Some may not realize that the Tri-State Free Methodist Campground used to be covered with trees. They were massive trees. During the sixties they fell under a blight and died; most of them had to be removed to protect the tabernacle and cabins. The tabernacle was much cooler in those days because of the shade from the trees.
Many years when I would arrive (with my parents) a few days early for camp, I would be recruited by Harvey Kirchner to help him white-wash all of the trees and telephone poles. He'd give some of us boys buckets of white-wash and a big brush and set us loose to paint the trees up to about four foot high. We thought it was fun!
Harvey was from the Oakland Church; I later became his pastor for thirteen years. Harvey was the head usher for many years at camp! He was also well-known because of the curious reaction he had to God's blessing. Quite frequently during camp, Harvey would "get blessed". When this happened, he would weep out loud and give a shout that sort of sounded like a slow, sad "Woooo Hoooo". It had a rising-then-falling pitch to it. It usually caught you off-guard and scared you. Young people were tickled by this occurance. Older people were blessed to know that Harvey was blessed!
There were others who "got blesssed" from time-to-time. There was an older saint who used to wave her hanky. Several times I saw people take off and run around the center section of the tabernacle - sometimes shouting and praising the Lord! Others would simply walk the aisles weeping or praying or praising God! These manifestations were fascinating to the children and youth; but we always respected these folks and knew that we were seeing something that was real and that honored God!
Altar services were common, occuring most nights. Children, youth, and adults responded for salvation and to deepen their relationship with God. Crowds of praying people joined in at the altar. These prayer times often went on for nearly an hour after the service ended. Then the District Superintendent would get a michrophone and call for testimonies. Many nights these testimonies went on till the curfew bell or later! Camp Meeting was all about evangelism and holiness! Everything else was secondary to the spiritual priorities!
District pastors attended faithfully and were always available to pray with their people at the altar. All pastors wore suits every night and they all sat on the platform all evening to support the evangelist!
I recall that the camp was immersed in prayer! Every evening the pastors got together and prayed for an hour before the service. Cottage prayer meetings were held where people would call on God for outpourings of His Spirit in the camp! I also remember Brother Gress going out into the woods and praying - sometimes so loudly that you could hear him in the camp!
Let's all pray that as our camp moves into the future it will continue to maintain spiritual priorities that will help us all to grow in our faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment