A Thin Place

The lovely Robin and I are taking some time this week, and are enjoying the gracious hospitality of some old and dear friends at The Salvation Army’s Camp Swoneky. For us, it’s a “thin place” (an old Celtic phrase referring to places where the distance between heaven and earth is negligible), a place where much of our spiritual development as children and teenagers took place.

It’s also the place of our “50 First Dates,” you could say. We started dating in June of 1974, when we were both on staff here. I was “pony boy,” lodged in Cabin 6 (which no longer exists, but the site is just a few dozen feet from where we’re staying this week, in the new infirmary, which USED to be the candy store and laundry). She was a waitress, staying in the Lodge, which is now called Haisley Lodge, and still stands...for now.

A lot has changed here. It’s still winter, of course, but the whole place seems much more open; in our memories it is thickly forested, even around the buildings. Chamberlain Hall (top), the centerpiece of the camp, and the mess hall are still standing, though both have been renovated (especially the mess hall). The cabins are all new, much larger, beautiful. There are a few new buildings, and what used to be the teepee village is now a ropes course and climbing wall.

This is Cabin 5, where Cabin 6 used to be. USED to be. How could they tear down Cabin 6? How? How could they? I ask you!

And this is the infirmary apartment, where we're so privileged to be staying for this refreshing, re-creating week.