my religious confession for today

[laurenpetro]

we're sending grace to christian camp again.

because it's cheap.

[Deleted]

LOLOL She'll have fun, I'm sure

[doctordonna]

I loved Christian camp when I was little. It was where I learned to put taco seasoning on freshly popped and buttered popcorn.

That was a major life skill to have learned.

Thank you, Christian camp.

[laurenpetro]

last year they taught her:
Jesus Is God
and
We Must Share The News With EVERYONE!!!

which then lead to a discussion about now sharing that news with everyone is not exactly appropriate. like, ever.

[basilosaurus]

I went to a camp that was Christian, but really that just meant that we sang grace and had a Sunday morning thing.

It was very different than the one time I went to VBS. I was like bunny. I think I spent the week taking apart markers to tie dye paper napkins.

[pixy0stix]

May 24, 2012 15:32:02 GMT -5 doctordonna said:

I loved Christian camp when I was little. It was where I learned to put taco seasoning on freshly popped and buttered popcorn.

Back the truck up, what? This sounds delicious.

[laurenpetro]

May 24, 2012 15:33:16 GMT -5 @mrdobalina said:

Like Jesus Camp Camp? Does she get to speak in tongues?

she learned to make the prayer antenne. the first time she did that i almost peed my pants. i've never used that much energy holding back laughter in my life.

[msmerymac]

I went to VBS. My grandmother offered to send me, which was weird, because she was a lapsed Catholic, I was raised Presbyterian, and the church that had it was a mini-mega, non-denominational thing. But it was seriously 2-3 blocks from her house. It was kind of fun. We got points for bringing friends and for memorizing and reciting bible passages and being the loudest bus (singing Christian songs) coming into the parking lot in the morning. The people with the most points in each division (there were 4, based on age, from kindergarten to 8th grade) got awesomely cool prizes, like bikes and tickets to six flags. I never got anything.

Now that I think about all this it sounds horribly dorky and also brainwashing-y. But I'm no worse for the wear.

[basilosaurus]

What is prayer antennae?

[Seesaw]

May 24, 2012 15:34:39 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

which then lead to a discussion about now sharing that news with everyone is not exactly appropriate. like, ever.

Disagreed that it's not appropriate to share news.

[doctordonna]

May 24, 2012 15:39:09 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

May 24, 2012 15:32:02 GMT -5 doctordonna said:

I loved Christian camp when I was little. It was where I learned to put taco seasoning on freshly popped and buttered popcorn.

Back the truck up, what? This sounds delicious.

It is. You put a couple of cups of buttered popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag, add a few dashes of taco seasoning and "shake the devil away!" <--- what the teachers told us.

This also works exceptionally well with the last dreggs of Cool Ranch Flavor at the bottom of the Dorito bags.

[laurenpetro]

May 24, 2012 16:27:52 GMT -5 @Seesaw said:

May 24, 2012 15:34:39 GMT -5 laurenpetro said:

which then lead to a discussion about now sharing that news with everyone is not exactly appropriate. like, ever.

Disagreed that it's not appropriate to share news.

that's very nice. Feel free to tell your children that.

[laurenpetro]

May 24, 2012 16:23:40 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

What is prayer antennae?

hands in the air when you pray so God gets a clearer signal

[kcb]

I went to church camp in middle school and early high school. it was fun. there was swimming and crafts and then church every night. it was very music focused, which has always been my favorite part of worship, so it was fun. this church camp was weekly, and there was a band camp week, and a sports week, and then a week for each grade group, and wilderness week (my favorite) which was spelunking, canoeing, and hiking (ending with fasting! awesome). it was the hardcore boil your water, bury your shit and make your own tent sort of thing. all together a lovely experience that i remember vividly to this day.

[kmw325i]

I went to church camp once. I also refused to ever return. They made us sleep outside the last night we were there. On the ground. I came home with the worst case of chigger bites EVER.

Fuck camping.

[doctorwho]

May 24, 2012 15:32:02 GMT -5 doctordonna said:

I loved Christian camp when I was little. It was where I learned to put taco seasoning on freshly popped and buttered popcorn.

That was a major life skill to have learned.

Thank you, Christian camp.

:heart: omg. you really do have vast resources of knowledge crammed in your head. :heart:

[Deleted]

I loooooooooooved the shit out of Christian sleepaway camp. I don't even remember what Jesus-y stuff we did. But I do remember my brothers weren't there, I ate tons of cookies in my cabin late at night, rocked the shit out of the zipline, and generally had a kick ass time.

I also loved VBS. All VBS no matter what church it was. I got to sing, do crafts, not be in the same class with my brothers, and once, I got my hair set on fire.

Okay, so that was at church, not VBS and wasn't all that fun but whatever. The point is, I loved VBS and I especially loved the end when my mommy would come and watch me sing.

[meshaliuknits]

You can't just gloss over "set my hair on fire." I need the whole story, lady!

[ringstrue]

Our VBS sucked growing up. I may decide on our church by how awesome their kids activities are.

[emilyj]

My mom sent me to vacation bible school one summer. I got in trouble for questioning the teacher one day when she was telling the story of Noah's Ark. I apparently wasn't expanding my mind enough. I told the teacher "It's a nice story, but I don't buy it". They told my mom maybe bible school wasn't the right fit for me because I was too literal. My mom was mortified.

[basilosaurus]

Emily, that's hilarious.

Also, yes, what's this hair on fire business? I would have probably attempted that to get out of VBS, too

[Seesaw]

May 24, 2012 18:11:56 GMT -5 emilyj said:

My mom was mortified.

How nice for her.

[druidp]

Christian Camp > Girl Scout Camp. FACT.

[Deleted]

May 24, 2012 18:05:22 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

You can't just gloss over "set my hair on fire." I need the whole story, lady!

Okay so I used to go to the little church on base. On small military bases, they use one building for Catholic and (lumped together) Protestant services. At least, this is what they did in the late 80's/90's. The altar is generally kept the way the Catholic service left it because they have more stuff, namely, two big ass candles on either end. (And please, let's not challenge me on this. I'm not speaking for how Catholic churches decorate their altars as a whole, only to how this particular church did but anyway.)

So I'm standing up there with my little friends, beboping my happy ass along to Oh you can't get to heaven in my very adorable kente cloth outfit of which I was ridiculously proud when people start yelling at me.

I turn this way and that, confused as hell about what the damn commotion is and all of the sudden, I hear this smack sound behind my head. Then I reached up and my hair feels really gross.

And since I rode the church bus, they had to call my mama and tell her my hair was set on fire. And that's how I got my first haircut.

I was in the third grade.

[basilosaurus]

I thought you only get lit on fire for NOT going to church.

[Deleted]

The week I went to church camp when I was 12 was spent getting make-overs by my cabin mates, chasing cute boys, and talking about making out. Other than saying grace before meals and singing some church-y songs by the fire, I don't remember much else. But it was Protestant camp in New England so that's probably why.

[myst]

May 24, 2012 18:35:28 GMT -5 druidp said:

Christian Camp > Girl Scout Camp. FACT.

Aw hells no.

[Jermys]

I went to Christian camp, as a camper and one summer as a junior counselor (unpaid shit work) and then went to a Christian boarding school. It is no wonder I am an atheist.

[JLN]

I went to Jesus Camp as a kid. All the other kids were speaking in tongues and crying during worship. That's when I decided religion just wasn't for me.

[meshaliuknits]

HAB that's my favorite "first haircut" story evah!