with wood stoves, and building bunk beds to accomodate guests, and this construction marks an exciting step forward in our Wilderness Ministry.
The yurts will resource our trips program by providing new housing for briefing and debriefing with groups before and after a trip. Having additional space like this will allow us to: 1) serve new groups in a set-apart area while other housing at camp is full (ie, while Purdue University is here), 2) run simultaneous trips during the summer, whereas in the past we’ve run one trip at a time, and 3) provide a new experience of camp for interested groups – like family campers, scouts, youth groups, etc. To learn more about what a Yurt is, visit www.yurts.com
We have many opportunities to get out into God’s Creation through our Trips program. Learn more about Trips here.
Yurt Building Timelapse from covenant point bible camp on Vimeo.
Forest Park 3rd Graders Visit for Outdoor Education
Third Grade Forest Park students, teachers, and adult volunteers came for a day of active learning and outdoor activity related to the Earth Science curriculum. The four groups rotated to the following lessons: renewable and non-renewable resources, rock formation, characteristics of earth materials and the effects of erosion, and human impact on the environment. The four R’s were also highlighted through activities, big group games, and song. These are recycle, reduce, renew, and reuse. A special thank you to Point staff, parents, and teachers, Lisa Santi and Kim Payne, for helping make this experience a full day of learning and fun for the students.
Junior High Fall Retreat
This past weekend junior high youth groups from the Chicagoland area came up to camp for the long weekend and had a great time relaxing, playing games, worshipping and growing together as fellow Christians. Covenant churches in attendance included Hinsdale, Batavia, Rockford(Bethesda), Winnetka, Deer Grove. We also had the privilege of beginning a relationship with Park Ridge Community Church, the church where former summer staffer Lauren Malecki is now serving as Associate Pastor.
The messages of the weekend were given by Covenant Point year-round staff and focus on “Relationships: In Christ”, talking about four types of relationships that we have “In Christ”. Through focusing on our relationship to: God, parents, creation, and others we were able to challenge students in a number of different ways to be living in Christ in every relationship within their lives. Program highlights of the weekend included: Track N’ Trail high ropes, Floor Hockey in the tab, “Sasquatch” game on the Island, Sauna and dips in the lake, nightgame, and a large back 40 bonfire. Now we are gearing up for the trailblazer overnight this coming weekend where intern Johanna Sparrman will be speaking to 4/5/6 graders about “Faith, Hope, and Love”
Batavia Men Volunteer to Build Yurt Platform
Fall is in full bloom, and we are looking forward to over 120 women coming this weekend for the Covenant Womens Retreat to hear Kris Causton share God’s word, and worship together.
This past weekend, we were blessed to have 11 men from Batavia come and stay at camp. While they were here they spent time in devotion with eachother learning more about what it means to be a leader in their church, and building platforms for the yurts that we are building in the Back Forty as part of the expansion of our trips program. We are purchasing our yurts from the pacific yurt company in order to have more year-round capacity to house groups that we are outfitting for wilderness experiences in the beautiful creation that surrounds us here in the Upper Peninsula. As you can see from the pictures, the yurts will be tucked nicely into the woods surrounding the Back Forty field.
Many thanks to the men who made this possible. More pictures to come once the yurts arrive.
