Philadelphia Praise Center planned a two-week Peace Camp which stretched into three this summer by popular (eager parental) demand. They met from noon to 4pm, providing a nutritious lunch for the children, all of whom live within ten blocks of the church building in South Philly. Ardi Hermawan of PPC, a senior nursing student at EMU hired by his home congregation for the summer and summer Ministry Inquiry Program intern Erika Bollman worked together to develop the program.
Peace Camps
2012 Peace Camps: Love on a Local Scale, part 1
What does Anabaptist witness and ministry look like up-close? When summer comes, for some folks it looks like teaching a second-grader to explore ways he can care for the earth, or giving a 10-year-old creative ways to deal with conflicts she’ll face at school. Congregations from Allentown to Philadelphia have created summer Peace Camps as practical places to live Christ’s transforming love among their neighbors.
Since 2007, Meredith Ehst of Salford has brought her experience in public education to her leadership of the congregation’s summer Peace Camp, a week-long evening program serving children from Kindergarten through fifth grade. This year they welcomed 75 children, their largest camp yet, drawing 46 kids from the area who are not directly connected with the congregation.