Growing up as a PK, the concept of church was always very present in my life - one could almost say TOO present...sorry dad.  And because it was so present, the sacredness of an actual church space was never really evident to me.  Almost like I was too close to the church itself to imagine that it was anything but normal and earthly.  Even growing up going to Bement as a very young child - I think actually beginning while in utero, I'm told - camp was always fun, always exciting, but still not sacred. 

Perhaps it is something one can only come to realize with age and a slice of maturity, but as I ventured through my years as a camper, it became clear.  The community of Bement, developed each summer and nurtured through the sessions I attended, had transformed the space into sacred ground for me.  And it was clear that, at those times when I returned after a long absence and did not yet feel a true part of that community again, that the space lost some of its connection with me...only to be revived as I quickly settled back into my role as a camper or counselor. 

Bement remains a sacred space for many of us, and for me in particular, because of the people I remember being there in communion with.  It is those types of relationships that I constantly strive to create and maintain - both with friends and family, and with God - in my life post-Bement, so that each space I am in may attain that sanctity that I so dearly miss.