Campers watching the sun set into smoke over the Payette Lake.

We have faith. So we understand that everything was made when God commanded it. That’s why we believe that what we see was not made out of what could be seen.

- Hebrews 11:3

This summer Idaho has had a rough wildfire season. Nationally, the acreage burned thus far (7,301,739 acres) hasn't been seen since 2017. Idaho has had the most large fires in the US in 2024 (22). Thankfully, Paradise Point Camp has been spared from fire and evacuation notices. We pray for our friends at Horsethief YMCA camp that has been evacuated for the last month. Anyone that has visited Idaho this summer has had the pulse on the AQI (air quality index) and smoke and wind patterns. I share this not to make anyone afraid or remind folks of scary times- but to say that we are a part of a larger cycle of life that includes fires, and that our place in this cycle is not guaranteed.

Paradise Point Camp is a special place, I will be the first to claim it's impact on my spiritual formation. And yet, there is no special insurance for beloved places to guarantee protection from natural cycles. This summer Paradise Point was awarded funds from the Harry Morrison Foundation to replace smoke alarms, install fire prevention mesh around the base of cabins, and purchase a wildland firefighting water pump and accessories for firefighting. Paradise Point Camp is on track to reestablish fire insurance in January 2025. And yet, there is no equipment that fully preserves any space in the face of wildfire. We can all work hard to wish for the best and prepare for the worst.

Today as rain taps at the windows at camp, we are all hopeful that the fire season will wind down. Fires are natural in Idaho, a part of the Creator designed our ecosystem to rejuvenate and grow. Climate change is now a part of our life, human actions play a part in fires starting, and we continue to work toward preparedness and prevention. At Paradise Point Camp we are humble to spend time and love a place that does not belong to us, or to anyone. We are one small blip in a broader ebb and flow of creation- and we pray that our blip be filled with care, love, and joy.

Praising the rain,

Megan Kittridge

Camp Director

Fall Youth Event campers showing off trach picked up along the Story Walk in McCall (many other bags are not featured in this picture!).

Registration for 2024

Paradise Point Camp registration for the 2024 camping season is closing soon. Register today!

Remaining camps:

Adult Camp (September 27-29) 3 cabins open, 1 King Building room open

Closing Camp (October 11-14) 13 cabins open, no King Building rooms available

Registration for 2025 opens November 1, 2024.

Can you believe it's time to think about next summer? Check out our online calendar linked here and start planning your trip to paradise today. Registration opens November 1.

Closing Camp

Spend the weekend of October 11-14 putting camp to rest for the winter and enjoying fellowship with wonderful, hard working people. Many hands make light work. Tasks include: closing the kitchen, putting platform tents away, bringing the docks in, getting cabins winter ready, and lots of organizing. Interested in offering your time to a place you hold dear? Register today!

Camp Amazon Wishlist

Have you ever wanted to be a fairy wish granter? Now is your chance! (Minus the wings.) Any item donated from Paradise Point Camp's Amazon Wishlist is an amazing help. Items will go directly to camp programs (arts and crafts, games), camper cabins (curtain rods), food service (speed rack), and guest comfort (benches, earplugs, sheets). Thank you to the folks that have already donated! Paradise Point Camp 2024 Amazon Wishlist linked here.

Women's Camp luminaries glowing along the dock.

Today, September 17th is the feast day of St. Hildegard of Bingen.

St. Hildegard of Bingen was a nun in the 12th century in what is now western Germany. She was a prolific composer, writer, and early scientist. She experienced visions that informed her worldview and spirituality. She lead preaching tours, published books on medicine, and even described the circulatory system 700 years before others would publish the same ideas. Her many musical compositions are still in use today. It is with humility and awe that we celebrate a pioneering woman that paved the way for the study of the natural world, female composers and musicians, and furthering the joys of the interconnectivity of God's creation and humanity.

A song in celebration of Hildegard of Bingen (can be sung to hymn 480)

by: Edith Sinclair Downing in Sing Praise for Faithful Women from Scripture and Throughout History

We sing our praise of Hildegard,

a woman for all time;

a prophetess who urges us

to seek the light divine.

Her visions came insistently,

sent by her Living Light.

Anointed with the Spirit's power,

she spoke God's truth aright.

We now affirm with Hildegard

we do not live alone,

but are a part of all that is:

each tree, each bird, each stone.

All creatures sing creation's praise;

yet we alone possess

the power to care for Mother Earth,

the power to curse or bless.

We praise the joy that Hildegard

found in God's constant care.

She trusted God to carry her,

a feather born on air.

May such a faith inspirit us,

give us a breathing space,

that we may let the Spirit's breeze

support us with God's grace.

We celebrate with Hildegard

the greening of the soul.

The moisture from the Spirit's breath

can cleanse us, make us whole.

May we now share life-giving love,

help justice find a home,

and by our deeds sow seeds of peace --

prepare for God's Shalom!

Many thanks to the Idaho Episcopal Foundation for new chlorine analyzers and turbidity meters for the Paradise Point Camp water treatment system!

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