Setting Sail for Adventure: Behind the Scenes of Our Pirate-Themed Saint Barnabas Arts Camp

It’s exciting to think about how our wildly popular Saint Barnabas Arts Camp is less than three months away! We’ve been busy preparing our pirate adventure since last fall. Did you know that we write our video series to teach the important lessons about loving our neighbors and loving God each summer? This year, our series stars a pirate crew of 5 actors who are all Saint Barnabas members: Bill Marshall, Greta Henson, Grace Rogers, Susan Tuttle, and Meredith Williams. Starting in December, we recorded our actors in front of a green screen in the Learning Center Library. Now, we’re in the process of video editing the series, so it’s ready early for adult leader training. We can’t wait for the kids to learn with our Captain, Stowaway, Mermaid, and other characters this summer!

This would be impossible without our fantastic writer, video editor, drama teacher, and camp song lyricist, Adele Powers. Adele is a true “treasure” and has worked closely with Sarah Petersen to develop the curriculum and focus of Arts Camp since 2017. Good friends since they were in Spanish class at Saguaro High School, Adele and Sarah love collaborating and encouraging one another. Adele, daughter of Saint Barnabas members Pat and Suzy Dodds, now lives in Madison, WI, with her family. She still loves Arts Camp and is dedicated to the writing, teaching, and creating needed to make Saint Barnabas Arts Camp happen for many years to come.

Although Adele has been writing Arts Camp skits for nearly 8 years, more recently, she has used her lyrical talents to help us develop an original camp song for three years running. These special songs leave an impression on campers for months and years to come. They learn the song, the motions, and the meaning of the lyrics before and during Arts Camp. On the final day, they make a “music video” together that gets posted to YouTube Kids to share with parents and friends. It’s also a keepsake that they can watch any time in the future. Check out a few of our favorite videos here:

“It’s Time!” 2024

Intergalactically Interconnected 2023

All Are Welcome (by Marty Haugen) 2022

Each year, we send out a survey to gather feedback for the future. Overwhelmingly, we receive positive comments about how much kids and parents love Saint Barnabas Arts Camp. These anonymous surveys include these comments from 2024:

• I like that our daughter felt a connection with her faith during the camp and that the camp expanded her understanding of her faith to further believe in her goodness. She had a rough end to the school year with a difficult friend and started the summer feeling sad and experiencing very low self-esteem. I felt like St. Barnabas camp turned her mood around and helped her believe in herself again. She also just had a wonderful time with the crafts, games, and songs.
• My daughter has attended summer camp for the past three years and looks forward to this camp over any other summer!  Sarah does an excellent job communicating with parents, and my daughter feels like she has made friends each year and is welcomed/remembered by staff.  It’s an exceptional experience, and I’m excited to be able to bring my youngest daughter next year!
• My boys absolutely love this camp every year. All the volunteers are so kind and fun, and I love how creative it is!

As of this posting, 240 kids signed up over the three weeks in June, and 40 adults committed to helping with the campers. We continue to meet weekly to work on art project preparation, decorations, and more for Arts Camp. All are welcome to join Sarah and other volunteers for this drop-in gathering:

Arts Camp Makers

Thursdays from 10am-12pm

Children’s Center next to the playground

This experience would not be possible without the continued support of the entire Saint Barnabas congregation. Thank you for all your encouragement. Get ready for Arts Camp Sunday on June 29 this year, when we will share our 2025 camp song and invite all three weeks of campers and helpers to join us at the 10:15 Service. The adult choir will join the kids in singing our sea shanty To Treasure Beyond Treasure!