Wrangler Breakfast: Community at its Finest

Sarah Gallagher -- Receptionist

Among the many traditions here at HoneyRock, there is a particular early morning favorite for staff and campers known as Wrangler Breakfast.  The wranglers pick us up in a horse-drawn wagon and drive us over to Wagon Circle, where other wranglers are busy preparing breakfast.

This morning, Ministry Support and Ops Staff gathered at the Wagon Circle to chow down on egg-in-the-holes and chocolate chip pancakes, compliments of the wranglers, culinary masters.  We congregated around an open fire while the wranglers cooked up their specialties over a second fire.  As laughter and conversation mixed with the aroma of delicious food, smoke encompassed us, staining us with the beloved stench of camp.

Pancakes have never been so much fun.  Tim, the wrangler, would holler out when a pancake was ready and someone would stand up as he simultaneously flipped the pancake through the air and onto a plate across the fire.  Cheers would go up around the fire as successful passes were made, and groans would be heard as pancakes bit the dust.   

After a great closing devotional about the body of Christ, we loaded up in the wagon and the Ops truck and headed back to camp. I can't speak for the Ops truck, but in the wagon we had a great Sound of Music sing-a-long.  We began with Do-Re-Mi, and I kid you not, for a full three minutes, we sounded exactly like Maria and the Von Trapp children.  After a moment of stunned silence, we burst into laughter, then moved onto another song.

We ended our adventure by skipping along and singing "We're Off to See the Wizard," and laughing our way back into camp. Needless to say, we had a wonderful morning enjoying the company of each other while taking part in such a delicious and delightful camp tradition.

the whole motley crew waiting for an egg-in-the-hole

community building (or stare-down...not sure which)

the epic catch. please note the expressions of those in the background.

A Day in the Life of a Wood Kiln Builder

Guest Bloggers Ali Decker and Amy Vautin

As part of Wheaton’s goal to bring the arts closer to the
Northwoods, Professor David Hooker with the help of studio assistant Mark Epler
has been leading a gaggle of six girls through the process of building and
firing HoneyRock’s first ever wood kiln. Wood firings are known for their
ability to bring together a community of artists due to their time and work
intensive nature. This communal aspect has found a natural groove at HoneyRock.
We have many camp staff members to thank for their willingness to participate
in the building process…thank you all!       

For the past week we have been working almost non-stop to
build the kiln. We begin our day early, joining the rest of camp in breakfast
and devotions. After devos, we go straight to work. Our six student class is then
split into two groups, one of which begins the day laying and mortaring brick outside
the ceramics studio while the other group remains inside making pot after pot
in hopes that we will have enough pieces to fill the kiln. We then work until
noon without stopping making sure our kiln walls are level and square and
throwing mugs, bowls, and other vessels on the three new wheels in the studio.
Happy for the lunch break, we run to the bathroom, desperate to rid our hands of
the clay and mortar that have worked their way up to our elbows and down the
front of our pants. After lunch, we return to the grindstone. The groups switch
tasks and work continues until dinner. After dinner, we spend a few additional
hours in the studio tending to our pots, trimming and adding handles until the
late hour of 9:30 at which time we generally hit the sack.

A wood fired kiln is an enclosed chamber constructed out of
brick that is used for hardening clay into useable ceramic ware. Unlike electric
kilns, wood fired kilns are fueled by wood that is placed in a fire box to
create flames that weave through the ware stacked inside, coating the pieces
with a layer of food safe wood ash. Bricked in holes on the sides of the
rounded kiln body allow for additional wood to be placed directly into the kiln.
These holes also allow for salt to be thrown into the kiln, creating unique
glazing effects on the pieces underneath. Across from the fire box at the end
of the kiln is a fourteen foot tall chimney. Pieces placed close to the fire
box will have a thick deposit of wood ash, while the pieces to the back of the
kiln close to the chimney will have a very light wood ash layer.

These days, we are a dusty bunch. Often I am reminded of the
Peanuts character, Pigpen, who has a resident dust cloud that surrounds him
wherever he goes. As I begin to yearn for a hot shower and wonder how I got
into this mess, I remember that on Friday, after a twenty-hour firing, we will
crack open the kiln and discover the ware inside. Every time a kiln is ready to
be unloaded, we students feel as if Christmas has arrived. As this is our first
time doing a wood firing, we are as excited as we are clueless about what to
expect when the kiln is opened. The physical labor of two weeks and the all
night stoking of the kiln will have been well worth it. We are so excited to be
a part of the process of making HoneyRock a home for the arts.

We’re
stoked (pun very much intended) for our upcoming firing in the middle of this
week. The Shakespearience students (see blog entry dated June 10) are planning
to celebrate alongside our class in a dedication ceremony that will ignite the
upcoming kiln firing. Having loaded ware into the kiln, strategically placing
the pots in relation to the fire box and the holes in the sides of the kiln, we
will begin building a fire in the fire box that will continue for close to
twenty-four hours. Be sure to watch for the flames shooting out of the chimney
during the firing!

A Place Apart

Sarah Gallagher -- Receptionist

A tranquil drive deep into the Northwoods may lead you to
HoneyRock, if you have a decent sense of direction, or a handy GPS.  Once your tires meet the freshly paved road,
you begin to relax and unwind because you are away from the world in a place
apart.

HoneyRock is a unique atmosphere because it is removed from
the fast-paced speed of today’s world. 
Students and guests have the opportunity to grow into relationships with
other believers as they share meals, engage in outdoor activities, and live
together in close community. 

Conversation at HoneyRock is very intentional, and
relationships are built on a foundation of trust and intimacy.  Relationships at HoneyRock are real because
the peaceful environment allows students to focus first and foremost on God,
rather than the distractions of the “real world.”

Here at HoneyRock, we try to minimize the use of technology
in order to better focus our energy and time on being relational people.  Sometimes fingertip technology creates a
false urgency in our lives, and being free from this urgency allows us to more
freely experience what is essential in life.

Being “a place apart” also eliminates pressures of pop
culture that we often find burdensome. 
At HoneyRock, we are not surrounded by the lies of the media telling us
we must look a certain way to feel satisfied about ourselves, nor are we
confronted with dramatic details of the outside world which may cause us to
look sight of truth.

This environment allows Scripture to take precedence in our
daily lives and allows us to explore truth without the confusion of so many
untruths.  We are able to immerse
ourselves in God’s Word while communing with believers who are doing the
same.  Because we are a place apart from
the world, we can better view God’s definition of community and worship because
we are existing in a community intent on pursuing and worshipping the Almighty
God.

What is Shakespearience?

Guest Blogger Nathan Stewart--Shakespearience Student

After telling people that I'm here at Honeyrock for "Shakespearience,"
I'm often met with a puzzled look or the question, "So what do you guys do
exactly?" I wondered the same thing myself coming out here-what exactly
are we going to do (exactly) and what sort of Shakespearience am
I supposed to be having?


Well, a week in, I guess I'll start with the facts. Shakespearience
is part of a new arts initiative at HoneyRock, grouped as a Creativity
Course along with the kiln building class that is happening
concurrently, a move to expand the activities offered at HoneyRock and
to enrich the experience of the camp across a breadth of disciplines.
Shakespearience is listed as both an English Literature and
Communications (Theater) course and is led by Professors Brett Foster
of the English Department and Mark Lewis of the Comm. (Theater)
Department. Felicia Bertch, a Wheaton College alum and theater artist,
has also joined us acting as a participant in the course consisting of
a group of alumni and current students across majors, as well as being our movement instructor.


All of that seemed a little dry and vague in the typing, and sounds
even dryer and vaguer in the reading-over of it.  The course is much more
exciting than that--what we do, along with participating in the flow of
life together at HoneyRock, is immerse ourselves in the environment,
the company, and Shakespeare. I think of one of the HoneyRock slogans,
"a place apart," as particularly relevant to the purpose of the
Shakespearience course. We've all taken time apart from the hustle and
bustle of daily life to spend time with a group of diverse people with a
shared love for theater, literature, and Shakespeare. It is a time we
can dedicate to God, the community we've created out of this shared
love, and to the passion through which we hope to serve both: our art.


A typical day begins with breakfast and devotions with the rest of
the camp, and then a yoga and movement session with Felicia to begin our
day. We then move on to a "clump circle," in which we recite 4-8
prepared lines of Shakespearean verse, removed from the context of the
play or sonnet the lines are taken from and usually having to do with a
particular theme. After the clump circle, we often have a spirited
discussion about the book we've been reading (Bill Bryson's Shakespeare), some of the plays, the culture of the time, Shakespeare
in performance, the difficulties and joys of trying to live life as a
Christian artist, and just about anything that pops into our heads.  The
discussions are joyful, rewarding, scattered and
wide-ranging. After our discussion, we're assigned a topic for our next
"clump" and some reading to do, and then get to spend the rest of the
day reading, working with text, and hanging out with one another and
other HoneyRockers. We often get together to read a play or have an
informal discussion in the evening as well. The dynamic between younger
and older students, alums, and professors has been a unique and
valuable one.


At this point, we're less than halfway through our Shakespearience,
so surprises might be in store, but thus far it's been a rewarding time
in which to communally and prayerfully gather in a beautiful place with
the rich works of Shakespeare who, as his contemporary and rival Ben
Jonson wrote, "was not of an age, but for all time!"

Camp Pastors

Rob Ribbe--Director

This week Jonathan Cummings, pastor of Youth and Mercy Ministries
at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL, is launching our summer Camp Pastors' program.  Jonathan is speaking each day this week on our summer
theme:  Jesus is the Center of the Story.  He started on Sunday with
a sermon entitled “Humble God, United
Church” and spoke from
Philippians 2:1-11.  In staff devotions this week we’ve looked at the humanity of
Jesus and the divinity of Jesus and how both are essential and significant for
our redemption and life.

The camp pastors program was started three years ago. Much
like the historic doctors’ program at HoneyRock, camp pastors volunteer for one
to two weeks and provide a ministry of teaching, preaching and general pastoral
care for our staff and students.  In exchange for their service, HoneyRock
provides them a cabin, meals, and a lot of family time in the great
Northwoods.  It is our hope that they and their families leave HoneyRock
refreshed.  This summer our remaining camp pastors are Mark Husbands from Michigan, Chip Edgar from South
Carolina, Rich Little from Illinois,
and Alan Hawkins from North Carolina.

(Jonathan is pictured below speaking at HoneyRock staff devotions this morning)

The Northwoods Campus

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

One of the things that makes HoneyRock unique is the fact that it is both a camp and a college campus.  We have the privilege of having 11 faculty from Wheaton College here to teach students this week.  Some of the students are part of the Summer Leadership School (SLS) Program and others are here for two or four weeks participating in Wheaton in the Northwoods (WIN).  In order to give you an idea of just how many college classes are being taught at HoneyRock today, let me share with you.

There are currently 45 WIN students here to take one or more of the following classes:

Canoeing and Kayaking taught by Dr. Bud Williams

Culture in Contemporary World taught by Dr. Brian Howell

Old Testament Literature and Interpretation taught by Dr. Daniel Lane

Christian Thought taught by Dr. David McNutt

Contemporary Moral Problems taught by Dr. David Fletcher

Wood Kiln Building/ Firing taught by Dr. David Hooker

Shakespearience taught by Dr. Brett Foster and Mark Lewis

Our 67 SLS students are taking one or more of the following classes:

Old Testament Literature and Interpretation taught by Dr. Daniel Lane

New Testament Literature and Interpretation taught by Dr. Lynn Cohick

Christian Thought taught by Dr. Vincent Bacote

Strategies: Ministry to Youth taught by Dr. Barrett McRay

Canoeing and Kayaking taught by Rob Ribbe

Backpacking and Orienteering taught by Rob Ribbe

Camp Ministry taught by Rob Ribbe

We are blessed to have so many amazing faculty members here to teach and train our students, and we are excited about the diversity of the classes being offered at HoneyRock this summer.

(Pictured below is Dr. Howell with his Anthropology class)