"A Glimpse of the Kingdom "- Carrie Dennis

It is hard to fully grasp everything that comes together to make a summer at Sawyerville until you walk through the delightfully loud, crowded halls of Greensboro Elementary School in June. Over 200 campers yell their Camp’s cheer throughout the hallways at a volume that often depends on how sleepy they are after the pool. High schoolers from around the state, the vibrant future of the Church, wake from their air mattresses on the classroom and library floors, excited to greet their campers for a new day. Local bus drivers shuffle in and out between pool runs, and cafeteria staff greet each camper, student, staff member, and teacher as they come down the lunch line. Bathing suits, pool towels, picture and chapter books, t-shirts, and backpacks are tucked behind the curtain on the stage in the auditorium, ready for our next group of campers to check in each Sunday. Sawyerville’s presence in the community is also so much more than this. It spills out the bus doors onto South Street, takes a left onto Tuscaloosa Street, a right onto Main Street, South to Newbern, North to Akron, and West to the community of Sawyerville, where it all began.

While I attempt to put into words the complexity and beauty of this thin space called Sawyerville, I encourage you to watch our summer wrap-up video, linked here. Our successes are shown by the numbers and by the smiles, cheers, high-fives, and cannonballs into the pool. One of the largest, overarching successes of the summer runs deep: the partnership between Sawyerville and the community of Greensboro. This year marks 33 years of ministry for Sawyerville. Our ministry, rooted in the Episcopal church and tradition, welcomed clergy from 3 different denominations over three sessions; our staff of 70-90 people worshiped on Sundays at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Third Street Church of God, First Methodist Church, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; our summer-long interns were housed by Greensboro First Presbyterian Church and invited to their Wednesday night dinners, Sunday worship, and had a stocked kitchen and “on-call” resource in the church’s pastor, John Alexander, who lives right next door.

On the Sunday of our third session, we worshiped at Third Street Church of God. This session, we had our largest staff of the summer, about 90 people, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and filling every pew of the church in our bright yellow staff shirts. Pastor Kervin Jones, a long-time friend and supporter of Sawyerville, recognized us during the announcements and thanked the Episcopal Church for putting on Sawyerville year after year. When he called me up to say a word about the ministry, I looked around the room at our staff looking back up at me, some there for their first time, and some that have been at Sawyerville since they were six years-old. I stated that, yes, Sawyerville is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, but the beautiful thing about Sawyerville now is that, in many ways, the Hale County community is serving itself. 46 staff members this summer were previous campers. Sawyerville has been in the community, consistently, for years, and has seen generations of campers grow into staff, interns, and adult coordinators. It is bigger than one denomination.

For example, our high schoolers came from many different faith traditions this summer, with two-thirds identifying with a denomination other than the Episcopal Church. Some of their church homes include: Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Church of the Highlands, Moundville Baptist Church, Huntsville First United Methodist, Christ the King Catholic Church, Pine Grove Baptist Church, Greater Faith in Christ Church, One Hope Church of Tuscaloosa, Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church. Some did not have church homes at all. None of the campers served this summer were members of an Episcopal Church, yet every single one belonged. So what happens when Episcopalians, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Unchurched young adults come together to serve 6-14-year-olds of equally diverse spiritual backgrounds and affiliations? A glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Different denominations, different life experiences, different races, different stories—and yet one community. The Love found at Sawyerville transcends denomination, race, gender, and any other label that might otherwise divide us. And our campers feel it too. They notice when someone remembers their name, cheers them on in the pool, sits beside them at lunch, or believes in them before they might have believed in themselves. They leave with new friends, new confidence, and the reminder that they are deeply loved simply because they are children of God. Differences become gifts, strangers become friends, and everyone has a place in the story God is writing at Sawyerville.

Sawyerville’s mission statement has three main pillars: to serve God, broaden the horizons of participants and staff, and improve race relations in Alabama. During the month of June, we are accomplishing all three, whether we realize it or not. Every Sunday afternoon, Breanna Carter, the Missioner for Racial Healing and Pilgrimage for our Episcopal Diocese, came to Greensboro for an hour-long Race Relations training with our staff members. We had this time to break into groups and be intentional, curious, and open-minded. For me, having grown up in Selma, this pre-camp Race Relations training was one of the most impactful moments of my first year on staff in high school. This training sets the tone for the work we do throughout the week, and these conversations are not meant to end when camp does. Our hope is that every staff member returns home with a broader perspective. If we leave Hale County seeing one another—and the world—a little differently, then this part of our mission has taken root. Whether it be in the counselors-versus-interns kickball game, in nighttime conversations in a circle of air mattresses, in staff meetings, in swim lessons at the pool, at mealtimes, or in evening worship, we are improving race relations, broadening horizons, and serving God.

While so much of the magic happens within the walls of Greensboro Elementary School or in the pool at Marion Military Institute, the love, growth, care, friendships, and Christ-like community that emerge each summer are far too big to stay there. People travel from across Alabama and beyond to Hale County, many not knowing exactly what to expect. They come to cook or bring a meal, volunteer on staff because a friend invited them, deliver supplies that were collected at their church, or simply spend a day with us. Each person becomes part of something much greater than any one of us. At Sawyerville, people who may never have crossed paths become neighbors, and neighbors become a community rooted in God’s love that continues long after summer ends. More often than not, they leave carrying something with them that they didn’t bring.

As this summer comes to a close, we give thanks for all that has been and look ahead with hope for all that is still to come. Thank you for believing in this ministry, walking alongside us, and helping the light of Christ at Sawyerville continue to shine far beyond the summer months. We invite you to ‘come and see’ next summer, at our Christmas party this upcoming December, at our annual 5K in February, and as we celebrate 10 years of our Person2Person program, pilgrimaging to Washington D.C. this upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend.

It’s all for the kids!

God’s peace,

Carrie Dennis

Sawyerville Interim Executive Director