Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Centennial Lodge Blessing: Knoll News Fall 2013

A Blessing For Centennial Lodge

             By The Rev. Gail Avery, Trustee
             Inspired by John O’Donohue’s “Beginnings”


May this CENTENNIAL Lodge be a home to all who enter.
And every time you come here,
     may all the weight of the world fall from your shoulders.
             May every heart be tranquil here,
     blessed by a peace the world might not be able to give.

May this Lodge be a happy place,
where the dreams and aspirations of campers
always find the pathway to this door.
May nothing destructive ever cross its threshold.

May this be a safe place,
full of understanding and acceptance,
where campers can be as they are,
without the need of any mask
of pretense or image.

May it be a place of discovery,
where the possibilities that sleep
in the playfulness of our souls can emerge
as we deepen and refine the Camp’s vision.
And for all that is yet to come to birth.

May it be a place of courage,
where persistence and growth are loved,
where dignity and kindness prevail;
a camp where patience of spirit is prized,
and our values and spirit of Willingness, Loyalty,
Comradeship and Sportsmanship are never lost.

May there be great delight around this hearth.
May it be a place of welcome, especially
for the broken and diminished and the homesick.

May we ALL have the eyes to see
   that no visitor, Camper or Alum arrives without a gift..
And no one leaves without a blessing…