May 13thSummer Leadership Staff Set for Camp
It was a challenge filling summer leadership staff positions for Camps with Meaning this year, but Associate Program Director Nadya Langelotz feels she has found the right mix.
Very few experienced leaders were applying, which required some creative problem-solving. “I think my ‘solution’ was more of an attitude shift,” Nadya says. “It’s very easy to feel like camp can only happen one way. It’s taken a significant amount of creative energy to imagine the new things that might present themselves with a bit of a different leadership structure.”
Rather than having two teams of summer program directors, co-directors Fiona Janzen and Nate Hastings-Fuhr will direct the spring camps for adults with disabilities and then focus their efforts on camps at Camp Assiniboia. The weeks at Camp Koinonia will be led by guest directors who have previous experience.
The lower numbers of applications from experienced former staff is in part due to the lingering impact of Covid on Camps. The reduced capacity due to Covid protections meant fewer summer camp staff during those years, which now means there are fewer experienced staff to take on the senior positions.
Still, Nadya feels good about the way things are shaping up for the summer.
“My biggest hope is that the team can also make space for the different structure to surprise them,” she says. “I know this is difficult when you are right in the middle of camp and have specific ideas for what you thought the summer would look like—I’ve been there! But the leadership team is young, including some new-to-Camps with Meaning people, and my dream is that this team can feel energized by each other in a way that widens the vision of camp for future years.”
This year’s summer leadership staff:
- Co-Summer Program Directors: Fiona Janzen and Nate Hastings-Fuhr
- Bible Instructors: Katja MacGregor and Isaiah Koslowsky-Wiebe
- Inclusion Coordinators: Trinity Blair and Isaac Hildebrandt
- Activity and Staff Support Coordinator: Keira Peters
- Nature Instructor: Jeane Bergen
- Farm Coordinator: Astrid Franz-Warkentin
- Servant Leader in Training Directors: Cheyenne Keeper and Caleb Friesen-Epp
- Teen Volunteer Director: Kara LeBlanc
Please pray for this year’s summer leadership staff as they prepare for and lead camps this spring and summer. May Nadya’s hopes for the team be realized! Consider also giving financially to support the important work of our camping ministries; see www.mennochurch.mb.ca/giving.